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The Beginning With over 60 years of lacrosse tradition at Duke University, it is interesting to brush the dust off the records and meander through the history of the game in Durham. While lacrosse is generally credited to the early American Indians for its start in the U.S., the game became a part of North Carolina history on April 7, 1938, when Duke and North Carolina squared off in the first game played in the state. With over 500 curious fans lining the muddy field, the two teams played a primitive and physical contest. Duke won that initial clash as player/coach Dick Lewis led his Blue Devil team to a 2-1 victory over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill in what would be the start of a heated rivalry. One particular story from that first game helps today’s fans understand how far the game has progressed in the past 53 years. Duke goalie Frank Pierce was unable to find shin guards prior to the game, so in an effort to protect himself actually tied copies of the Archive, Duke’s undergraduate literary monthly, to his legs. Pierce allowed only one goal, that coming in the game’s closing minutes. Little did anyone realize at the time that this one contest would be the foundation of a program now moving into its second half century. Duke would finish that first season with a 2-5 record, the other victory being a 9-4 downing of North Carolina in Durham. Although the start was less than auspicious, the program was on its way. Lewis was Duke’s first true lacrosse man, not only organizing and coaching the team, but leading the squad to victory with his outstanding playing skills. He also set up a game that first season with national power Syracuse. One year later, Lewis took his fledgling Blue Devil team to a 7-1 record and the Dixie League championship. The Persons Era Upon Lewis’ graduation, Jack Persons took over as head coach of the team, a position he would hold for the next 26 seasons. While the Blue Devils had their ups and downs in the early years, it was Ray Brown who attracted the attention of lacrosse enthusiasts around the nation. He was Duke’s first All-America in the sport in 1940 and 1941, serving as captain both years. With America coming out of the grips of World War II in 1946, the Blue Devils pulled off one of the biggest upsets that the game has known. Duke topped Maryland 12-4 in College Park to open the season and went on to win both the Dixie Conference and Southern Lacrosse Association championships. Tom Gorsuch, Jimmy Corrigan, Olin Gilbert and Walt Ross were all named to the South team for the North-South All-Star Game in Baltimore. Corrigan was the second highest scorer for the South and third overall with three points in the game. Persons watched his 1951 team compile a 6-2 record and finish the season as runner-up to Virginia for the national title. During what is regarded as the most successful season in Duke lacrosse history, the Blue Devils rolled over such powerhouses as Navy, 17-6, and Johns Hopkins, 9-7, in Durham. Charles Gilfillan was named first team All-America by the National Lacrosse Coaches Association and Bob Bickel by the Baltimore News-Post. Rod Boyce, Fred Eisenbrandt and Bickel were second team All- America selections by the coaches, while future ACC Commissioner Gene Corrigan and Don Bafford earned honorable mention honors. The following season saw continued success. Bickel was named first-team All-America as he led Duke to a 7-3 record and a number six national ranking. Duke continued to accumulate the All- America honors, as Don Bafford and Dan Peacock were third team selections and Dick Bollinger and Nolan Rogers earned third team honors in 1953. When the Atlantic Coast Conference decided to accept the sport in 1954, it was Duke University that rolled to the first league title awarded. With Persons directing the Duke attack, the Blue Devils also won the Southern Lacrosse Association title and ended the year at 7-1-1 and ranked third in the nation. Everett Anderson was named first team All-America, while Bollinger was second team and Kirvan Pierson and Ronald Wilson were honorable mention. They continued to carry momentum to the next spring and ended 1955 ranked seventh in the land and were the ACC runners-up. Lean times hit the program for the next 10 seasons, as the Blue Devils tried to compete with the quickly growing powers on the East Coast. The team went to club status in 1965 in an effort to rebuild with freshman and varsity players joining forces. Persons’ efforts paid off as he guided the team to a 5-5 mark in 1966 before retiring from the world of lacrosse. The Corrie/Skinner Era With Roy Skinner and Bruce Corrie taking over as co-coaches in 1967, the Blue Devils romped to a 7-4 mark and a runner-up spot in the ACC. Captain Wayne Guckenberger earned team Most Valuable Player honors, while honorable mention All-America selections Malcolm Travelstead and Art Tremaine were the offensive and defensive leaders during that period. The duo continued to direct Duke for the next four years. With the Blue Devils moving from club to full varsity status, the team was on its way again. The offense was keyed during that time by explosive scorers Steve Sachs and Chuck Clark. Sachs led the ACC in scoring in 1968 and 1969 and finished his career with 101 goals and 108 assists for 209 points. The two finished their careers as cocaptains in ’69 and led the team to a 6-5 record. They will be long remembered as the foundation of the rebirth of a proud tradition at Duke. Skinner retired following the 1970 season and Corrie took over as the lone head coach in 1971. Honorable mention All-America