Since the start of the season, the Blue Devils have been searching for early offense.
On Tuesday night, they finally found it.
Duke ended its three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win against Campbell at Koskinen Stadium, using a three-goal offensive outburst in the first half to build its second two-goal lead of the year and hold on for the win.
After the Blue Devils were gifted an own goal less than two minutes into the contest off a Max Moser corner kick, Duke added tallies from Cameron Moseley and Jared Golestani to score multiple goals in the first half for the first time in 2016.
“[It was] a big relief to get a win tonight. There were some good moments out there,” Blue Devil head coach John Kerr said. “Going three games without a win is difficult to accept, and we’re happy to be on the right side of the ledger.”
As soon as Tuesday’s game started, a team that has had plenty of bad breaks throughout the season finally caught a good one.
A standout freshman, Moser sent the corner kick into the box, and Campbell sophomore defender Daniel Mukuna misjudged the cross, heading the ball into his own net.
The Fighting Camels (5-7) were quick to respond, however.
In the 15th minute, Campbell sophomore Gabe Parrish, the team’s leading scorer, threaded a pass between three Duke defenders and into the box. A quick head fake by senior forward Pepe Rangel was enough to get Blue Devil graduate goalkeeper Robert Moewes to bite, and Rangel buried the ball into the left side of the net to even the score at one.
From that moment on, the Blue Devils (5-6-2) took control, allowing just one shot on goal during the rest of the contest to take a 3-1 lead.
Duke outshot the Fighting Camels 14-7, using a string of long passes to free its forwards and finally get its middling offense on track.
In the 22nd minute, Brian White stole the ball from Makuna before the defender could clear the ball. The Blue Devil junior then slotted a pass to Moseley as he cut to the net, and the 6-foot-4 forward sent the shot past Matthew Mozynski to put Duke back in front. Moseley has scored three goals in the Blue Devils’ past three games and now leads the team with five on the season.
“We have the athletes to make runs behind the line, so if you get the ball behind a defender, people will run on and get you free chances,” Moseley said.
Duke doubled its lead less than 15 minutes later when junior Cody Brinkman found freshman Suniel Veerakone. The Caledonia, Mich., native then sent a long pass to Golestani, who maneuvered past a Fighting Camel defender and scored his second goal of the year.
With the Blue Devils firmly in control of a game for just the second time this season—they beat UNC-Asheville 5-1 early in the year—Duke was able to rest many of its starters and even pull Moewes late in the second half.
In its first game against a Power-5 opponent this season, Campbell took advantage of Moewes’ absence in the final minutes when Josh Signey beat backup Ben Hummel in the 88th minute to get the Fighting Camels’ second tally of the game.
After finally getting their offense on track, the Blue Devils will look to continue the momentum when they host No. 4 Notre Dame Friday. Last week, Duke held its own against another top-10 team, North Carolina, before falling 2-1. It also upset then-No. 9 UCLA 1-0 on the road early in the year, so the Blue Devils hope to build more confidence late in the year.
“UNC only let in six goals on the season, and we played them last week and we scored,” Kerr said. “We should have had a couple more, and we had some easy chances. We’re creating a lot of chances, but we got to convert them. If we can convert at a higher ratio, I think we’ll be in good shape.”
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