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Duke University

Durham, NC 27708
North Carolina Southeast
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Kerstin Kimmel

The only head coach in Duke women’s lacrosse history, Kerstin Kimel has led the program from its inception in 1996, molding the Blue Devils into one of the nation’s elite teams.


In Kimel’s 25 seasons at the helm of Duke women’s lacrosse, she has guided the Blue Devils to seven national semifinals, four ACC regular season titles, an ACC Tournament Championship and 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.


A five-time ACC Coach of the Year, Kimel has overseen 33 All-America selections making up for 101 honors, 85 all-region honorees and 76 All-ACC picks. Seven of her former players have represented their countries on the world's stage, competing at the 2009, 2013 and 2017 World Cups. The Blue Devils have achieved equal success in the classroom during Kimel’s tenure, collecting 74 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll accolades since 1997.


Kimel recorded her 300th career victory Feb. 7, 2020 in a win over Gardner-Webb. She is one of just eight active Division I head coaches with 300 or more wins.


Kimel was honored with an IWLCA Service Award in November, 2016 for her work as co-chair of the NCAA Division I Legislation Committee to slow down early recruiting within the sport. She was presented with the IWLCA's highest award, the Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award, in November, 2015.


Duke returned to the NCAA semifinals to punctuate an outstanding 16-5 campaign in 2015. Led by a veteran group of eight seniors, the Blue Devils concluded the season ranked fourth in the final national poll. Attacker Kerrin Maurer became Duke’s career assist leader and garnered first team All-America recognition from the IWLCA. Goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea headlined the Blue Devils’ three All-America selections in 2016, and concluded an outstanding career as one of just three goalkeepers in ACC history to top 600 saves for her career. She ranked among the nation’s leaders in save percentage while anchoring Duke to an 11-9 ledger and a trip to the NCAA second round.


Draw control specialist Olivia Jenner became the program's all-time leader in the category during the 2018 campaign and continued to climb the NCAA record book as a senior, wrapping up her career with 512 draw controls. She also earned second team All-America recognition from the IWLCA in 2019 and helped the Blue Devils lead the nation in draw control percentage.


The Blue Devils recorded 14 or more wins four times from 2009 to 2014, advancing to the national quarterfinals on five occasions and the semifinals in 2011. Under Kimel’s watch, Duke produced 13 All-America selections during that time, while Emma Hamm (2011) and Carolyn Davis (2009) were named finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy. Led by Davis and Caroline Cryer, the 2009 squad rewrote the program’s offensive record book, totaling team highs in goals scored (313), assists (150) and points (463). In 2013, Duryea became the first goalkeeper in program history to receive All-America recognition as a rookie, rounding out the season ranked top-10 nationally in save percentage and saves per game. A two-time first team All-American on defense, Taylor Virden wrapped up her senior campaign (2014) ranked second in program history in career draw controls.


From 2004 to 2008, Duke put together one of the most successful stretches in program history, advancing to four consecutive national semifinals from 2005 to 2008 and earning at least a share of four-straight ACC regular season titles from 2004 to 2007. During that span, the Blue Devils placed 21 players on both All-America and all-region lists, in addition to posting three Tewaaraton finalists. Kimel led Duke to a 13-8 overall record and the Blue Devils’ fourth-straight NCAA semifinal appearance in 2008, earning womenslax.com Coach of the Year honors for her efforts.


Led by Tewaaraton Trophy recipient and two-time ACC Player of the Year Katie Chrest, the 2005 and 2006 Duke squads combined for a 35-7 overall record, including a program-best 18 victories in 2006, a 7-2 mark in the ACC and two conference regular season titles. After seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments bids, the 2005 installment earned a trip to the national semifinals for the second time in program history to ignite Duke’s string of four straight appearances.


From 2000 to 2002, the Blue Devils advanced to three consecutive NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and in 2001, made the program’s first ACC Championship game. However, success did not always come easy, as Duke’s 12th women’s varsity program began its inaugural season in 1996 with four-straight losses before earning the Devils’ first win -- a 10-6 victory over UMBC on March 18, 1996. Duke began its rapid ascension the following season, recording an 8-8 mark before breaking through in 1998 with the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid. The 1999 season took Duke to new heights as the Blue Devils achieved the program’s first trip to the NCAA semifinals.


