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Sean Lulley picked a good time to assert himself in the Duke offense.

A graduate transfer attackman from Penn, Lulley scored five goals — all in the second half — and added two assists to lead the Blue Devils to a 19-14 win over Delaware in a top-20 showdown Tuesday in Durham.

Lulley took the reins of the attack after Joe Robertson exited the game in the second quarter with a lower body injury. Ranked No. 11 in this week’s Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20, Duke improved to 5-1 and will face Lulley’s former team Saturday on Long Island. The Blue Devils play No. 8 Penn at MacArthur High School in Levittown, N.Y.

But first there was the matter of dispatching pesky No. 14 Delaware in a trap game of sorts following Duke’s impressive win over Denver.

The Blue Devils led by as many as five in the first half, but the Blue Hens (3-1) scored three of the last four goals in the second quarter to pull within two at halftime trailing 9-7.

Delaware resorted to zone and at times 5-on-5 defenses to slow down Duke — it worked on occasion but not nearly enough to overcome their possession deficit and the Blue Devils’ bottomless well of options.

Freshman Andrew McAdorey paced Duke’s first midfield with four goals and two assists, while junior Dyson Williams continued his 2022 renaissance with four goals. Williams has had at least a hat trick in every game this year.

Duke dominated possession thanks to Jake Naso’s 27-for-35 performance on faceoffs. The sophomore set career highs for wins (27), attempts (35) and ground balls (16).

JP Ward and Tye Kurtz scored four goals apiece for Delaware, which also got a strong game from preseason All-American defenseman Owen Grant. He started the game guarding Brennan O’Neill (two goals on 2-for-9 shooting) then trolled the top of the zone to spark transition. Grant had three ground balls, two caused turnovers, a goal and an assist.

 

NOTABLE

  • Lafayette scored four of the last six goals to upset Drexel 13-11 and move to 2-1 on the season. Peter Lehman and Kalman Kraham each scored three goals in the big win for the Leopards.

  • St. Bonaventure improved to 1-1 with a 13-12 win over Bellarmine (0-5). In the driving rain, Sean Westley scored twice in the final five minutes to nab the first win of the year for the Bonnies. Westley, Austin Blumbergs and Jackson Rose each secured a hat trick for St. Bonaventure.

  • Michigan (4-0) dropped 20-plus goals for the fourth straight game in a 23-10 beatdown of Canisius. Michigan turned an 11-8 game at halftime into a blowout by holding Canisius to two goals in the second half — both in the third quarter. Josh Zawada continued his torrid start to 2022 with seven goals and three assists. Michael Boehm had four goals and four assists.

  • It looks like the Princeton men had never left. The Tigers scored 22 goals for the second straight game in a 22-9 win over Binghamton, led by four goals and three assists for Chris Brown. Tyler Sandoval went 14-for-20 on faceoffs, and Princeton outshot Binghamton 53-36.

HOW THE NIKE/USAL TOP 20 FARED

No. 11 Duke defeated No. 14 Delaware 19-14

FULL SCOREBOARD

No. 11 Duke 19, No. 14 Delaware 14
Lafayette 13, Drexel 11
Michigan 23, Canisius 10
Princeton 22, Binghamton 9
St. Bonaventure 13, Bellarmine 12