SPORTS  |  SOCCER

Late flurry of goals deals Duke men's soccer its first loss

<p>Senior Zach Mathers and the rest of the Blue Devils kept the game scoreless for nearly 80 minutes Tuesday night against UNC Wilmington, but the Seahawks poured home three goals in the final 12 minutes to break the ice and hand Duke its first loss of the season.</p>

Senior Zach Mathers and the rest of the Blue Devils kept the game scoreless for nearly 80 minutes Tuesday night against UNC Wilmington, but the Seahawks poured home three goals in the final 12 minutes to break the ice and hand Duke its first loss of the season.

For nearly 80 minutes, the nation's leading offensive attack was held in check. Soccer, however, is a 90-minute game, and the final 10 were more than enough for UNC Wilmington to cash in.

The high-flying No. 24 Seahawks soared to a 3-0 victory against the No. 16 Blue Devils Tuesday night at Koskinen Stadium, remaining undefeated on the season while handing Duke its first loss of the 2015 campaign. A pretty flick from UNC Wilmington midfielder Jordan Cordero put teammate Daniel Escobar in behind a pair of Duke defenders, and the Seahawks capitalized in the 79th minute, grabbing a 1-0 lead. In desperate need of a goal, the Blue Devils pushed forward, looking for an equalizer, but their efforts only left the cupboard bare in the back. Their opponents punished them for it, scoring consecutive goals in the waning minutes to provide the game's final margin.

"Goals change games," Duke head coach John Kerr said. "You get one of those and you change momentum, so we had to spend the rest of the half chasing the game."

The first half had its ups and downs for Duke (4-1-1). Offensive struggles were the theme for both teams early, as the Blue Devils did not manage to get a shot off until the 25th minute and the Seahawks—who entered the evening averaging 3.6 goals per game—were kept off the scoreboard in the early going.

Duke's first real scoring opportunity came from forwards Macario Hing-Glover and Jeremy Ebobisse, who combined on a speedy run that left Ebobisse firing a near-range shot and missing just wide right of the net. A series of substitutions after a half-hour of play then brought life to Duke's attack. Ten minutes later, junior Jared Golestani's header tailed left, leaving the game scoreless as the teams headed to halftime.

"We came out of the gate in the first half a little sluggish and flat," Kerr said. "To be fair, the substitutes came on, I asked them to give a lift, and they did very well. Early in the second half, I thought we were excellent. We just didn’t get that elusive goal."

For much of the latter 45 minutes, the trajectory of the game remained the same. Neither Duke nor UNC Wilmington (5-0-1) were able to get into much of a rhythm in a game that was chippy and physical between the two sides. The Seahawks registered 15 fouls on the evening—including two yellow cards—to go along with the Blue Devils' nine infractions.

The tide quickly turned with Escobar's late score and suddenly, Duke was forced to press on the offensive side of the ball. Kerr made a tactical move, sending one of his defenders forward in hopes of pressuring the UNC Wilmington back line, but instead allowed the Seahawks to double their advantage.

"[Sending an extra defender up] backfired," he said. "They capitalized and scored the second goal, which basically killed the game."

Midfielder Ben Fisher took advantage of a Blue Devil penalty just outside the box, burying a free kick in the lower left corner from 25 yards out to give UNC Wilmington a 2-0 advantage in the 88th minute. Just 84 seconds later, teammate Colin Bonner added the final tally—his sixth of the year, moving the Fulton, Md., native into a tie for third-most in the country.

Although Duke's six-game homestand to open the season ended on a sour note following a draw with No. 5 Virginia Friday night and Tuesday's loss, the Blue Devils and their coach will now dig into the meat of ACC play as they hit the road to take on No. 14 Clemson Friday night.

The defending ACC champion Tigers, who moved to 4-1-1 with a win against Furman Tuesday, will pose a stiff challenge for a Duke side that has shown a great deal of promise.

"We’ve played well all season long," Kerr said. "This is hopefully just a blip and we can recover and get a [better] result on Friday.”


Mitchell Gladstone | Sports Managing Editor

Twitter: @mpgladstone13

A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak." 

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