Kimel's Early Years


Prior to her arrival at Duke, Kimel was the head coach at Davidson College, leading the newly-created Wildcats program to a 4-8 record in 1994 as one of the nation’s youngest head coaches in her first and only season at Davidson.


Kimel was no stranger to NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse before her time at Davidson, having played at the University of Maryland from 1990-93. During her career, she led the Terrapins to four consecutive national semifinal appearances and the 1992 NCAA National Championship. The Havertown, Pa., native was a two-time All-America selection and the 1993 NCAA National Defensive Player of the Year, appearing in Sports Illustrated’s "Faces in the Crowd." Kimel graduated from Maryland in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications.


Prior to her collegiate career, Kimel was a standout at Haverford High School, earning first team All-Central League, All-Delaware County and USWLA All-America honors. Her numerous accomplishments have landed her in both the Haverford Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame - Delaware County.


Kimel has also been a prominent figure on the international level as a member of the U.S. Elite Team from 1992-96 and as an alternate for the U.S. national team that captured a gold medal at the 1993 World Cup.


IWLCA Involvement


In addition, Kimel served as chair of the IWLCA Growth Committee from 1999-2000 and as Chair of the NCAA South Region Selection Committee. From 1998-2002, she was on the selection committee for the U.S. Elite/Development squads, also working as an assistant coach for the U.S. Development squad from 2000-03. Kimel has also worked as Chair of the IWLCA/USL Division I All-America committee and completed a four-year term as a member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Committee in 2007. In 2006, she became co-chair of the IWLCA External Relations Committee and served on the Tewaaraton award selection committee in 2008. During the summer of 2008, Kimel was elected to the IWLCA Board of Directors and acts as a Division I representative.


Most recently, Kimel served as Co-Chair of the IWLCA Recruiting Issues Committee from 2014-16 and is currently the Chair of the IWLCA Division I Legislative Committee and the South Region FBS representative on the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Committee.


The Kimel Family Tree


Kimel’s family tree includes many outstanding athletes, beginning with her father, Mike Manning, who played basketball at West Chester University, and her mother, Sallie Manning, who was a member of the tennis and field hockey squads at West Chester. Both her brother, Mike, and husband, Jack, played baseball at Western Carolina before moving on to play for the Texas Rangers organization, while her sister, Lindsay, played lacrosse at James Madison University and served as an assistant coach for the 2003 and 2007 World Champion U.S. under-19 teams. Her extended family also includes five collegiate basketball players - uncles Ed (Villanova) and Chris Manning (Philadelphia College of Textile) and cousins Alicia Manning (Lafayette), Marissa Manning (Kings College) and Christina Manning (Muhlenberg College) - one collegiate swimmer - uncle John Manning (Villanova) - two baseball players - cousins Brian Manning (Villanova) and Pat Manning (Atlanta Braves minor league) - and one hockey standout - brother-in-law Matt Mulhern (Boston College).


Kimel’s eldest daughter, Frances “Caroline”, continued the trend of being a collegiate athlete as a member of the East Carolina women’s lacrosse team. At East Carolina, Caroline reunited with former Duke assistant coach and East Carolina head coach Amanda Moore. On March 10, 2020, Kerstin was able to see her daughter play collegiate lacrosse for the first time as she coached against her in Duke’s game against East Carolina.


Kimel and her husband Jack reside in Durham with their three children - daughters Frances "Caroline" and Claire and son Russell McKinley "Mac."

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Brooke Griffin

Brooke Griffin joined the Duke women's lacrosse program in July, 2018 as an assistant coach. She enters her third season with the Blue Devils.


In her second season at Duke, Griffin saw the season unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Blue Devils just played nine games, they were amongst national leaders in numerous offensive categories under Griffin. Duke averaged 17.67 goals per game and 18.78 draw controls per game which ranked fifth and third in the nation, respectively. Griffin led Duke's high-scoring offense to score 20+ goals in each of the first three games of the 2020 season, the first time in program history that Duke has scored 20+ in three consecutive games. Also as a team, Duke boasted eight student-athletes with 10 or more goals throughout the season, making it the only ACC school to accomplish the feat. First Team All-American Maddie Jenner followed in her sister's footsteps, taking the lead for Duke in the circle during her sophomore season. She tallied 96 draw controls in just nine games and her 10.56 per game ranked second in the country. Griffin also helped develop freshman attacker Caroline DeBellis as she led the team with 32 points and 19 assists (third in the ACC) on her way to being named to the All-ILWomen Rookie Team.


