After trouncing No. 10 Penn State, 4-0, on Friday night, the ninth-ranked men's soccer team lost to No. 1 Indiana, 2-1, on Saturday, as the Hoosiers won the title at the 1997 adidas-Foot Locker Soccer Classic.
After a scoreless first half, Indiana (5-0) opened the second stanza with a goal from sophomore forward Aleksey Korol, who found the back of the net off a feed from senior midfielder J. T. Cerroni at 48:37.
Duke (4-1) evened the score when freshman forward Ali Curtis blasted a rocket at Hoosier keeper T.J. Hannig. Hannig could not hold on, and the ball trickled in to the net to make it 1-1 with 30 minutes to play.
While the Blue Devils' hopes soared, Indiana would not let the game see overtime. After Hoosier midfielder Yuri Lavrinenko missed a shot, midfielder Matt Fundenberger fired the rebound past Duke goalie Atli Knutsson to secure the victory.
While the Blue Devils believe that they vastly improved their play this weekend, they are still in the process of solidifying their program. Four freshmen started for Duke on Friday, and five rookies started on Saturday. The squad's youth may have been a factor in its loss to Indiana, according to Duke coach John Rennie.
"We're still forming as a team," he said. "We've played four games with five freshmen starting and only 10 days of preseason. It's not experimentation; we're just trying to get to a point where we're getting the best out of our players' abilities.... We're very young, and Indiana's a veteran, experienced, mature, older team, so we're very happy with everything we did."
Duke may have found a way to maximize each player's potential on the field this weekend. In Raleigh last weekend, it started four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards and defeated two smaller schools, Louisville and High Point, using this structure.
Coming into this weekend's tournament, the Blue Devils revamped their style of play to contend with the national powerhouses they would face, starting three defenders and five midfielders instead of four and four. They felt that this system worked well in both games, as their midfielders deftly handled the transition from defense to offense.
"We won the majority of the balls in the midfield," junior defender Evan Whitfield said. "We won all the second balls. [Our midfielders] did really well controlling the pace of the game, and once we won it there, it was just off to the races."
In Friday's contest against Penn State (2-3-1), speed was the name of the game as Duke dominated the Nittany Lions en route to a 4-0 win. Freshman midfielder Matt Mayock tallied his first collegiate goal, hammering in a pass from junior midfielder Josh Henderson, who sent the ball over from the left corner. Both Henderson and junior midfielder Jay Heaps were credited with the assist.
Curtis followed suit, as he drove the ball home from the left side of the field at 43:18. Less than a minute later, sophomore forward Troy Garner nailed a penalty kick to put the Blue Devils up by three at the intermission. Henderson notched the lone goal of the second half, driving the ball home from 15 yards out on a breakaway.
While the tall Nittany Lions tend to excel in the air, the Blue Devils neutralized them by moving the ball fast and keeping it closer to the ground. Penn State cited an inability to keep up with Duke as one of the main factors in Friday's outcome.
"No matter what, you have to match the other team," Penn State coach Barry Gorman said. "I thought Duke buzzed and moved and supported the ball both offensively and defensively. We stood and watched, and we gave them time to play."
Despite the heartbreaking nature of Saturday night's loss, Duke players remained upbeat.
"Playing Indiana, we know we can play with them," senior midfielder Andy Kwon said. "They're No. 1 in the country, and we feel like we easily could have won that game. It could have gone either way, so that's going to make us hungry for the rest of the season, knowing that we can play with the best teams in the country."
The adidas-Foot Locker Soccer Classic wraps up the first part of Duke's season. The Blue Devils host College of Charleston on Wednesday, before turning to Atlantic Coast Conference competition. The conference season opens Sunday at Clemson.
"Duke was excellent," Indiana midfielder and tournament MVP Caleb Porter said. "They're a tough team to play, especially at home. They're fast and explosive with their attacking players, and they defend very well too. They're a great overall team, and they're going to go far. I expect big things from them later in the season."
Note: Duke players named to the All-Tournament team included Curtis, Henderson, Kwon and freshman defender Robert Russell.
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