HPU MLAX falls 17-6 at No. 3 Duke

• Senior Dan Lomas led the Panthers’ offense with two goals on the night.
• In goal, sophomore Zach Tuell racked up 12 saves and three ground balls for the Purple & White.
• High Point is back in action on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Vert Stadium against Boston University.

DURHAM, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team fell 17-6 at No. 3 Duke on Friday night in Koskinen Stadium.

Box Score PDF

The Panthers (0-1) opened the scoring and trailed by just three at the half before the Blue Devils (1-0) pulled away in the second half.

“We didn’t do a good job of getting possession in the middle third of the game and had some lapses on defense and when you play a team like Duke they will take advantage,” head coach Jon Torpey said. “That’s the first time our offensive group has played together this season, due to some injuries, so it’s going to take a while for those guys to jell. I think we’re younger than most people think and we’re just going to have to get better.”

Senior Dan Lomas led the way for the HPU offense scoring two goals. Senior Matt Thistle added a goal while junior Dallas Bridle scored his first goal in the Purple & White. Meanwhile, sophomores Peyton Garrett and Connor Robinson also added goals. Junior Michael LeClair and Sean Harrison were credited with the team’s two assists.

Sophomore Zach Tuell registered 12 saves in goal and grabbed three ground balls in the contest. At the face-off X, senior Jamie Piluso went 5-of-12 and led the team with four ground balls as Duke earned a 15-of-25 advantage on the night. Freshman Alex Woodall also won five face-offs in 12 attempts.

On the defensive end, senior Joseph Taulane paced HPU with a caused turnover and two ground balls. The Blue Devils posted a 31-25 edge in ground balls while taking 46 shots to the Panthers’ 37 attempts.

HPU jumped out on top 1-0 on a goal from Lomas who found the back of the net from just left of the crease. However, the Blue Devils stormed back with four straight goals to make it 4-1 with 2:48 left in the opening frame. Then with five seconds left in the quarter, Bridle brought the Panthers back within two (4-2) by scoring off a loose ball.

Duke started the second period converting an extra-man opportunity to regain a three-point advantage (5-2, 14:17). Nearly eight minutes later, Lomas found Thistle coming around the net for a goal to make it 5-3. But Duke scored 45 seconds later to move back to a three-point edge (6-3, 5:48). The Purple & White refused to go away as Robinson converted a man-up goal to cut the deficit to 6-4 (3:11) before Deemer Class posted his third goal of the half to make it 7-4 at the break.

After halftime, the home team got rolling scoring six unanswered goals to take a 13-4 advantage into the fourth period. The Duke lead swelled to 11 before Lomas tallied his second goal of the night with 12:52 to play (15-5). From there, Garrett added a goal as Duke earned a 17-6 victory.

The Purple & White have their home opener on Tuesday at 4 p.m. when the Terriers of Boston University come to the Triad.