Senior attacker and draw specialist Olivia Jenner earned second team All-America recognition during Griffin's first season at Duke. Jenner also received first team All-South Region and All-ACC accolades and solidified her place as Duke's all-time career draw controls leader with 512. The Blue Devils' draw unit led the country in draw control percentage (/657) and ranked second in the draw controls per game (18.74) category.


A member of the U.S. national team, Griffin came to Durham from Towson, where she spent the 2018 campaign as a volunteer assistant coach during the Tigers’ run to the NCAA second round.


A native of Annapolis, Md., Griffin completed an outstanding collegiate career at Maryland in 2015. She twice earned first team All-America laurels from the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and was the Big Ten Attack Player of the Year and a Tewaaraton Award nominee as a senior. Griffin led the Terrapins to back-to-back national titles, serving as a team captain on the 2014 and 2015 championship squads. She graduated ranked fifth in program history in career goals (197) and tied for sixth in career points (279).


Griffin has been a member of the U.S. national team since 2015, helping Team USA capture its third consecutive World Cup title last summer in Guildford, England. She has also taken the field as a member of the Baltimore Brave of the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League.


Griffin began her coaching career at Boston College, where she was an assistant coach with the Eagles for the 2016 and 2017 campaigns. With her guidance, Boston College made trips to the NCAA Tournament both seasons, including a historic run to the championship contest in 2017.


Following her time in Newton, Griffin served as a volunteer assistant coach at Towson in 2018. This spring she saw the Tigers match the program record for wins in a season (16) and round out the year at No. 9 in the final IWLCA Division I Coaches Poll.


Griffin earned her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Maryland.


Griffin's sister, Brindi, is a rising junior on Maryland's women's lacrosse team.

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John Danowski

Cemented as one of the top coaches in college lacrosse, John Danowski has led the Duke men’s lacrosse team to unprecedented success and himself to the top of the Division I men’s lacrosse wins list during his tenure in Durham. Danowski was introduced as Duke’s eighth head men’s lacrosse coach July 21, 2006 and quickly led the Blue Devils to some of the most successful lacrosse seasons in school history and ultimately to three NCAA Championships – 2010, 2013 and 2014.


In Danowski’s 11 years at the helm of the Blue Devils lacrosse program, he has compiled an impressive 193-61 record in leading Duke to seven ACC regular season titles, four ACC tournament titles, 10 appearances in the NCAA semifinals, including eight straight from 2007-14, five in the NCAA title match and ultimately to the 2010, 2013 and 2014 national titles.


The 2014 NCAA crown put Danowski among a small group of nine coaches to win three national titles and among eight to capture consecutive crowns. Meanwhile, Duke’s run of eight straight NCAA semifinals rank as the second most of any program since 2000 with Syracuse.


In 2019, Danowski made history by becoming the first Division I head coach and only the third across all three divisions to reach 400 career wins when Duke beat Furman 17-9.


Breaking Through for the First


After three straight trips to Championship Weekend, which included a runner-up finish in 2007, the Blue Devils broke through for their first NCAA Men’s Lacrosse title in 2010 in dramatic fashion. On the heels of Max Quinzani’s last-second goal that pushed Duke past Virginia 14-13, the championship game against Notre Dame was a much lower scoring affair as the two teams slogged their way to a 5-5 score after 60 minutes. Tension was high as CJ Costabile lined up at the faceoff X to start the sudden victory overtime. The talented long pole, won the draw, raced straight down the field and fired a shot past the Notre Dame goalie all in a span of five seconds to give Duke its first championship.


Going Back to Back


The Blue Devils, a regular at Championship Weekend, accomplished a feat few programs had done in NCAA men’s lacrosse history – they went back-to-back. Duke struggled in the first month of the 2013 season, starting 2-4 with the two wins against Jacksonville and Mercer. Dropping out of the top 25, the Blue Devils started to right the ship with a 9-8 victory over Loyola and rattled off nine straight wins before falling in the ACC semifinal to North Carolina.


