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Previewing Duke’s 2018 Schedule

As the top-ranked team going into 2018, will the Blue Devils return to college lacrosse’s mountain top?

By Chris Jastrzembski
Duke v Syracuse Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images

The Duke Blue Devils are the 62nd team in our 2018 schedule preview series and the third team from the ACC. The Blue Devils finished last season with a 13-5 record and made it to the NCAA Quarterfinals, where they lost to Ohio State, 16-11.

Here’s the entire 2018 schedule:

Duke’s 2018 Schedule

Date Road Team Home Team Special Notes Last Year's Meeting(s)
Date Road Team Home Team Special Notes Last Year's Meeting(s)
2/3 Air Force Duke 11-10 L
2/8 High Point Duke 10-5 W
2/10 Jacksonville Duke 13-6 W
2/16 Denver Duke 14-9 L
2/24 Duke Penn First meeting since 2014 (9-6 W)
3/3 Richmond Duke 9-8 W
3/10 Duke Loyola 15-7 W
3/17 Duke Towson First meeting since 2013 (12-4 W); 2-7 overall record
3/18 Duke Cleveland State 22-7 W
3/24 Syracuse Duke ACC 12-11 L/OT
3/30 North Carolina Duke ACC 12-8 W
4/7 Duke Notre Dame ACC 11-8 W, 7-6 L
4/14 Duke Virginia ACC 20-11 W
4/20 Marquette Duke 11-7 W
5/6 Boston University Duke 18-8 W

The Blue Devils say goodbye to Georgetown and St. Joe’s. But they get upgrades from both of their areas with Towson and Penn respectively.

Let’s check out some notable games on this schedule:

Best Nonconference Game: vs. Denver

One of the marquee matchups early in the season will be a top-five matchup. The Blue Devils tend to start the season very slow, as we saw last year with Air Force and those same Pioneers, but Duke shouldn’t have that slow start with many of their key players back.

Best Conference Game: @ Notre Dame

I would think the Blue Devils are a clear favorite to win the ACC. Wherever everyone else finishes depends on who you ask. But if you look at preseason polls, the Fighting Irish are the second-best team in the ACC, thanks to Ryder Garnsey and LSM John Sexton.

Under The Radar Game: vs. Richmond

The Spiders’ defense loses two key contributors in Brendan Hynes and Benny Pugh. That’s really tough for a team that lost by only one to Duke, but their offense keeps Teddy Hatfield and gets Mitch Goldberg back after missing all of last season with an injury.

Possible Upset: @ Penn

The Quakers beat Virginia twice last year, and they could be considered as a young team from outlooks for this season. With their core group of players now juniors, could Penn make another big move and shock the top team in the nation? The Blue Devil defense will be challenged by Simon Mathias and others.

For other schedules and team rosters, check out our Men’s Division I matrix.

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