Squaring off against the College of Charleston last night at Remley's Point in Charleston, S.C., the men's soccer team found itself in a place where it hadn't spent much time so far this season-behind. But fortunately, it didn't stay there for long.
Duke (6-0) rallied from a 1-0 deficit early in the second half to defeat the Cougars (1-5), 2-1. Jay Heaps scored his team-leading sixth goal in the 62nd minute of play to give the Blue Devils the victory.
"It was a hard-fought, hard-earned win," Duke coach John Rennie said. "They're a very good team."
College of Charleston's Andrew Kelly lit up the scoreboard shortly after the second half began. Tim Sparks' shot in the 47th minute missed the goal but deflected off Kelly and into the net. Ben Graham was also credited with an assist for the Cougars.
The goal was the first that senior goalkeeper Atli Knutsson had allowed all year.
"The way the ball came in, it just made it very difficult to stop," Rennie said of Kelly's deflection.
After Kelly gave the Cougars the lead, Duke's defense clamped down tight on College of Charleston's attack, only allowing Charleston two more shots during the second half and six shots overall.
The return of defender Evan Whitfield, who sat out the Blue Devils' first five games with a stress fracture to his right fibula, bolstered the defense. Whitfield, a team co-captain, started the game in the midfield and later moved back to his regular position of sweeper. Rennie felt that Whitfield's presence on the field, even in his first outing of the season, made an impact.
"He did very well in his debut," Rennie said of Whitfield. "He's a positive addition and a vocal leader."
Within 10 minutes after College of Charleston took the lead, the fourth-ranked Blue Devils retaliated to knot up the score. Midfielder Stephen Pate took a pass from fellow midfielder and leading scorer Jay Heaps and rocketed the ball home from 20 yards out to tie the game at one.
It didn't take much time for Duke to break the stalemate. In the 62nd minute, Heaps hammered a feed from forward Troy Garner into the back of the net to tally the game winner.
The Blue Devils' victory came in the absence of one of their most prolific scorers. Forward Ali Curtis, who is only two goals behind Heaps on the stat sheet, sat out yesterday's matchup with an injury to his medial collateral ligament. Rennie expects Curtis to return to action when Duke hosts Clemson on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Duke Soccer Stadium.
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