With hopes of avoiding a repeat of last season's slow beginning, the men's soccer team got off to a rousing start this weekend with two impressive performances.
Sparked by stellar play from junior forward Brian Kelly and freshman forward Josh Henderson, the Blue Devils upset 10th-ranked Creighton 3-1 on Saturday and cruised past Drake 3-0 Sunday afternoon to win the 1995 Ameritas Classic Championship in Omaha, Neb.
"It was a great result," head coach John Rennie said of his team's consecutive wins. "We played extremely well at times, but not all the time. But it definitely gives us something to build on."
The 20th-ranked Duke squad played extremely well in beating the higher-ranked hosts from Creighton on their home field, avenging a loss last year to the Bluejays in Durham. The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead, scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game.
"They're a very hard-working team," Rennie said. "They put good overall pressure on us the entire time. They got a lot of shots off. And after we scored those two goals, that really ignited them."
Creighton responded by applying more pressure towards the end of the first half. That aggressiveness payed off quickly, as the Bluejays sliced the Duke lead in half with a goal at the beginning of the second half. But the Blue Devils weren't fazed.
"We got a little too careful after we got that lead and they came right back at us," Rennie said. "That got the crowd excited, but we responded by scoring again, which put the game away for good."
Leading 3-1, the Duke squad received a lift from sophomore goalkeeper John Morton. Morton, in his first action as the replacement of four-year starter Garth Lagerwey, came up with a clutch save in a one-on-one situation with a Creighton attacker.
"He had a lot of tough work to do this weekend," Rennie said of Morton. "He had one great save against Creighton that really preserved our lead and helped us hang on to the win."
Duke found itself facing a lesser opponent Sunday, but the team managed to maintain its intensity level to complete the weekend sweep.
After being held to a scoreless tie in the first half of play against Drake, the Blue Devils caught fire in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals to capture the Ameritas Classic title.
"In the first half, we didn't play very well," Rennie said. "It seemed we were sleeping out there."
But a Kelly assist to Henderson set up the game-winning goal at the 76:45 mark. Freshman midfielder Brian Heaps sealed the victory 12 minutes later with another goal for the Blue Devils, this one on an assist from senior midfielder Bobby Moghim.
In addition to shutting Drake out for the entire the game, the Duke squad also managed to hold its opponents to zero shots on goal over the final 45 minutes of play.
"We had the ball most of the second half, so it wasn't really that we did a great defensive job," Rennie said. "It was just that they never had the ball for a chance to challenge us."
Following the two victories, several Duke players were honored Sunday evening.
Kelly, who spent some time this summer working out with the U.S. Olympic team, was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player for the tournament. Kelly scored the game-winner against Creighton and added another goal against Drake.
"It was great to see Brian do so well after missing most of last year with the broken leg," Rennie said. "He really had a great weekend."
Senior co-captain Craig Jeidy was named Most Valuable Defensive Player. In addition, Morton and Henderson were named to the all-Ameritas Classic team.
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