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Game commentary
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Dramatic soccer season resembles Hollywood script**
Picture this script: Soccer team loses its greatest midfielder ever and replaces him with two untested freshmen. Same team loses a four-year starter in goal and replaces him with a transfer student and another freshman. Before the season has even begun, the pundits write the team off, saying it's going to be a long rebuilding year. Team starts four freshmen most of the year, but winds up shocking everybody by reaching the Final Four, winning most of its games in thrilling fashion.
Sound like something out of Hollywood? It's actually the true story of the 1995 Duke men's soccer squad. Yes, the Blue Devils have exceeded all expectations, and their success is due in no small part to three freshmen--forwards Jay Heaps and Josh Henderson, and fullback Evan Whitfield--who have played with poise well beyond their years.
Never was this more evident than in Saturday's 3-2 win over James Madison. Heaps, the jumping-jack Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, was silent in the first half, frustrated by the tight marking of the bigger JMU defensemen. But when the Dukes stretched to a 2-0 lead early in the second half, it seemed to light the fire in Heaps that burns within all great players.
Although it won't appear in the box score, Heaps was primarily responsible for the Duke goal that, in his words, "opened up the floodgates" for the subsequent scoring barrage. On a chip shot from junior Sam Smith, Heaps challenged JMU goalkeeper Barry Purcell for the ball and wound up knocking Purcell to the ground. Without that play, sophomore Andy Kwon never would have had the open goal to shoot at.
Heaps also continued his penchant for late-game heroics Saturday. The same guy who scored the tying goal in the win over UCLA, the same guy who scored twice in the final 89 seconds of overtime against Virginia, again made the extraordinary look routine. After a Brian Kelly free kick near the left touchline, Heaps rose over a pack of players at the far post to head in the game-winner.
"I don't have time to think," Heaps said. "I just go up there." Simple formula, but it sure works.
Henderson sat out the first half, still nursing a bum left ankle. Head coach John Rennie inserted him into the game in the second half to try and kickstart the Duke offense. The ploy paid immediate dividends, as Duke's aggressive three-forward alignment gave the JMU backline fits. Fifteen minutes after entering the match, Henderson received the ball with his back to the goal and flicked a pinpoint back-heel into Kelly's path. It was that pass that set up Kelly's easy finish for the tying goal.
"He was only about 60 or 70 percent [healthy], but it's what he gives them psychologically," JMU head coach Tom Martin said. "Certain players have that kind of worth to teams."
"Josh played exceptionally well for the time he was in there," Rennie said. "He made the right passes. He showed everybody what a difference one player can make."
Whitfield has been something of a forgotten man among the freshman. Star forwards and halfbacks get most of the ink in the papers because of their gaudy statistics. Defenders have the thankless job of shutting down the opposing team's biggest scoring threat. The bottom line is that the Blue Devils would not have even been in the game had it not been for Whitfield's defensive presence.
He thwarted numerous JMU opportunities with quick recoveries and strong tackling, and he added an extra dimension to the Duke offense with his long runs out of the back. His physicality effectively offset the height advantage the James Madison strikers had over the Blue Devil fullbacks. But Whitfield's shining moment came in the waning minutes of the contest, when he cleared off the goal line what appeared to be an imminent goal for JMU.
What's the sequel for these Cardiac Kids? Well, you'll just have to tune in Friday.
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