There were times when the men's soccer team didn't look like the best team in the country this weekend, but they did what all great teams do. They won anyway.
The No. 1 Blue Devils knocked off Akron and American on Saturday and Sunday to capture the MetLife-Adidas Soccer Classic at Duke Soccer Stadium. Despite looking sluggish and disjointed during some stretches, Duke got by the Zips 1-0 and knocked off the Eagles 2-0.
"We're not as sharp as we'd like to be," head coach John Rennie said.
Against Akron, that lack of sharpness almost cost the Blue Devils. After playing nearly the entire game tied at zero, Duke got a goal from junior Steve Maynard with less than four minutes remaining to edge out the Zips. Maynard caromed a shot off of the Akron goaltender for his first goal of the season.
"Against Akron we came out quite rusty, a little slow, maybe unfocused, but we were able to fight it out and get a win, which maybe wouldn't have happened last year," senior Brian Kelly said.
Facing American the following day, Duke looked like a different team. The Blue Devils dominated play for much of the game, creating numerous scoring chances. The gritty American defense, however, fought Duke to a scoreless tie at half.
The Blue Devils finally got on the scoreboard midway through the second stanza. After creating four good scoring chances in a three-and-a-half minute span, Duke scored when sophomore Josh Henderson took a pass from Maynard, made an outstanding one-on-one move, and drove a low shot into the right side of the net from 16 yards out.
"It was one-on-one, and that's what I'm here to do-score goals," Henderson said. "It hadn't happened this year yet. Finally."
It happened again less than eight minutes later. Kelly crossed the ball to sophomore Jay Heaps, who found Henderson in front of the goal. Henderson settled the ball, turned and knocked it home from five yards out to give Duke a two-goal lead and seal up the tournament championship.
"We came out a lot more focused, a lot sharper, and the result was we were all over them," Kelly said. "We didn't really give them a chance the whole game."
Indeed, American's best chance came off the foot of a Duke player. Heaps almost scored an own-goal midway through the first half when he fired a ball off of the left goalpost while trying to clear it. Stinginess on defense has been a trademark of this year's squad, who have yet to give up a goal this season.
"We're playing very well defensively," Rennie said.
Aside from winning the tournament championship, the Blue Devils also placed three players on the All-Tournament team. Kelly, Henderson, and freshman Troy Garner were all named to the team. In addition, sophomore Evan Whitfield was awarded the tournament's Most Valuable Player award.
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