By YVONNE KRYWYJ
and ERIK luNDGREN
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
For 79 minutes on Saturday night, the Clemson Tigers frustrated the high-octane attack of the No. 1 men's soccer team with an effective offsides trap. The Tigers got caught in their own trap, however, when their strategy backfired into Duke notching the winning goal in a 2-1 victory.
With about 11 minutes left in the game, Duke (5-0-0 overall, 1-0 in Atlanta Coast Conference) sent the ball over the Clemson defense. Tiger goalie Matt Jordan was forced to come out to slow fast-approaching Duke forward Josh Henderson, who had managed to stay on-side and break the trap.
Snatching the ball from the shoelaces of Henderson, Jordan slid out of the penalty area. The referee issued Jordan the required red card for an intentional handball outside the box. Subsequently, Jordan angrily contested the call and had to be escorted off the field.
"It's a risky kind of thing, but it was effective too," Duke head coach John Rennie said. "They were flat in the back, the ball went through, and the keeper has to be your sweeper now. He came out too far, so there's a risk involved in playing the off-sides trap."
Henderson rocketed the ensuing free kick towards the upper right corner of the goal, but replacement goalie Josh Campbell dove to deflect the shot out of bounds for a Duke corner kick. Senior forward Brian Kelly perfectly placed the ensuing corner to classmate Sam Smith, who headed it home for the winning goal.
"It was definitely a matter of patience the entire game," Kelly said. "We were basically knocking on the door the entire 90 minutes, waiting to get that goal. Sometimes patience is rewarded, and Sam Smith made the most of his opportunity and put us ahead."
Patience was a major factor in the game, as the Blue Devils found themselves in an unfamiliar position throughout most of the first half-behind their opponent. Clemson capitalized on Duke's sloppy play early in the game when forward Jody DeBruin headed in a cross by midfielder Craig Wenning. DeBruin's goal was the first goal that the stifling Blue Devil defense has allowed this season.
"I think the one thing we didn't do at the beginning of the game was match their intensity for the first couple of minutes," Kelly said. "I think that's why they were able to sneak one by us. But once that goal went in, it was a real slap in the face, an eye-opener. The team responded to the challenge and went above and beyond what they had to do to win."
Kelly sparked the Duke rally with about 8:30 left in the first half when he broke down the trap, driving down the left wing and rifling a shot that was barely deflected out by a diving Jordan. On the resulting corner kick, sophomore midfielder Jay Heaps sharply headed the ball towards the net, only to be stymied once again by Jordan.
The Blue Devils kept up the attack and were finally rewarded for their tenacity with 58 seconds left in the half. Freshman forward Troy Garner dribbled the ball to the right end line and served it back to fellow freshman Gaston Haupert. Haupert shot the ball on the ground through the legs of a screened Jordan to level the score at 1-1.
The second half turned into a back-and-forth, physical struggle between the two teams. Both squads had opportunities but were unable to take advantage of their chances for most of the half. The tempo of the game was slowed by the physical nature of the contest, which resulted in 38 fouls and multiple yellow cards. However, the Blue Devils were able to fight through the physical play and score the winning goal.
"We knew coming into the game it was going to be physical, perhaps even dirty-shirts held, takedowns here and there," Kelly said. "The coach prepared us for this match mentally and physically."
This victory was an important one for the Blue Devils as they notched their first ACC win and successfully defended their No. 1 national ranking. Despite giving up their first goal of the season, sophomore defender Evan Whitfield, junior goalie John Morton and the rest of the Duke defense effectively kept the potent Tiger attack in check. Rennie sees this win as a testament to the Blue Devils' resilience.
"We told the players [Clemson's] going to come out with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of motivation," Rennie said. "Their motivation tonight was tremendous-a great opportunity to knock off the No. 1 team in the country-and they came out flying. It just took us a while to adjust to that kind of effort, and we did."
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