The men's soccer team unleashed a flurry of new faces on the Campbell Camels last night, but the storm was provided by some seasoned veterans.
The No. 1 Blue Devils substituted heavily against the Fighting Camels, playing five freshmen in their 2-0 victory at Duke Soccer Stadium Wednesday night. The scoring, however, was provided by a pair of seniors-Sam Smith and Brian Kelly, who each notched a goal to lead the Blue Devils to victory.
Duke (6-0, 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) got a scare late in the second half when Kelly, an All-American and co-captain of this year's team, was leveled by Campbell goalkeeper Will Poe, who received a yellow card on the play. Kelly was worked on by trainers for roughly ten minutes on the field before being taken off in a stretcher. Kelly was taken to Duke Medical Center, where he was held overnight for CAT scans and observation. He suffered a severe concussion and is expected to be out for the next two weeks.
The Blue Devils looked sluggish in the opening minutes of the game, which resulted in a handful of scoring opportunities for Campbell. Late in the first half, Duke stepped up its level of play and controlled much of the rest of the game.
"I thought we came out a little flat at first, but we fought through it and won the game," Smith said. "That's what you've got to do."
With about six minutes left until halftime, senior Michael Dunne threaded a pass through the middle of the Campbell defense to a streaking Smith, who took the ball from 12 yards out and tucked it in the left corner of the goal. It marked Smith's second goal in as many games for the Blue Devils.
"Mike Dunne just played me a perfect ball behind the defense," Smith said. "I got in and no one tracked me coming from the back. It was just a matter of putting it away."
In the second half, Duke dictated most of the play, getting numerous scoring chances from through passes behind the Campbell defense. The Blue Devils struck again midway through the second half when Kelly took a long pass up the middle and was held by a Campbell defender while going to goal. On the ensuing free kick, Kelly laced a beautiful shot from 20 yards out around the left side of the Camels' wall and just inside the left goal post for his third goal of the season.
It was another impressive showing for the Duke defense, which recorded its fifth shutout of the season. The Blue Devils have allowed only one goal all season.
"They had a very good game plan, so scoring two goals and shutting them out is a good win," Duke coach John Rennie said.
Little-used freshmen Peter Gail, Steve Hauptman and Miles Romm all saw action for Duke, which substituted freely throughout the match. In addition, Dunne, who has played limited minutes this year for the Blue Devils, saw significant playing time.
"Some guys may not have been playing well, and some guys need to play," Rennie said. "We have some guys like Peter Gail and Mike Dunne who haven't played a whole lot and deserve to play."
The game was also marked by some questionable officiating, which resulted in numerous animated tirades from both benches and the stands.
"Your hope is that it doesn't get out of hand and players don't get hurt," Rennie said. "It got a little out of hand, and one of our players is hurt."
Despite the injury to Kelly, Rennie was pleased with his team's performance.
"I thought we played quite well," Rennie said. "Campbell is very difficult to get behind."
Duke will next face Maryland on Sunday at 2 p.m. in College Park, Md.
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