CHAPEL HILL - On an unseasonably hot October afternoon, the 10th-ranked men's soccer team used a four-goal, second-half spurt to knock off North Carolina, 6-2, in Chapel Hill Sunday. Eighteen Duke players saw action under the scorching sun at Fetzer Field, with seven tallying points.
"This victory really belongs to everyone on the team," said Blue Devil coach John Rennie. "We've got guys just sick all week long, and then guys who were hurt and didn't play. It was a real strange week of training."
After Caleb Norkus pulled the Tar Heels (3-7, 0-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) within 2-1 just 41 seconds into the second half, heading home a Joe DiSalvo penalty kick, Rennie decided to bring in forwards Ali Curtis and Troy Garner, who both had been hobbled by injuries and sat out the first half. The move sparked the Duke offense, which had managed only four shots to that point.
The Blue Devils (8-2, 2-1) got what would be the game-winning goal at the 62:51 mark, when junior forward Josh Henderson used his head to redirect an Evan Whitfield shot into the back of the net, putting them up, 3-1.
Trailing by two goals, UNC began pulling its defenders up the field, trying to catch Duke offsides. The strategy backfired, as waves of Blue Devil players began storming the Tar Heel net. With 16:25 remaining in the game, freshman defender Robert Russell had his shot blocked by UNC goalie Daniel Popik on a breakaway, but Jay Heaps was there to put away the deflection. Duke notched a nearly-identical goal less than two minutes later, when Garner scored off of Henderson's blocked shot to put the Blue Devils ahead, 5-1.
"On a hot day like this, it comes down to second efforts," Heaps said. "We were able to do that today. We were able to beat the first guy and the goalie made some great saves, but we just connected on the second chances. It was sheer will power."
Duke's final goal came courtesy of a strong effort by Heaps. He tracked down the ball near the corner of the Tar Heel goal, drew Popik toward him and threaded a pass in front of the net, which sophomore midfielder Peter Gail drove home with 7:48 to go.
Norkus tallied his second goal of the afternoon, off of a Carey Talley assist, with just over seven minutes remaining, for the 6-2 final.
The Blue Devils managed to build a 2-0 first-half lead without Curtis and Garner by taking advantage of their few opportunities. With the two forwards sitting out and the sun beating down, Rennie had to go deep into his bench early in the game.
"We had to use everybody who's been playing at all, and they played a lot today and did a very good job," Rennie said. "It's a tremendous tribute to guys like Matt Mayock and Matt Shattuck, who have been playing-and we've been grooming them to get more playing time-and they each get a goal in the first half. That's a great sign, for a young team to be developing some depth.
"We have a large freshman class. We also have a large group of sophomores who are stepping up and playing well."
Shattuck, in his second start of the season, drilled home a Henderson rebound just over two minutes into the game to stake Duke to a 1-0 advantage. Mayock, a freshman, stretched the lead to two with 21:39 to go in the half, converting one of Heaps' two assists.
The Blue Devils take a break from their ACC schedule when they travel to Charlotte on Wednesday to face Davidson at 6:15 p.m.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.