Refocused, Duke edged Loyola in double overtime in the NCAA opening round and rode that momentum all the way to Memorial Day to vie for a second title. Syracuse jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the combination of Brendan Fowler’s dominance at the faceoff X and Jordan Wolf on attack sent the Blue Devils on a 12-1 run en route to a 16-10 triumph.


Danowski’s coaching job in 2013 did not go unnoticed as he was voted the IMCLA Howdy Myers Man of the Year as well as one of five nominees for that year’s Coach of the Year ESPY.


Returning a battle-tested group, the 2014 season was much less dramatic as Duke compiled a 17-3 record and a third NCAA title. The Blue Devils lost a couple of early season games, but thrived on the next man up mentality as injuries compounded down the stretch. Duke, after suffering another ACC semifinal loss, cruised to the semifinals with 20-9 and 19-11 victories. The Blue Devils remained in full control at Championship Weekend, with a 15-12 win over Denver and an 11-9 triumph against Notre Dame – a game that was not as close as the score might indicate.


Danowski became the eighth coach in NCAA Division I history to win consecutive crowns, while Duke became the first back-to-back champions since Syracuse in 2008 and 2009 and just the second school to do so since 2000. Duke is one of six programs to win at consecutive titles since the first one was awarded in 1971. Danowski is currently one of three active coaches to be able to lay claim consecutive NCAA crowns to his name.


Mentoring the Best


A winner of nearly 80 percent of his games at Duke, the individual awards Blue Devil players have garnered is equally impressive. In 13 seasons, Danowski has mentored 78 All-America selections, 45 All-ACC choices, two Tewaaraton Trophy winners, a pair of USILA Attackman of the Year honorees, a USILA Defenseman of the Year, three USILA Midfielder of the Year award recipients and 24 USILA Scholar All-America picks.


Duke’s 78 All-America picks under Danowski are the most of any program since 2007. Under Danowski, two Blue Devils, Matt Danowski in 2007 and Ned Crotty in 2010, have won the coveted Tewaaraton Award. Overall, the veteran head coach has mentored three Tewaaraton Award recipients with Doug Shanahan of Hofstra winning the inaugural trophy in 2001. He is one of two coaches to have coached three winners of the prestigious honor and one of three to have at least two players in the elite fraternity. Duke has had 10 finalists for the award since 2007, the most of any program. In all, Danowski has coached 12 Tewaaraton Award finalists.


In addition to the two Tewaaraton Award winners, Danowski has mentored three different Attackman of the Year winners, three national Midfielder of the Year honors and one National Defenseman of the Year accolade. Eleven Blue Devils have garnered an ACC Player of the Year award under Danowski. Few programs across the country can claim to such dominance both in conference and nationally.


Overall in his 30-plus years coaching career, Danowski has coached 112 All-Americans, 18 conference MVPs and 135 all-conference choices.


Coaching Honors


The honors haven’t been unique to Danowski’s players. He has garnered countless awards for his success on the sidelines. The first of Danowski’s major coaching awards came in 1993 when he was selected as the NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year after leading Hofstra to its first NCAA Tournament since 1978. The Pride finish the season with a 10-6 overall record and No. 11 national ranking after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals.


He collected four conference coach of the year awards during his time at Hofstra, being recognized as the top coach in the North Atlantic Conference in 1995 and 1996. Danowski garnered Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year accolades in 2002 and again in 2006 prior to being hired to lead the Blue Devils.


He also is a three-time winner of the Joseph “Frenchy” Julien Sportsmanship Award (1988, 1989 & 1994) presented by the Metropolitan New York Officials Association and received the James Adams Sportsmanship Award from the National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Officials Association in 1994. Amidst his time at Hofstra and with four conference coach of the year honors to his credit, Danowski was inducted into the Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001.


Danowski left his mark on the ACC immediately upon arrival at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to the ACC title and the ACC Coach of the Year award. He was voted as the top coach by his ACC peers again in 2011 and 2012.


