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Moseley scores twice off the bench in Duke men's soccer exhibition win against South Carolina

<p>Ciaran McKenna started after suing to stay in school last spring amid allegations of sexual assault.</p>

Ciaran McKenna started after suing to stay in school last spring amid allegations of sexual assault.

Cameron Moseley did not start Duke’s first exhibition match of the year, but he made a strong argument for why he might deserve more playing time once he took the field.

The senior midfielder scored both goals in a 2-0 win against South Carolina Sunday night at Koskinen Stadium, as the Blue Devils controlled play and outshot the Gamecocks 11-5. Moseley played 43 minutes in the second half, when Duke sent most of its reserves onto the field.

“Brian White has had a great summer and has had a great career here at Duke, and we have him as well, so we’re trying to figure out how do they both mesh together,” Blue Devil head coach John Kerr said. “If you bring a guy like Cameron off the bench, it causes so much havoc for a tired defender because he’s fresh and he can run and he’s going to test you all the time.”

Duke’s first goal came with 33:08 left on the clock after South Carolina defender earned a yellow card for pushing midfielder Daniele Proch to the ground in the center of the field. Moseley buried the ensuing free kick from about 25 yards out into the top right corner of the net.

Thirty mintues later, freshman Kristofer Gardarsson delivered a pass to Moseley making a run down the left side of the field, and the Duluth, Ga., native again powered a shot into the right side of the net.

Using a new 3-4-3 formation throughout the contest, Duke continually threatened during the second half, and South Carolina goalkeeper Ian McGrane had to make saves on shots from sophomore Colby Agu and rookie Stephen O’Connell to keep the score from becoming more lopsided.

“We have a plethora of midfielders that can play and handle the ball,” Kerr said. “We feel that if we can get enough players in that final third, we’ll score more goals, and that was something that was plaguing us last year.”

Midfielder Ciaran McKenna started the match for Duke after a lawsuit allowed him to remain in school last winter.

The University suspended McKenna for six semesters in January on allegations, but he sued Duke and Dean of Student Conduct Stephen Bryan for mishandling his case and was granted an injunction to stay at Duke. The litigation is ongoing.

“He’s been cleared to play, and there are no issues from my end,” Kerr said. “We’ve discussed it with all kinds of levels of the university, so we’re trying to put it behind him and move forward, and he’s doing a great job. He’s handled it beautifully.”

All 11 of the Blue Devils’ starters played the entire first half before they rotated through 19 reserves after the break, when five minutes were tacked onto the end of the game to let more players see action.

The first half was uneventful offensively, with both sides combining for three shots and just one shot on goal.

“We moved the ball around the back a lot,” senior Brian White said. “We need to look to just bomb forward a little bit more and be a little more dangerous and more aggressive.”

Freshman Will Pulisic—cousin of U.S. national team and Borussia Dortmund star Christian Pulisic—started in goal for Duke, but did not have to make a save. Defender Matthias Frick was the only other freshman in the starting lineup.

Senior Joe Ohaus replaced Pulisic off the bench after the break and made three saves to preserve the shutout, including a diving stop off a shot by Chandler Corley.

Sophomore midfielder Max Moser sat out the game with an ankle injury he suffered during a fall in practice, but Kerr hopes he will be ready to play by next weekend, when the Blue Devils travel to Indiana for two more exhibition games against Xavier and Indiana.

Duke will open regular-season play at home against UCF August 25.

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