and North-South selection Jeff Board, along with 100-point scorer Jim Neffgen, paced the Blue Devils. Captains Jon Brodsky, Dennis Cassidy and Bill Pugh were the team leaders during the 1970 and ’71 seasons. Midfielder Skip Walters was named MVP in 1971, as Duke progressed to an 8-6 record in 1972. New names and faces continued to emerge and two that stood out were midfielders Mark Sammis and Val Curran. Both earned team MVP honors separately, and then shared the award as senior cocaptains in 1974. The two would guide Duke to an 8- 6 record and a number 18 ranking. Sammis was an honorable mention All-America selection as a senior and played in the North-South All-Star Game. During this period, potent scorers Rob Rice and Tom Brodsky led the Blue Devils, as both finished their careers with over 100 points. Rice was named honorable mention All-America. After leading the program for nine seasons, Corrie retired as head coach following the 1975 season and later became the Director of Athletics at Northwestern University. Dick Bollinger & Coach Jack Persons Charles Gilfillan Coach Roy Skinner 32
Tony Cullen & Bruce Corrie Tony Cullen, one of the best players in Duke men’s lacrosse history, spent nine seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils from 1982-90. In 1986 and 1987, he guided Duke to 11-win seasons marking the first two double-figure single-season win totals in school history. Overall, he compiled a coaching record of 71-54 with the Blue Devils and served as a coach in the prestigious North-South Game in 1989. As a player, Cullen established himself as one of the top scorers in school history. He currently stands first in career assists (114), tied for second in career points (220) and ninth in career goals (106). In addition, Cullen holds the single-game assist record (8) and single-season marks for both assists (52 in 1979) and points (90 in 1979). Bruce Corrie served as Duke’s co-head coach with Roy Skinner from 1967-70 and then guided the Blue Devils for five additional seasons following Skinner’s retirement. In nine total seasons, Corrie led Duke to 54 victories and later became the athletic director at Northwestern University. The Espey/Cullen Era John Espey took over the Blue Devils prior to the 1976 campaign. Three seasons would pass before Duke would regain top-20 status with a 7-6 record and number 19 national ranking following the 1977 season. Joe Devlin was the focal point of that team and earned honorable mention All-America honors and was selected All-South Atlantic and All-ACC. The success built from there. A transfer by the name of Tony Cullen brought his explosive scoring talent from New York to Durham and immediately led the Blue Devils to a 9-6 mark. Duke finished the season ranked 15th in the nation, and Cullen led the ACC in scoring and earned honorable mention All- America honors. Cullen continued to have success on the offensive side of the field, leading the nation in scoring and earning All-America honors for the second straight season. He closed out his career as a three-time All-America selection and a North-South participant. In 1978, Duke’s most prolific scorer arrived on the Duke campus. Dave Hagler keyed the Blue Devil offense for three seasons and graduated in 1982 as the Blue Devils’ career scoring leader with 254 points. Following that 1982 season, Espey retired and handed the reins to former player Tony Cullen. Duke’s 1985 team provided the nucleus of success for the next four seasons. The names from the ’85 team leap out of the record books. Peter Rubin led the league in scoring as a freshman, while Ken Lukes was named honorable mention All- America and the team’s MVP, along with Peter Ortale. Jim Cabrera was selected All-ACC. Duke contended for a berth in the NCAA Tournament over the following three years. Cullen guided the ’86 team to an 11-4 mark and at one point late in the year the team was ranked as high as ninth in the nation. Ortale and Lukes were All-ACC along with Rubin, who was also named honorable mention All- America. With 11 victories, the Blue Devils had won more games in a season than any team in school history. Duke matched the feat in 1987 as the team went 11-3 and 2-1 in the ACC to finish as the league runner-up for the first time in 20 years. The squad was rated 13th in the nation, one place out of the NCAA Tournament. The team defeated Division III finalist Ohio Wesleyan 13-6 before knocking off 1986 NCAA finalist Virginia 15-12. A week later, Duke upset defending NCAA champion North Carolina 10- 9 in Durham as freshman Josh Dennis netted the winning goal. Rubin and Cabrera were both honorable mention All-America selections and joined Maurice Glavin and Lukes on the All-ACC squad. Glavin and Ortale represented Duke in the North- South All-Star Game. In 1988, Duke went 8-4 on the season and narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament. Nearly 50 years to the day from the first lacrosse game in the state, Duke upset undefeated Loyola (Md.) in overtime. Junior Paul Mahoney led the ACC in scoring that season and finished his career as a three-time All-ACC honoree. Dennis and Michael Conway earned honorable mention All-America honors. Conway also earned the ACC Senior Merit Award, given annually to the top scholar-athlete at each league school. Reaching New Heights Under Mike Pressler In 1991 a new era began — an era led by head coach Mike Pressler. In Pressler’s first season, the Blue Devils finished the season ranked 12th in the nation, a promising 7-5 overall and fell just one goal short of knocking off eventual NCAA champion North Carolina in the ACC Tournament at Duke. During the season, the Blue Devils