The soccer team continued its impressive early-season roll with a 4-0 defeat of Wofford College last night. Newly anointed the No. 1 team in the country, the Blue Devils (8-0) opened the scoring early when forward Peter Gail notched his first goal of the season in the game's 11th minute.
After falling behind early, Wofford used tight defense and conservative offense to shut down the Duke scoring attack for the rest of the first half. The Terriers, though rarely in control of the ball, hustled back quickly in transition, preventing any Blue Devil fast breaks.
Early in the second half, the Blue Devils pressed the ball up the field and broke open the game with three quick goals. Five minutes into the half, Gail found the net a second time on a pass from senior co-captain Evan Whitfield. In only his third start of the season, the assist was Whitfield's first point of the year. The defender was forced to sit out the team's first five games with a stress fracture in his right fibula.
Noah Lewkowitz followed 14 minutes later with the first score of his collegiate career. The freshman midfielder has already contributed significantly on the field, tying for the team lead in assists with six so far this season.
Senior Jay Heaps finished the scoring binge with his eighth goal of the season. Heaps, last week's ACC Player of the Week, broke free from his defender and found the cage in the 68th minute. The goal was the 40th of Heaps' career, leaving him only 11 behind Tom Kain, Duke's all-time leading scorer.
With star goalkeeper Atli Knuttson taking a well-deserved rest, sophomore Jeff Haywood recorded two saves en route to the shutout. Despite facing four tough situations in the game's waning moments, the Duke defense held the Terriers scoreless.
The win over Wofford came on the heels of Duke's upset of then-No. 1 Clemson. Fresh off the surprise victory that vaulted the team to the top of the rankings, the Blue Devils were careful to avoid suffering a letdown against a weak Wofford team.
Playing in front of a hostile crowd and against a determined underdog, Duke's task proved harder than expected. The first half was a tight defensive battle and the Terriers had several good scoring opportunities near the end of the game, but the Blue Devils dominated the early going of the second half and capitalized on their opportunities.
The Blue Devils will travel to College Park this Sunday for an afternoon match up against their ACC rival, the University of Maryland.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.