John Danowski

To hear John Danowski explain it, he had no idea what he was getting in Brendan Fowler. In fact, the Duke coach had not met Fowler until August of his freshman year. That is because Fowler had not contacted the Blue Devils coaching staff during the recruiting process. The faceoff specialist had simply applied and been accepted to the university on his own, and Danowski confirmed Fowler's matriculation only when he had contacted the coach of Chaminade (N.Y.) High School - Fowler's alma mater - in May of the athlete's senior year.

Et cetera Duke extends John Danowski's contract through 2018 The contract of Duke men's lacrosse coach John Danowski has been extended through the 2018 season. Last month, Danowski guided the Blue Devils to the 2013 NCAA championship with a 16-10 victory over Syracuse in the title game. In seven seasons at Duke, Danowski has guided the Blue Devils to a 111-31 (.782) record with two NCAA titles, six Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championships and four ACC tournament crowns.

Et cetera Duke extends John Danowski's contract through 2018 The contract of Duke men's lacrosse coach John Danowski has been extended through the 2018 season. Last month, Danowski guided the Blue Devils to the 2013 NCAA championship with a 16-10 victory over Syracuse in the title game. In seven seasons at Duke, Danowski has guided the Blue Devils to a 111-31 (.782) record with two NCAA titles, six Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championships and four ACC tournament crowns.

When almost everyone else thought their season was over in early March, Duke's lacrosse players were not too concerned. A losing record in March? Ho hum, no big deal. A blowout loss to conference rival Maryland? No sweat, there were still two months left in the season. What appeared to be disaster has become routine in Durham, N.C., after Duke completed its improbable run to the NCAA Division I championship Monday by defeating top-seeded Syracuse, 16-10. Jordan Wolf had four goals and fellow attackmen Josh Offit and Josh Dionne each had three to lead Duke (16-5)

When almost everyone else thought their season was over in early March, Duke's lacrosse players were not too concerned. A losing record in March? Ho hum, no big deal. A blowout loss to conference rival Maryland? No sweat, there were still two months left in the season. What appeared to be disaster has become routine in Durham, N.C., after Duke completed its improbable run to the NCAA Division I championship Monday by defeating top-seeded Syracuse, 16-10. Jordan Wolf had four goals and fellow attackmen Josh Offit and Josh Dionne each had three to lead Duke (16-5)

MEN No. 1 Duke (1-0) @ No. 7 Notre Dame (0-0) Saturday, 1 p.m. Outlook: Duke leads the series, 6-3, but Notre Dame has won three of the past five meetings. The Blue Devils opened the season with a 16-8 rout of Rutgers, earning coach John Danowski the 300th victory of his career. The Fighting Irish will try to match Duke's explosive offense, but they have been dominant in South Bend, Ind., going 136-38 in 31 years of varsity lacrosse. WOMEN No. 1 Northwestern (1-0)

Jordan Wolf is expected to return to practice Tuesday after suffering a hip injury in No. 9 Duke's 7-3 loss to No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday. The sophomore attackman left the game in the second half and did not return, but coach John Danowski said Tuesday morning that he is optimistic that Wolf will practice and be available for Friday night's contest against No. 15 Penn. “If he's at practice today, yeah, sure,” Danowski said of whether Wolf could play Friday. “We haven't practiced yet, so I don't know what's going to happen.

Duke's bid for an extra year of eligibility for men's lacrosse players isn't sitting well with Dom Starsia, the coach of Atlantic Coast Conference rival Virginia. The Sun reported yesterday that Duke is asking the NCAA to grant the additional year because the team's 2006 season was cut short by the university after rape allegations -- since discredited -- were lodged against three players. Starsia, whose Cavaliers won the 2006 men's title, said that Duke is, in effect, asking the NCAA to bail it out. "I've got some real problems with it. Does Duke University deserve this resolution of the problem, over issues that were kind of self-inflicted?"

No. 1 Duke (18-1) vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins (10-5) Time -- 2:30 p.m. Site -- Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. THREE THINGS TO WATCH Weathering the storm The Blue Devils have outscored opponents 145-56 in the first half. Johns Hopkins played Duke to a 4-4 tie in the second quarter April 5 before the Blue Devils cruised, 17-6. Whether the Blue Jays can slow Duke and keep the score in single digits might determine Johns Hopkins' fate. Focus on faceoffs Junior Sam Payton won 10 of 15 faceoffs to help the Blue Devils jump out early on the Blue Jays in their regular-season matchup, but Payton won only 12 of 23 faceoffs against Ohio State.