defeated Loyola in Baltimore. Keith Melchionni ended his career as a three-time All- America selection. Joe Matassa and Gregg Schmalz joined Melchionni as honorable mention All-Americas and Schmalz was named All-ACC. The Pressler era continued into the 1992 season, as the Blue Devils accomplished feats unthinkable two years before. Duke finished the season ranked 12th in the nation and earned the school’s first bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the regular season, the Blue Devils beat Virginia in Charlottesville – Duke’s first win at UVa since 1950, and first ACC victory since 1988. The Blue Devils also upset fourth-ranked Loyola, 10-5. Duke finished the season with a record of 7-7 and was knocked out of NCAA Tournament play in the first round by a tough Maryland team. In 1993, Pressler’s team had an outstanding season, but barely missed the NCAA Tournament field on tough losses to Navy and Massachusetts. Duke began the season with a perfect 4-0 record, including an upset over seventh-ranked Maryland. The Blue Devils marked their first season with more than seven wins since Duke finished 9-6 in 1989 and reached the highest national ranking in school history – a preseason rank of No. 8. The Blue Devils finished the season with a 9-5 record, while Duke watched the culmination of some of its most impressive careers. Goalkeeper Carter Hertzberg finished his career with an outstanding 582 saves with only 314 goals against for a save percentage of .650. Hertzberg also set an ACC Tournament record with 24 saves against North Carolina in the semifinals. In addition, faceoff specialist Andy Droney tallied his fourth season with over 100 faceoffs won, bringing his career total to 511 out of 928 for an impressive .551 percentage. Hertzberg, Droney and defenseman Derek Thomson were North-South selections, while midfielder Matt Ogelsby was named third team All- America. Thomson received honorable mention All- America honors, and Pressler was chosen as a head coach for the North-South Game. The 1994 season saw the Blue Devils accomplish many firsts for the program. The Blue Devils charted their first NCAA Tournament win, hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time, achieved the then-highest ranking in the history of the program (No.7), defeated a team ranked No.2 in the nation and beat ACC rival Maryland at home for the first time since 1954. This season of firsts brought the Blue Devils a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals where they lost to No. 1 Syracuse, 12-11. Duke finished the year with a record of 10-6 and a hunger to continue its success into 1995. Three Blue Devils earned All-America honors, including juniors Scott Harrison and Matt Ogelsby, along with senior Joe Proud. In addition, Ken Fasanaro, Mike Clayton and Chris Affolter were selected to play in the North-South Game. That hunger did carry on, as Duke enjoyed an outstanding season in 1995. Duke finished with a 12- 4 record, and set a school mark for the highest ranking, No.4. Most notably, Duke won its first ever ACC Tournament title and became the first number-four seed to win the ACC Championship by defeating North Carolina, 14-6, in the final in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and laid claim to four All- ACC and five All-America accolades. Midfielder Matt Ogelsby earned first team All-America honors and was selected 1995 ACC Player of the Year, the first in school history. After those seniors departed from the 1995 Championship team, Duke was left with a rather young squad in 1996. The Blue Devils came away with an even 6-6 record and several individuals earned impressive accolades. Tyler Hardy was named William F. Schmeisser Division I Defensive Player of the Year and Scott Diggs garnered ACC Rookie of the Year honors – both the first awards of their kind at Duke. The 1997 Pressler team featured 13 seniors who guided the Blue Devils to what may have been the best season in the history of lacrosse at Duke. The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history and tied the then-school record for most wins in a season with a 12-4 mark. In addition, the Blue Devils finished the season ranked fifth in the nation and won two NCAA Tournament games, the most in school history. A record seven Blue Devils earned All-America honors, including two first team selections in Jim Gonnella and David 33
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Page 5 and 6: Q&A With John Danowski After an exc
Page 7 and 8: Nick O’Hara, Dan Loftus & Tony Mc
Page 9 and 10: The Record On Danowski Year School
Page 11 and 12: Joe Ferraro Athletic Trainer Joe Fe
Page 13 and 14: Josh Coveleski A • 6-4 • 210
Page 15 and 16: Gait, Marechek and Greg Burns (16)
Page 17 and 18: Year GP/GS GB F/O Shots G A Pts. 20
Page 19 and 20: Dan Loftus G • 5-9 • 165 • Sr
Page 21 and 22: Terrence Molinari M • 5-10 • 18
Page 23 and 24: Prep: Three-year letterman at Bay S
Page 25 and 26: Tabbed the No. 42 incoming freshman
Page 27 and 28: Bo Carrington Brad Ross Overall: 17
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Page 31 and 32: Over the past 10 years, Duke has wo
Page 33: Mike Catalino Ryan McFadyen Academi
Page 37 and 38: Lamade, Glenn Nick, Bret Thompson a
Page 39 and 40: Kevin Brennan Zack Greer Joe Kirmse
Page 41 and 42: About 1,500 Duke graduates receive
Page 43 and 44: Chuck Sherwood Duncan Miller - 1998
Page 45 and 46: 4/13 at North Carolina L, 5-18 4/17
Page 47: • The Blue Devils have received a
Page 51: The Duke men’s lacrosse program t
Page 54 and 55: In the summer of 2003 in Baltimore,
Page 57: Consistency. It’s the mark of tru

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