2009 NCAA Semifinalists Duke Lacrosse Over the Years

Joe Kirmser
1997 ACC Champions
Duke Lacrosse Over the Years
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 Stilley.
Gonnella earned Division I Midfielder of the Year honors,
the first award of its kind in the history of Duke lacrosse.
The Blue Devils also had a school-record five players
named to the All-ACC team. The 1997 team brought
Duke to a new plateau of success, setting a precedent for
future teams to follow.
The 1998 squad, while it fell just three goals short of
a return trip to the Final Four, was successful in its own
right. The Blue Devils won 11 games, culminating in an
11-9 loss to eventual national champion Princeton in the
NCAA Quarterfinals. Three Blue Devils earned All-ACC
honors while four players were named to All-America
teams. Headlining the squad were senior John Fay, a
second team All-America who finished his Duke career
ranked third all-time in career goals with 150, and Scott
Diggs, a junior who was named first team All-America
midfielder.
The 1999 squad set numerous school records while
advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the fourth time
in program history. The Blue Devils set a school-record 13
wins, posted a new school-record winning streak with a 9-0
start to the year, defeated all three conference opponents
during the season, reached its highest ranking of No. 2
nationally and boasted eight All-America selections, the
most ever in a season. Juniors Stephen Card and Nick
Hartofilis earned first and second team honors respectively,
while Scott Diggs, Jared Frood and Tim Knowles were
named to the third team.
In 2000, the Blue Devils went 11-5 and advanced to the
NCAA Quarterfinals, with Stephen Card, T.J. Durnan and
Nick Hartofilis garnering All-ACC honors. In addition,
the trio was joined by senior Jared Frood in earning All-
America accolades. Card became just the second Blue
Devil to be named first team All-America in two different
seasons, joining Charles Gilfillan who turned the trick
in 1948 and 1951. Both Card and Hartofilis represented
Duke in the North-South All-Star Game.
In 2000, seven former Duke players were selected in
the first Major League Lacrosse draft.
Gonnella was named one of 18 “Assigned Players” and
played with the Fairfield, Conn., franchise. Other former
Duke players taken in the draft were Card (6th round,
31st overall, Rochester), Nick Hartofilis (6th round, 33rd
overall, Baltimore), Stilley (11th round, 65th overall, New
Jersey), Frood (13th round, 73rd overall, Connecticut),
John Fay (14th round, 79th overall, Rochester) and Ed
Fay (16th round, 91st overall, Rochester).
The 2001 Duke team returned the Blue Devils to the
top of the ACC, winning the school’s third league title
in men’s lacrosse. Duke defeated North Carolina in the
semifinals and Maryland, 10-6, in the championship game
as Bross earned Tournament MVP honors. The Blue Devils
finished the year with an 11-6 overall record and advanced
to the postseason for the eighth time under Pressler.
Cassese was named second team All-America and
became just the second player in school history to garner
ACC Player of the Year honors. Bross, Chris Hartofilis
and Stuart Schwartz also earned honorable mention All-
America accolades.
In 2002, the Blue Devils won their second straight
ACC Tournament behind tourney MVP A.J. Kincel. In
the championship game, Terrence Keaney scored two goals
in the final two minutes to lift the Blue Devils past number
one-ranked Virginia, 14-13. Duke finished the year 8-7
and fell in the NCAAs to eventual national champion
Syracuse. Cassese, a first team All-America, was named
the national midfielder of the year.
In the summer of 2002, Pressler served as an assistant
coach for Team USA which won the gold medal at the
2002 Lacrosse World Championships in Perth, Australia.
Also, three players with Duke ties were named to the U.S.
National Team — Bross, Cassese and Knowles.
Duke’s 2003 team went 8-7 and made its third
straight appearance in the ACC title game where it fell to
eventual NCAA champion Virginia. Cassese closed out
an outstanding career by becoming just the third Duke
player ever to receive First Team All-America honors
in two seasons. In addition, Cassese (118 points) and
fellow captain Kevin Brennan (122 points) finished their
respective careers ranking 24th and 22nd, respectively, on
Duke’s all-time scoring list.
In the summer of 2003, six future Duke teammates —
Matt Danowski, Kyle Dowd, Peter Lamade, Glenn Nick,
Bret Thompson and Matt Zash — led the United States
Under-19 team to the World Championship. In addition,
Zack Greer helped Canada to the championship game and
was named to the All-World Team.
While the 2004 Blue Devils compiled a 5-8 mark, the
future of Duke lacrosse rose to the forefront. Danowski
and Zash received honorable mention All-America
recognition while Lamade was the lone rookie tabbed to
the All-ACC squad.
40 Seven-time ACC Champions 2009 NCAA Semifinalists