On the national landscape, Danowski’s efforts in guiding Duke to its first NCAA title in 2010 earned him the USILA National Coach of the Year award. One of the most admired leaders in the sport, he was voted the IMCLA Howdy Myers Man of the Year, presented to the coach who has contributed to the game of lacrosse in a capacity over and above the normal efforts and in so doing, has shown unselfish and untiring devotion to the game, in 2013 and 2014.


Duke in the Classroom and Beyond


While the success on the field is unsurpassed in Duke lacrosse history, the student-athlete’s excellence in the classroom also is unrivaled. The Blue Devils consistently lead the ACC in All-ACC Academic picks as well as players on the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In 2019, Duke had 39 players – 85 percent of the team – achieve a 3.0 grade point average for the entire academic year, while Cade Van Raaphorst and Peter Welch garnered USILA Scholar All-America honors. The team recorded a 3.34 team GPA in the spring of 2019 and has never had a team GPA below 3.0 in any semester.


Education has been a cornerstone in Danowski’s life, as he started his career as a teacher and was raised by educators, and he encourages his players to always continue learning. They have followed suit as 55 Blue Devils since 2007 have gone on to earn at least one advanced degree. Whether it is a master’s degree from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business or medical school, the learning off the lacrosse field is paramount to being a Duke Blue Devil.


Duke in the Pros


The success on the lacrosse field doesn’t stop in Durham as Blue Devils have gone on to excellent careers at the next level in Major League Lacrosse and now the Premier Lacrosse League. Thirty-eight Blue Devils have been selected in either the MLL or PLL draft since 2008. Five have won MLL major awards and five different Blue Devils have won MLL titles.


Ned Crotty was the first Blue Devil to be drafted No. 1, while Myles Jones followed suit in 2016. Overall, 10 Blue Devils have been chosen in the top five of the MLL draft. Brad Smith, was Duke’s first selection in the inaugural PLL draft as the No. 9 pick. In all, 15 Blue Devils are on PLL rosters.


Team USA


In November of 2016, U.S. Lacrosse announced Danowski as the next coach to lead Team USA as it prepared for the 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Championship. Danowski quickly went to work in establishing a culture and coaching some of the world’s best players. He was faced with the arduous task of putting the U.S. back on top after a loss to Canada in 2014.


In a testament to what Danowski has built during his time at Duke, eight former Blue Devils were among the 49 selected out of the pool of 71 to vie for a spot on the World Championship roster and ultimately four Duke players - Ned Crotty, Matt Danowski, Will Haus and Jordan Wolf – donned the Team USA jersey in July of 2018.


After nearly two years of working and building the U.S. team in his vision, Danowski headed East to Israel in search of gold. The Red, White and Blue worked their way through pool play with relative ease and earned the top seed in the knockout round where it beat Australia in the semifinal.


The rematch with Canada in the gold medal game did not disappoint as the United States jumped out to an early lead before Canada roared back in front. The back and forth continued in the second half with former Blue Devil Will Haus and the U.S. defense digging in and holding Canada to just two goals in the final two quarters. The Canadians took an 8-7 lead with five minutes left, but the resilient U.S. squad tied it 8-8 and then with one second left after a Danowski-called timeout Tom Schreiber threw in the winner for the victory.


His success on the international stage led U.S. Lacrosse to make an unprecedented decision in keeping Danowski at the helm for a second term. He is the first coach in the history of the U.S. men’s program to serve more than one term.


In addition to Danowski’s success in coaching the United States, Blue Devils have fared well individually. Crotty has been on three national teams, winning gold in 2010 and 2018. Matt Zash joined Crotty on the 2010 team with former Blue Devil Kevin Cassese, while Dave Lawson wore the stars and stripes in 2014. In addition, six Blue Devils since 2008 have played in the U19 World Championships with Team USA.


Prior to Duke


The Danowski era at Hofstra produced 34 USILA All-America selections, including first-team choices Brian Spallina (2000), Doug Shanahan (2001), Nicky Polanco (2002), Brett Moyer (2006) and Chris Unterstein (2006). In addition, Shanahan was the of the Tewaaraton Trophy winner as the nation’s top player in 2001.