NCAA men's Division I final Notre Dame vs. No. 5 seed Duke When: Monday, 3:30 p.m. Where: M&T Bank Stadium NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH Record: 10-6 Coach: Kevin Corrigan Leading scorer: Junior M Zach Brenneman (26 goals, 13 assists) Goalie: Senior Scott Rodgers (7.68 goals-against average, .596 save percentage) DUKE BLUE DEVILS Record: 15-4 Coach: John Danowski Leading scorer: Senior A Ned Crotty (23 goals, 62 assists)

Syracuse owns a 6-3 advantage in this series, but the teams have split the past four meetings since 2009. Duke has won the past two contests - both occurring last season, including a 12-9 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The seventh-seeded Blue Devils (15-5) have averaged 13.3 goals in the postseason, including 16 in a two-goal win against Cornell in Saturday's semifinal. Sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Turri recorded a career-best 16 saves in that victory over the Big Red. The top-seeded Orange (16-3)

To hear John Danowski explain it, he had no idea what he was getting in Brendan Fowler. In fact, the Duke coach had not met Fowler until August of his freshman year. That is because Fowler had not contacted the Blue Devils coaching staff during the recruiting process. The faceoff specialist had simply applied and been accepted to the university on his own, and Danowski confirmed Fowler's matriculation only when he had contacted the coach of Chaminade (N.Y.) High School - Fowler's alma mater - in May of the athlete's senior year.

Duke is less than 24 hours away from tangling with top-seeded Syracuse in Monday's NCAA tournament final. But it is one 60-minute session that concerns the seventh-seeded Blue Devils. Duke (15-5) powered past Cornell, 16-14, in Saturday's semifinal, but the team suffered a lapse in the fourth quarter. The Big Red outscored the Blue Devils, 7-2, in that frame, and Duke needed an empty-net goal by junior attackman Jordan Wolf with 39 seconds left to seal the victory. On Saturday night, the Blue Devils coaching staff reviewed film of that game and when an 11 p.m. meeting with the players came around, the film happened to begin with the fourth quarter and the players and coaches watched with equal amounts of dismay and relief.

Brendan Fowler won more than 55 percent of his faceoffs and scooped up at least 34 ground balls in each of his first two seasons at Duke, but still was not making much of a dent in terms of playing time. Then again, considering that C.J. Costabile - who won 53 percent of his draws and collected 376 ground balls en route to being named Division I's top midfielder - was atop the depth chart, Fowler was not fretting about his opportunities. “C.J. just brought a different dynamic as a faceoff guy,” Fowler recalled Wednesday afternoon.

The trick might be too great even for Duke coach John Danowski to pull off this season. The Blue Devils (3-4) are notorious for being slow starters and rallying at the end of the season to participate in the NCAA tournament, but that might not happen this year. Even with Duke's 9-8 upset win over No. 4 Loyola on Friday, the hole might still be too deep. Three of their four losses have been at home. Before Friday night, the Blue Devils were allowing 11.5 goals per game and they still have North Carolina, Virginia and Georgetown on the schedule.

For the fourth consecutive year, Duke lost in the month of February. And the last three seasons have entailed setbacks to Notre Dame, including last Saturday's 7-3 decision in South Bend, Ind. But Blue Devils coach John Danowski said he's not worried that the losses are part of a larger trend nor does he plan on adjusting the team's schedule to soften it up. “We play a great schedule, and teams win or lose,” he said Tuesday. “It's Feb. 21, and you can certainly dodge these teams if you want and try to change the schedule.

Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic (Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium) No. 6 Duke vs. No. 7 Maryland Time: 11 a.m. DUKE Record: 2-1 Coach: John Danowski Leading scorer: Senior attackman Max Quinzani (13 goals, 3 assists) Goalie: Freshman Dan Wigrizer (10.98 goals-against average, .548 save percentage) MARYLAND Record: 2-0 Coach: Dave Cottle Leading scorer: Junior attackman Grant Catalino (3 goals, 6 assists)

Jordan Wolf is expected to return to practice Tuesday after suffering a hip injury in No. 9 Duke's 7-3 loss to No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday. The sophomore attackman left the game in the second half and did not return, but coach John Danowski said Tuesday morning that he is optimistic that Wolf will practice and be available for Friday night's contest against No. 15 Penn. “If he's at practice today, yeah, sure,” Danowski said of whether Wolf could play Friday. “We haven't practiced yet, so I don't know what's going to happen.

MEN No. 1 Duke (1-0) @ No. 7 Notre Dame (0-0) Saturday, 1 p.m. Outlook: Duke leads the series, 6-3, but Notre Dame has won three of the past five meetings. The Blue Devils opened the season with a 16-8 rout of Rutgers, earning coach John Danowski the 300th victory of his career. The Fighting Irish will try to match Duke's explosive offense, but they have been dominant in South Bend, Ind., going 136-38 in 31 years of varsity lacrosse. WOMEN No. 1 Northwestern (1-0)