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Duke men's soccer seeks offensive spark, hosts No. 12 Wake Forest Friday

<p>Bryson Asher and the Blue Devils return home for the first time since Aug. 28 to take on their third straight ranked team.&nbsp;</p>

Bryson Asher and the Blue Devils return home for the first time since Aug. 28 to take on their third straight ranked team. 

The Blue Devils have gone from being one of the worst defensive teams in the ACC to a top-30 team nationally, with just three goals allowed in four games.

But for the third straight game, the question is whether Duke's offense can come through when it has chances against a ranked opponent.

The Blue Devils will take on No. 12 Wake Forest Friday at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium coming off two straight 1-0 games. Duke won at then-No. 9 UCLA Sept. 2 but fell to then-No. 25 Boston College last Saturday in its ACC opener after failing to capitalize on its few scoring chances. Facing a team with a similar makeup—the Demon Deacons have allowed just two goals in six games—the Blue Devils' first home game since Aug. 28 will likely come down to whether they can finish plays against Wake Forest goalkeeper Alec Farrell when given the chance.  

“We have to come out ready to rock and roll,” Duke head coach John Kerr said. “We lost a little bit of an edge from the UCLA game to the Boston College game, but I think in practice this week we have addressed that, and we are going to come out with a little bit more of an edge tomorrow night.”

The Blue Devils (2-1-1, 0-1 in the ACC) have scored multiple goals just once this season after exploding for four second-half goals against UNC-Asheville Aug. 28. To put more pressure on Farrell—a second-team All-ACC performer who recently returned from injury—Kerr said he wants players crashing the box more often to create more chances. The Blue Devils will also have to contend with Wake Forest defender Sam Raben, whose sister Lizzy is a senior captain on Duke's women's soccer team. 

Among those who will look to make a mark on the box score Friday is freshman Suniel Veerakone, who has struggled since scoring two goals on free kicks against the Bulldogs. Although juniors Brian White and Cameron Moseley—White scored the game-winning goal against UCLA—have had the team's best scoring chances recently, an aggressive Veerakone Friday could open up the field more for Duke.

“I think all freshmen are hungry and want to score,” Veerakone said. “It is all about getting into the spots and trusting your teammates to get you the ball there.”

Veerakone and company will have to balance going forward with containing the Demon Deacons (4-1-1, 1-0), who lead the ACC in shots per game at 19.8. Wake Forest lost its first game of the season but has yet to lose since, and is coming off a 1-0 win against then-No. 17 Virginia and a 0-0 draw against George Washington.

Although Wake Forest has struggled to score of late, the Demon Deacons have two first-team All-ACC midfielders in Jacori Hayes and Ian Harkes, though Harkes did not play against the Colonials.

“We are very cognizant of their middle of the field. They are very understanding of each other and solid on the ball, so we have to be aware of them,” Kerr said.

If the Blue Devils have any miscues defensively, graduate student goalkeeper Robert Moewes will be tasked with keeping the Demon Deacons off the scoreboard. The Dortmund, Germany, native has led Duke's defensive resurgence early in the season, and with a brutal ACC slate featuring games against four more ranked opponents, the Blue Devils need Moewes to continue erasing their defensive mistakes.

“We were just a little smarter against UCLA, and against Boston College it did not work out, so we have to make up for that,” Moewes said. “We weren’t as sharp [as we were] against UCLA, and in a couple key moments we did not make the right decisions, and that is what makes the difference in a game like that."

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