For more than 89 minutes, the Blue Devils mustered just one shot on goal. With the clock creeping toward all zeroes, it looked like they were going to drop their first home opener since 2012.
But a rebound off a save by San Diego goalkeeper Thomas Olsen found the foot of Duke junior Cameron Moseley amid a crowded penalty box, allowing the midfielder to put a shot into the back of the net and force overtime.
Moseley's equalizer with just 16 seconds remaining in regulation sent Friday night's game at Koskinen Stadium between the Blue Devils and Toreros to overtime—20 minutes in which neither team could find the back of the net. The result was a season-opening 1-1 draw—a result that, although positive for the Blue Devils given their position in the waning moments of the contest, left their coaching staff disappointed. The game was part of the John Rennie Nike Invitational, which concludes Sunday.
"It was a great game for the fans, not so for the coaches," Duke head coach John Kerr said. "San Diego’s a rugged team—very tough and they fought for every ball. They made life difficult for us and we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be—especially in the latter parts of the first half and the first part of the second half."
On an evening featuring temperatures near 90 degrees at kickoff, both the Blue Devils (0-0-1) and Toreros came out sluggish in the game's first 45 minutes. The teams combined for only seven first-half shots and Duke committed six fouls.
For the third straight game, Kerr started a trio of freshmen—midfielder Suniel Veerakone along with defenders C.C. Uche and Max Moser, who assisted on Moseley's goal in the final minute.
The Blue Devils were also buoyed by the return of junior Brian White from a nagging hamstring injury. The Flemington, N.J., native took all six of his shots during the final 65 minutes, putting two shots on goal and creating numerous other chances, though none found the mark. Olsen also stepped up for San Diego (0-0-1) when he needed to, recording five saves on the evening.
“I saw us getting more and more chances," White said. "We kept pushing a lot, we fought until the very end, and we’ve got to just take our chances better. I know I had a few, I know other guys did too. We should’ve won this game.”
On the other side of the field, Duke graduate student goalkeeper Robert Moewes maintained his 1.0 goals allowed average from the preseason, surrendering just his third goal in three games on a header from San Diego defender Merlin Hoeckendorff after the ball was swung in from a free kick in the game's 70th minute.
"We were caught napping on that free kick and allowed them to score that," Kerr said. "Until then, they didn’t have too many quality chances. We let them have one."
Once the Blue Devils were able to push the game into extra time, they controlled much of the last 20 minutes. Duke outshot the Toreros 8-1 in the overtime period, putting enormous pressure on Olsen, who responded by making three clutch saves in the extra session.
"[Moseley's goal] gave us a lot of momentum," Kerr said. "In overtime, I thought we were the better team and the only team that was going to score.”
Unfortunately for Kerr's team, the second 10 minutes of bonus soccer saw the Blue Devils lose two of their starters. Uche limped off the field after running into the fence behind the goal following a header attempt. Shortly afterward, Moseley was sent off on a straight red card after retaliating in a tussle with Hoeckendorff.
Neither loss cost Duke, as it was able to hang on for the last six minutes and secure the draw. But with 110 minutes of regular season play under their belts, the Blue Devils will have to be more efficient with their chances Sunday afternoon against UNC-Asheville. Kerr said the team will use Saturday to recover, especially with temperatures expected to be in the 90s again.
“We’ve just got to keep shooting," White said. "We got the chances—we’ve got to keep getting them and [put] them in the back of the net.”
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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."