Newcomers impress as Duke men's soccer plays No. 10 Georgetown to scoreless draw in Tuesday exhibition

Playing without its top three goal scorers from last year, Duke's offense struggled to finish in 110 minutes of exhibition play Tuesday. But a standout performance on defense salvaged a positive result.

The Blue Devils played to a scoreless draw against No. 10 Georgetown in their first exhibition game of the year Tuesday at Koskinen Stadium, with a young back line helping to shut down the Hoyas. Duke outshot Georgetown 19-12 and controlled possession for much of the night after a slow start, but never found the back of the net.

“I’m proud of the guys. We asked a lot of guys to play in different positions trying to insert a couple of freshmen into the lineup as well,” Blue Devil head coach John Kerr said. 

After 90 minutes of scoreless action, both teams had their best chances to score in the 20-minute extra session.

In the 92nd minute of play, Hoya midfielder Jon Azzinnari received a pass in the middle of the box and fired a shot toward the bottom left corner of the goal, but graduate student goalkeeper Ben Hummel made a diving stop for the Blue Devils.

Hummel and fellow graduate transfer Robert Moewes—who started the game—combined for five saves in their first games in Duke uniforms.

“They’ve got experience too, maybe not with us but with us other teams, so they’ve come in and it’s like they’ve been with us for four years already,” junior midfielder Cody Brinkman said. “They’re talking. You could hear Ben back there and Rob just yelling.”

With less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Blue Devils earned a penalty kick when senior forward Jared Golestani was fouled in the box while leaping for a ball in the air. But Hoya goalkeeper Mitchell Auer guessed correctly on junior Bryson Asher's attempt from the penalty spot, diving to his left to save the shot and preserve the shutout.

The penalty kick nearly rescued a night that did not feature many serious scoring chances for Duke, which is trying to replace All-ACC talents Zach Mathers and Jeremy Ebobisse. The duo combined for 15 goals and 12 assists last year. Ebobisse only notified the Blue Devils he was skipping his final two years of school to turn pro last week.

To make matters worse Tuesday, junior midfielder Brian White—who was third on the team with six goals last season—was held out with a minor knee injury, and senior forward Brody Huitema left the game with a concussion after just 27 minutes.

Junior Cameron Moseley replaced Huitema and split time up front with Golestani against the Hoyas.

“Brody and Cameron are two quality forwards that can be dangerous, that can score goals,” Kerr said. “We have young Colby [Agu] coming in, we have Golestani, so we have great depth in that position. It’s a concern because we lost Jeremy at the last moment, but luckily for us, we have great options.”

Three freshmen—midfielders Suniel Veerakone and Max Moser and defender C.C. Uche—started and played most of the game, and their classmate Agu played 50 minutes off the bench.

Agu had the ball at his feet for a couple of the Blue Devils’ best scoring opportunities of regulation, sending a shot from close range over the crossbar midway through the second half. He also ended a three-on-two break with a shot right at Auer from the edge of the box with less than seven minutes remaining in the period.

But although Duke missed opportunities in the attacking third, its defenders prevented Georgetown from creating many scoring chances. Uche helped secure the middle of the back line and Moser also dropped back to defend on the wing.

“C.C. is just a beast back there, bodying people, collecting the garbage balls that we need, and Max was getting forward, taking care of their left winger,” said Brinkman, who also dropped back to help defend in 86 minutes on the field. “First game, especially in the back, it’s tough because you’re a little nervous, and they stepped in and did a great job.”

After the Hoyas registered the first shot on target of the game when Moewes deflected a dangerous shot by Bakie Goodman over the crossbar just three minutes into the contest, Georgetown did not have another legitimate chance to score until Hummel’s overtime save. That is an encouraging sign for a Duke squad that allowed 1.6 goals per game last season.

The Blue Devils don't have much time to rest before their next test. They will host No. 3 Clemson in their second and final exhibition Friday at 7 p.m.. The Tigers were the national runner-up last season, finishing with a 17-3-4 record and losing to Stanford in the national championship. Clemson scored 2.2 goals per game last year but, like the Blue Devils, lost its top two scorers and will have to look elsewhere for offense.

Duke does not play the Tigers in the regular season, so this will be its only chance to see how it stacks up against one of the best teams in the conference before the ACC tournament. The Blue Devils open the regular season Aug. 26. 

“It’s always a battle, and we need to get a big win on them going into the season, getting more confidence and building off this game we just had,” Brinkman said. “I just want to take it to them.”