Syracuse Defense Shuts Down Top Duke Player in 19-7 Win

By Jessica Eley

©Lauren Williams

Syracuse, N.Y. -- No. 1 Syracuse squashed no. 4 Duke's hopes of rallying behind junior midfielder, Myles Jones, for an upset Sunday afternoon. The Orange (7-0, 2-0 ACC) whipped the Blue Devils (7-2, 0-1 ACC) 19-7 at the Carrier Dome.

Jones is one of the top players in the nation, leading his team with 45 points. He averages 5.63 points-per-game, but against the Orange only had one.

"One of the things that Myles has to learn even though he's a junior, with all the limelight and all the articles and everything that's being read, there's a lot of responsibility that goes with that and sometimes you have to let the game come to you," Duke head coach John Danowski said.

Dominating Start

Duke's defense was strongy in the beginning of the first quarter but once Syracuse scored with the clock at 11:18, the Blue Devil defense fell apart.

Redshirt junior defender Brandon Mullins said the Orange's offense put the Blue Devils in a position they didn't want to be in.

"We got up on them, and then their offensive guys started taking shots, they normally wouldn't have," Mullins said.

SU went on a 4-0 run before Danowski called a timeout to slow down the Syracuse momentum. Still the Orange stretched it to 5-0 before Case Matheis scored for Duke with 1:29 left in the quarter. That would be the Blue Devils' only goal of the half. Syracuse lead Duke 13-1 at halftime.

The 6'3 Jones said his team wasn't going to give up.

"Obviously the game is what it is, we were going to fight to the end," Jones said. "Our coach told us there was time left on the clock.


Duke's Frustrating Finish

Coming out of the half, Duke didn't put another point on the board until more than halfway through the third quarter. The Blue Devils began to look frustrated.

Jones was knocked down to the ground by Mullins, causing a turnover for the Blue Devils. The crowd erupted.

"I mean a player like Jones, you gotta really slide hard to him or else you're going to get knocked over yourself," Mullins said. "I think our game plan was pretty successful."

Danowski said Jones was trying to do too much, which was causing him to make more mistakes.

"I thought he tried to force the game, he tried to force the ball a bunch today," Danowski said. "Just some things that when you're trying to catch up, you're down and think that you're the man, you've got to make those plays...natural for a 21-year-old."

Jones had three shots blocked to end the second half.

With Orange reserves in the game Duke began to pick up some steam scoring five more points towards the end, but it was too little, far too late.

Up Next

The Orange will face off against No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend next Saturday. It will be the first game SU will have played on an opponent's field this season..