In addition, Hofstra has sent 30 players to the annual North-South All-Star Game since 1986, with Shanahan (2001) and Moyer (2006) earning game MVP honors. Former Hofstra standout Blake Miller, a member of the 1998 United States squad that captured the world title and the 2004 MLL Offensive Player of the Year, Polanco and Shanahan played for the United States squad at the 2006 International Lacrosse Federation World Championships in Ontario, Canada. Polanco was a two-time MLL Defensive Player of the Year (2004 & 2005) while Shanahan was the MVP of the 2002 ILF World Championships in Perth, Australia.


Overall, Danowski finished with a 192-123 record in his 21 seasons with the Pride. He was named the conference coach of the year four times and won the 2006 CAA title en route to the NCAA quarterfinals.


Danowski spent three seasons as the head coach at Long Island University-C.W. Post, helping the Pioneers to a 27-16 (.628) ledger from 1983-85. He received his start in coaching in 1982 as an assistant coach at LIU-C.W. Post in 1982.


As a Scarlet Knight


A 1976 graduate of Rutgers University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science/education, Danowski was a four-year letterman in lacrosse and continues to hold several Scarlet Knight records. He established school single-game records for assists (13 vs. Penn State, 1973) and total points (14 vs. Penn State, 1974) and a single-season standard for assists with 54 in 1973.


He currently ranks second on Rutgers’ all-time list for assists (120) and is eighth in total points (177). Danowski, who helped the Scarlet Knights to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1973 and 1974, was a three-time recipient of the program’s Sasser Award, an honor presented annually to the team’s leader in assists. Born March 12, 1954 in Bronxville, N.Y., Danowski went on to earn a master’s degree in counseling/college student development from LIU-C.W. Post in 1978.


Family History


Danowski’s father, Ed, was an All-America halfback on the gridiron at Fordham in 1932 and 1933 who later starred for the New York Giants in the National Football League. The elder Danowski led the NFL in passing in 1935 and 1938, earning All-NFL honors in both of those seasons, and guided the Giants to league championships in 1934 and 1938. He later served as the head football coach at his alma mater from 1946-54.


Personal


Danowski and his wife, Patricia, have two children, Kate, a former lacrosse letterwinner and 2005 graduate of Quinnipiac University, and Matt, a 2008 Duke graduate and former captain of the lacrosse program, and four grandchildren.

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Ron Caputo

One of the great minds in collegiate lacrosse, Ron Caputo is in his 13th season as an assistant coach at Duke. Caputo currently works closely with the Duke defense after spending 10 seasons as the leader of the midfielders and faceoff specialists.


In his 13 seasons with the Blue Devils, Duke has posted a 176-57 record, captured three ACC titles, advanced to the NCAA Semifinals nine times and ultimately won the 2010, 2013 and 2014 national championships.


This past season, his second season working with the defense, Caputo mentored the dynamic duo of JT Giles-Harris and Cade Van Raaphorst to first team All-America honors and Giles-Harris to the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. As a defensive unit, Duke led the ACC and ranked seventh nationally in allowing 9.61 goals per game.


Caputo transitioned to working with the defense in 2018 and the Blue Devils proceeded to post their best performance since 2009. They ranked 12th nationally with an 8.39 goals against average, the lowest by a Duke squad since 2009. Sophomore Cade Van Raaphorst garnered All-America third team recognition under his watch, while goalkeeper Danny Fowler was honorable All-America.


In his nine seasons with the Duke midfield, the Blue Devils ranked among the top 11 in scoring offense in every year and was among the top six in eight of those, including the No. 4 spot in 2015 and 2016. Caputo mentored many of Duke’s talented midfield units, including the trio of Deemer Class, Myles Jones and Christian Walsh that set the Duke record for goals by a midfield unit.


The 2015 and 2016 seasons featured the dynamic duo of Myles Jones and Deemer Class at midfield. One season after a record-breaking performance from the 2014 midfield line, the tandem picked up right where they left off in 2014.


In 2015, Jones broke the career and single-season records for points by a Duke midfielder and earned the national Midfielder of the Year award from the USILA. Class ranked fourth on the team in points en route to earning second team All-America recognition.


