"I went to a fight and a Clemson soccer game broke out."
That line is just a twist on the old hockey joke, but a twist that has been true for the men's soccer team over the past few years. In the last five years the Blue Devils have gone 0-4-1 against a Clemson squad that plays extremely physical soccer.
This year was no different, as the Blue Devils traveled down to Clemson, S.C., and lost 3-1 in a game which had 43 fouls and four yellow cards. This outcome improved Clemson's record to 4-1-1, 1-0-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and dropped Duke to 5-2, 0-1 ACC, while reaffirming Clemson's recent dominance over Duke.
Blue Devil head coach John Rennie was quick to point out that missed opportunities and not physical play were responsible for the loss. Duke had eight solid shots on goal and kept the ball on Clemson's side of the field for parts of the game.
"The referee took control of the game from the start," Rennie said. "We had several chances to score before halftime but just couldn't convert."
Clemson took the lead at the 17:05 mark early in the first half on a goal by Jimmy Glenn. Duke battled back for the rest of the half but went into the break down 1-0.
The biggest opportunity for Duke came late in the first half with the Blue Devils applying heavy pressure on Clemson goalie Jaro Zawisian. Junior Jason Kreis headed the ball in for what appeared to be the tying goal, but it was called off because of a foul which occurred as Kreis lept for the ball.
While this could have broken the back of the Blue Devis, they came out strong in the second half. Just 5:14 into the second half freshman Brian Kelly took a pass from senior A.J. Siebeneck 12 yards out and lofted a shot over Zawisian for his third goal of the season. The Blue Devils were back in the game and at this point the action went into a back-and-forth battle with the game hanging on the line.
"It was a hot and humid day," Rennie said. "You knew whoever scored the next goal would go on to win the game."
Rennie's thoughts turned out to be true as Clemson scored the eventual game-winner on an 18-yard shot from the left side at the 75:55 mark.
However, as in Duke's 2-1 loss to Indiana earlier this year, Duke refused to give up after conceding a late goal. The offense pushed forward and continued to apply pressure on the goal. Clemson reacted well to this pressure and was able to score its third goal on a counter-attack with just 4:15 left in the game.
"We wanted to tie 2-2 or lose 3-1, so we pushed everyone forward," Rennie said.
While it did not work for the Blue Devils this game, their aggressive style may produce better results later in the season.
Before Duke prepares for the remainder of its ACC slate, it has a large hurdle to clear this Wednesday at Davidson. Davidson lost a few players from last year's NCAA final four squad but is still a team to be concerned about.
"Davidson beat UNC-Charlotte, who beat Clemson, so we know they are a good team," Rennie said. "It's a very important game which will have impact on regional selections for the NCAA tournament."
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