Count John Danowski among the coaches who saw plenty of good from the opening weekend of the season.

Yes, Danowski’s Duke team dropped a 14-13 decision to Air Force. But as is Danowski’s wont, he took a broader perspective and thought about what the Blue Devils spent much of the preseason working on: Clearing, riding and in-the-box offense.

“We had three weeks of practice, we practiced great, we lost a game by a goal — what are you going to do?” Danowski said. “We out-shot them 47-26, won 70 percent of the faceoffs. We were 100 percent clearing the ball. We turned them over riding five times. We were 2-for-2 man down. Overall, for the first time out, we played well. We out-groundballed them by 20. They won the game. You tip your cap and move on.”

Danowski was quick to credit the Falcons for their performance, which included four backdoor goals against a somewhat inexperienced Duke defense.

What Danowski believed most plagued the Blue Devils was their reactions to things that are difficult to spontaneously practice, such as the decision-making in unscripted situations like transition.

“One of the things I believe is that when you first start playing, winning is not as important as playing well, and sometimes that can be suffocating because you’re so worried about screwing up, you’re not really thinking about the big picture of the game,” Danowski said. “You’re thinking about assignments and what you’re supposed to do or making coaches happy. You’re not playing freely, and that takes time. The focus gets galvanized when you lose, for sure, but if we had won by a goal, maybe we don’t coach as hard as this week. Maybe we all relax. We can’t have Air Force come back. That game has come and gone.”

While Duke will move on to its trip to High Point (0-1) on Saturday, it will do so without attackman Joe Robertson. The junior, who scored 90 goals over the last two seasons, suffered a torn ACL while making a cut in practice two days before the opener and will miss the entire year.

The Blue Devils had tinkered with having either senior Joey Manown or freshman Dyson Williams come out of the box, with the other joining Robertson and CJ Carpenter on attack. Against Air Force, Carpenter, Manown and Williams combined for six goals and four assists while comprising the starting attack.

“We have guys who can replace Joe’s skillset, but not his experience and his confidence,” Danowski said. “I think what happened a little bit wasn’t a tangible thing, but it was a little bit more of an intangible: ‘Still a little bit sad. Wish we had Joe. Well, he’s not out there.’ Everybody loves him. Everybody on the staff, everybody on the team.”

While Robertson won’t be back this spring, Duke still possesses a capable core group and has a long history under Danowski of improving as a season unfolds. The Blue Devils have had experiences like Saturday’s plenty times over the years, and it’s possible they follow a similar track in 2020.

“We’re in the education business, right? We’re educating our guys, and we’re learning about them as well,” Danowski said. “We’re learning about ourselves and how we respond as coaches. I have a boss, Dr. [Chris] Kennedy, and he says, ‘It’s only fun if you can lose,’ and I agree with that. You have to be able to step up to the plate, and you have to be able to win with humility and you have to be able to lose with grace.”

Maturity Leads to Air Force Win

How did Air Force shrug off spotting Duke a five-goal lead only to rally for a 14-13 victory on Saturday in the most riveting result of the first weekend of the Division I season?

In a word, maturity.

It’s the term coach Bill Wilson repeatedly returned to this week when sizing up the Falcons’ third victory over the Blue Devils in the last five seasons. And it is part of why Air Force could very well be far more than a one-hit wonder this season.

“I think our guys appreciate the kind words people present to them after a big win, but at the same time, they are mature,” Wilson said. “The most mature players I’ve ever been around as a coach are here at the Air Force Academy.”

To be sure, the Falcons aren’t an out-of-nowhere program. They won 61 games over the last six seasons, making three NCAA tournament appearances (2014, 2016 and 2017) in that span. Still, their best chances to draw attention are in matchups against perennial top-10 teams like Duke, Denver (which opens its year at Air Force on Saturday) and Virginia (which plays host to the Falcons on March 1).

Goalie Braden Host, last year’s Division I leader in goals-against average at 7.75, made 17 stops against the Blue Devils. Just as impressive was an efficient offense that scored on 14 of 26 shots, including four goals apiece from Brandon Dodd — the US Lacrosse Player of the Week — and Quincy Peene.

Eight Falcons scored in the opener, hinting at what might be the biggest difference between this edition of Air Force and its predecessors.

“I think we have more depth,” Wilson said. “Coach [John Grant] Jr. is doing a great job working with the offense, and we have more depth at that end of the field than we ever had before. As you would expect over the course of a season, not everyone is 100 percent healthy all the time. I think that’s going to help us.”

Dodd already is. The 6-foot-3 freshman scored on all four of his shots against Duke and also assisted four times in his debut.

It was the first eight-point game for an Air Force freshman since Chris Walsch had six goals and two assists against Jacksonville in 2015, and it was a showing that bodes well for both the present and the future of the Falcons’ offense.

“Again, I go back to the word maturity,” Wilson said. “He’s a very mature young man. He put in the work when he was at prep school last year, and he really put himself in position to compete this year as a freshman. He was on a mission to make himself the best athlete he could be entering college, and he certainly did.”

New Looks for Heels

Boston University transfer Chris Gray needed less than nine minutes to record his first hat trick at North Carolina. And the Tar Heels’ defense gave up only two goals in the first three quarters of its season opener against Colgate.

With the caveat it came on Feb. 1, Carolina’s 19-6 victory was encouraging on multiple fronts for a team that’s missed the last two NCAA tournaments.

“The biggest thing is we have a balanced offense and we’re athletic defensively, albeit young again,” coach Joe Breschi said. “We have depth, and we’re building across the board. I just feel like there’s more juice from top to bottom on the roster.”

Gray delivered instantly, collecting four goals and two assists. On the surface, it would seem the man who ranked third in Division I in points last season with 111 has provided North Carolina with precisely what it needs: An offensive centerpiece.

Yet Gray’s greatest influence could be simply providing the sort of option the Tar Heels haven’t enjoyed since claiming the 2016 national title.

“In my opinion, we’ve been one-dimensional,” Breschi said. “We’ve been a midfield-oriented, dodging team for three years. What Chris adds, as well as the sophomores Alex Trippi and Lance Tillman, is just that we can attack from behind the cage, which we haven’t been able to do consistently. We haven’t been able to be a major threat there since [Steve] Pontrello in 2016.”

North Carolina remains relatively untested on defense, but Saturday was a welcome sign. Sophomore goalie Caton Johnson stopped nine shots while yielding two goals, and defenseman Will Bowen made his long-awaited debut after missing all of last season with a knee injury.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound redshirt freshman offered Breschi a good idea of what the Tar Heels were missing in 2019.

“In hindsight, you look back, and he’s a difference-maker. He’s a one- or two-goal swing, I think,” Breschi said. “Extremely talented, and even though he hadn’t played in over a year, he was impressive. Not just from a presence standpoint, but his ability to play on-ball, play off-ball and his leadership. With Caton Johnson, Will Bowen and [short stick] Connor Maher, you’re looking at a redshirt freshman and two sophomores who are leading our defense. It’s been fun to watch.”

The Week in Numbers

Ohio State’s 21 assists in its 23-9 rout of Detroit on Tuesday were the most for a Division I team since Manhattan had 22 against Wagner on April 12, 2000. The Division I record for assists in a game is Virginia’s 25 against VMI in 1996 … Maryland has won 27 consecutive season openers after downing High Point, 23-12 … Penn State attackman Grant Ament posted his third career 10-point day when he had four goals and six assists against Lafayette. Ament had 10-point outings against Villanova and Jacksonville last season … Mercer sophomore Sean Goldsmith tied a school record with six goals in the Bears’ 18-6 rout of Florida Tech.