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Duke midfielder Myles Jones will take on an increased leadership role this year after a breakout 2014 campaign.
Perkovic arrived in South Bend from Brother Rice (Mich.). Like Jones, he was a physical specimen, a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder who also played tight end and defensive end in football. Sergio made an
impact early with his pure, step-down shooting ability and as the season progressed, he worked on being able to create his own scoring chances. He scored 28 goals, and took the second most shots on the team (94), behind top scorer and attackman Matt Kavanagh. Expecting more defensive attention this spring, Perkovic has focused on other dimensions to his game, like feeding, playing left-handed and boosting his lacrosse IQ. “How far I can test a defense, how much leverage I have,” Perkovic said. Jones took a similar approach his own sophomore season. Heading into a late March game with Syracuse, he realized needed to be better. Assistant coach Ron Caputo sat him down and provided the raw data: 13 points in nine games. “I needed to play like a senior even though I was a sophomore,” Jones said. “He was right. I needed to step up.”
Continued from page 13 Jones attracted the same sort of attention, starting about midway through last spring, when his production on Duke’s first midfield skyrocketed. He showed a more accurate shooting stroke and refined skillset that the Blue Devils coaching staff hoped would eventually develop when they recruited the 6-foot- 4, 240-pound three-sport athlete from Long Island. The breakout stars of last year’s final four are back. Jones, a redshirt junior who finished with 65 points in 2014, and Perkovic, a sophomore whom coach Kevin Corrigan said could be the best to ever play for Notre Dame, return as headliners for two teams again in preseason top-five conversation.
The emergence of Jones and fellow 60-plus point midfielder Deemer Class alongside senior Christian Walsh made Duke virtually undefendable, with Tewaaraton Award finalist Jordan Wolf drawing just as much attention on attack. “It almost gives me chills thinking about last year,” Jones said. “Now we’re all just focused on working really hard.” Leadership will be part of Jones’ role in 2015. As Duke’s freshmen scrimmaged with the sophomores and upperclassmen for the first time this fall, Jones noticed some tightly-gripped sticks, and passes and shots going wayward for the rookies. “You can grip your stick so hard, you can actually break it,” Jones said.
Let the encore begin. LM
WHO’S NEXT?
Like Perkovic and Jones a season ago, these
underclassmen are primed to use their talents and grab big headlines.
14 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » November 2014
Austin Pifani North Carolina, So. D
It’s hard being a freshman defender in the ACC, but Pifani performed well enough to earn honorable- mention All-American status. You’ll hear “Pifani versus…” for seasons to come.
Jake Seau Duke, Fr. M
Duke has an open spot on its first midfield. Jones (above) mentioned Seau, son of the late, former NFL linebacker Junior Seau, as someone who is in the mix to step in. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Jake Seau, who was on the cover of the March edition of LM, is physically ready.
Abby Smucker Penn State, So. M
She only started one game as a freshman for the Nittany Lions, but finished fifth in goals and shot better than 52 percent. Penn State lost two of its top three scorers.
Paige Soenksen Colorado, So. G
Her Buffs’ career got off to a great start in 2014. The California native ranked second nationally in save percentage (52.5) and was Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rookie of the year.
— C.M.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
»LAX OUT LOUD
“I hope @PaulRabil can play in the 2018 #WorldLax games so I can see him on a middie line
Pulled quote here Pulled quote here Pulled quote here Pulled quote here
with @SergPerkovic.” — Chris Drouin @ChrisDrouin
©BILL DANIELEWSKI (MJ); ©KEVIN P. TUCKER (AP); ©STAN LIU (JS); ©PSU (AS); ©CU (PS)
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