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Duke men's soccer ties No. 3 Clemson 2-2 in second encouraging preseason exhibition

<p>Junior Cameron Moseley had Duke's highlight of the preseason with a goal early in Friday's contest against the Tigers.</p>

Junior Cameron Moseley had Duke's highlight of the preseason with a goal early in Friday's contest against the Tigers.

For a young team coming off an up-and-down season and replacing its top two scorers, perhaps the best thing that could have come out of two preseason exhibitions was confidence.

The Blue Devils got that and then some this week.

After playing No. 10 Georgetown to a scoreless draw in 110 minutes Tuesday, Duke led No. 3 Clemson 2-1 for almost 70 minutes Friday before the Tigers equalized with a penalty kick late in the contest Friday night at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils nearly maintained an early 2-1 lead and will now look ahead to their regular season opener against San Diego next Friday.

“[Tonight] was a great experience for everyone, knowing that Clemson was in the national championship last year, and we hung with them for 90 minutes,” midfielder Cameron Moseley said.

After just eight minutes of play, the Tigers found themselves trailing for the first time in three exhibition games. Freshman midfielder Suniel Veerakone drew a foul inside the box to set up a penalty kick that junior defender Carter Manley finished easily to the bottom left side of the net, putting the home team up 1-0.

Clemson answered less than a minute later when midfielder Thales Moreno crossed the ball from the left side ahead to an undefended Diego Campos, who finished from 12 yards out to even the score. More than an hour later, Moreno buried the penalty shot that erased the Blue Devil lead for the second time.

Well before Moreno's final tally, the Blue Devils grabbed a 2-1 lead in the 11th minute when Veerakone fed a well-covered Moseley heading toward the goal. The 6-foot-4 junior was able to maneuver around the two defenders covering him, sending a shot that was deflected just out of goalkeeper Ximo Miralles’ reach.

“It was a good ball to my feet, and I realized I could beat both center backs at pace," said Moseley, who was an All-ACC Freshman Team selection in 2015 but struggled last season. "I just took one touch and let my athleticism take over."

The Tigers outshot Duke 11-7 and used four corners to generate scoring opportunities, but the same Blue Devil defensive effort that held the Hoyas scoreless Tuesday showed up again for head coach John Kerr's squad. And once again, 6-foot-3 goalkeeper Robert Moewes—a graduate transfer from Binghamton—was a big part of that success, even on a night when he only registered two saves.

“[Moewes] had some really key saves in crucial moments for us, and he made himself big—he’s already big, but he made himself even bigger,” Kerr said.

Continuing another trend from Tuesday, freshmen defenders C.C. Uche, Max Moser and midfielder Veerakone started, with forward Colby Agu entering the game in the first half to replace an injured Macario Hing-Glover and midfielder Brandon Williamson clocking 45 minutes on the evening.

The five freshmen stood in contrast to a veteran Clemson squad, which started all five of its seniors. The Blue Devils' 10 freshmen will likely have some growing pains during the season, but they could also be the key to the team's 2016 success.

“[The freshmen are] making an impact already,” Kerr said. “It gives us promise for the future, but also in the immediate future we have weapons and backups just in case.”

After the two draws, the Blue Devils are encouraged, but they also know how far they need to go to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.

On Tuesday, Duke squandered the contest's best scoring opportunities. Against Clemson, the Blue Devils were unable to preserve their early lead when the Tigers equalized on a penalty kick following a foul in the box by midfielder Cody Brinkman. 

“We have to find a middle ground. Take the result—2-2 against a national finalist, yes—but there’s still a lot of room to improve,” Moseley said. “We’ve got to learn to close out the game with eight minutes left when we’re dominating.”

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