SPORTS  |  SOCCER

Duke men's soccer ousted from ACC tournament by No. 1 Syracuse

Senior captain Sean Davis and the Blue Devils could not find the back of the net against a stout Syracuse defense Sunday.
Senior captain Sean Davis and the Blue Devils could not find the back of the net against a stout Syracuse defense Sunday.

The road has not been kind to the Blue Devils all year, and Sunday was no exception.

Duke was eliminated from the ACC tournament by second-seeded Syracuse, falling 2-0 in a second-round matchup Sunday afternoon at Syracuse Soccer Stadium. The loss ends a four-game winning streak—and likely the season—for the Blue Devils, who appear to be on the outside looking in to the 48-team field for the NCAA tournament that will be announced next weekend.

“I’m very proud of the players because they gave everything [today],” head coach John Kerr said. “I’m not sure how it’s going to stand once the tournament time comes around, but the effort and the attitude and the approach these past several weeks when we’ve gone on our winning streak is very impressive.”

Despite being shutout on the scoreboard, Duke (9-9-1, 4-4 in the ACC) didn’t come out flat offensively. The Blue Devils were aggressive in the attacking third from the outset, racking up seven shots in the opening period. Sophomore Brody Huitema fired off two shots in the first few minutes—including a header that clanked off the crossbar less than a minute into the match.

But the Orange (15-2-1, 5-2-1) are known for their defensive fortitude, ranking second in the country with a .40 goals against average. Led by junior goalkeeper Alex Bono—who recorded seven saves on the afternoon and leads the ACC with 12 shutouts and just seven goals allowed all year—the Syracuse defense was able to keep Duke’s offense from putting the ball in the net.

With their defense keeping the Blue Devils off the scoreboard, the Orange were able to break the scoreless draw less than 10 minutes into the game. Sophomore midfieder Alexis Halis took a pass from freshman Julian Buescher and deposited it into the net to give Syracuse an early 1-0 lead.

“[We] got off to a good start in the game. Brody hit the crossbar in the first minute with a header,” Kerr said. “We were doing really, really well until they scored. It was like their first chance and they scored, which was a bummer because we were playing well to start the game.”

Duke was not ready to pack its bags just yet, continuing to fight in an attempt to score the elusive equalizer. The Blue Devils had a great chance in the 30th minute, when a Sean Davis corner kick was headed to the far side of the goal by freshman Brian White—the same exact sequence on which Duke scored its game-winning goal in overtime against N.C. State Wednesday. But this time around, there was nobody there to capitalize on the opportunity.

Just like it did in the opening minutes, Syracuse was able to follow up a near-goal for the Blue Devils with one of its own. The Orange extended their lead to 2-0 in the 32nd minute when senior Nick Parea headed a cross past the reach of Duke goalkeeper Wilson Fisher.

“When they were 1-0 up, we had a chance with a scramble in front of the goal and a corner kick and we just didn’t kick the ball in the net unfortunately,” Kerr said. “We kept plugging away and at times I thought we did really, really well. We created a lot of chances. But we allowed them to continue to get into the game and they got that very important second goal, which made our task a little tougher.”

The two-goal deficit would prove to be too great for the Blue Devils to overcome, with Syracuse playing solid defense and Bono contributing two more saves in the second half to thwart any attempts Duke made at mounting a comeback.

The Division I Men’s Soccer Committee will announce the 48 teams in the championship bracket—comprised of 23 conference champions and 25 at-large bids—next weekend and first round play begins Nov. 20. With Duke ranked No. 51 in the most recent poll, it appears unlikely that the Blue Devils will be chosen to compete—which means this is the end of the road for a decorated senior class that carried the team to the postseason these past few weeks.

“The seniors showed the exact way how to behave and not give up down the stretch with our backs against the wall,” Kerr said. “I’m very grateful to the seniors for leading the way and I think the younger guys that are going to come back next year and beyond are going to benefit from these tough experiences. We played a lot of the season with some young guys and the lessons that we’ve learned were tough to take at the time, but I think that we’re going to be better for it as we move forward.”

Discussion

Share and discuss “Duke men's soccer ousted from ACC tournament by No. 1 Syracuse” on social media.