Jones and Class followed that up in 2016 by climbing both the Duke and NCAA records book. Jones became the first midfielder in NCAA history to record 100 career goals and 100 career assists, finishing with 231 career points. Class became the first midfielder in Duke history and ninth in NCAA history to record 50 goals in a season. He joined Jones as the only two midfielders at Duke to record 100 career goals and 200 career points. On the awards circuit, Jones captured his second midfielder of the year honor and Class earned his second first-team All-America accolade.


In 2014, Caputo mentored arguably the most talented midfield group in Duke’s history. The trio of Class, Jones and Christian Walsh combined for 97 goals and 79 assists for a midfield record 176 points. Class’ and Jones’ 65 and 63 respective points both were a program-best. Class went on to earn first team All-America honors. Overall, Duke ranked second nationally in scoring offense with 14.85 goals per game.


Working closely with the faceoff specialists and the midfield, Duke has won just over 60 percent (1980-3221) of its restarts over the past seven seasons, including an impressive 62.5 percent in 2013. Under Caputo’s watch, Duke has had great success at the X with All-Americans CJ Costabile and Brendan Fowler and now Kyle Rowe. In 2012, Caputo helped mentor Costabile and Fowler to above .500 faceoff percentages as they finished with .526 and .604 win percentages at the X, respectively. In 2013, Fowler took it one step further as he established a NCAA single season record for faceoffs won with 339. He picked up the ACC Defensive Player of the Year honor as well as being named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding player after winning 20-of-28 faceoffs in the title game.


Perhaps even more impressive in 2013 was the play of Duke’s midfield. The Blue Devils’ two midfield lines combined for 223 of Duke’s 464 points and 132 of the 295 goals in 2013. Senior David Lawson flourished in his final season, earning All-ACC and first team All-American, while Jake Tripucka and Josh Offit also both garnered All-American accolades.


In 2012 with Caputo guiding the group again, midfielder Robert Rotanz had a record-setting season, registering 40 goals and earning USILA All-America first team honors. His 40 tallies are the most by a Duke midfielder in program history. In addition, Justin Turri earned USILA All-America honorable mention honors after netting 19 goals and 32 points overall.


Coming off the national championship in 2010 and returning just 48 percent of its scoring, Duke finished 2011 ranked sixth in scoring offense with 12.2 goals per game and had three midfielders with at least 25 points on the year. Turri earned USILA All-America second team honors, while Rotanz captured an honorable mention nod.


In 2010, the Blue Devils won 54.5 percent of their restarts to rank 13th nationally, while senior Sam Payton was 14th individually. Offensively, Duke ranked second in scoring offense with 13.45 goals per game. The Blue Devils also ranked second in assists per game (8.35) and points per game (21.8) under Caputo’s watch.


In Caputo’s inaugural season with the Blue Devils, Duke led the nation in scoring offense with 15.2 goals per game. The squad won an NCAA record 18 games and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second consecutive season under his assistance as the Blue Devils featured the top two individual scorers in NCAA history in Matt Danowski and Zack Greer.


Prior to his arrival at Duke, Caputo spent four seasons (2003-06) on the Hofstra University men’s lacrosse staff as an assistant coach. He joined the Pride in 2004 as a volunteer assistant coach for current Blue Devil head coach John Danowski, who served as the head coach at Hofstra from 1986-2006, as the Pride compiled an overall record of 35-28 and a 14-9 mark in Colonial Athletic Conference play, during his tenure.


In 2006, Caputo worked alongside Danowski to help lead Hofstra to an overall record of 17-2, a mark that included a perfect 6-0 mark versus CAA opponents, and a final national ranking of No. 2. The Pride won the CAA Championship and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals, while setting a school record for wins and winning percentage (.895).


Before his stint at Hofstra, Caputo served as a varsity assistant lacrosse coach from 1997-2003 at Syosset (N.Y.) High School, where he coached Blue Devil teammates and brothers Dan and Chris Loftus. A 1991 graduate of the University of Scranton, Caputo led Syosset to three county semifinal appearances and one Nassau County Championship game berth.


Caputo is married to the former Randi Heller of Farmingdale, N.Y., and the couple has four children, Samantha, Owen, Jake and Jayme. Sons Owen and Jake are current members of the Duke men's lacrosse team. Daughter, Samantha, is a member of the East Carolina women's lacrosse team. The family resides in Holly Springs, N.C.

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