Men's soccer topples No. 1 Terps

So much for the Curse of Maryland.

That's what sophomore Noah Lewkowitz called the men's soccer team's losing streak against the Terrapins, which spanned five years and six games, including last season's contest in College Park in which the No. 1 Blue Devils blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 in overtime to an unranked Maryland squad.

Duke (5-0-2, 1-0-1 in the ACC) once again built a 2-0 advantage Saturday, but this time the Terps (6-2, 2-1) couldn't recover. Instead, Lewkowitz scored a breakaway goal with 17 minutes remaining to put away the top team in the most recent Soccer America poll.

"It was our best effort so far," coach John Rennie said of the 3-0 victory at Koskinen Stadium. "We've come a long way this year; we've come a long way since last week."

Last Saturday at unranked Clemson, the Blue Devils failed to score and came home with a 0-0 tie. But against Maryland they jumped out to an quick lead on Ali Curtis' eighth goal in seven games, stretched the advantage to two in the opening minutes of the second half, then shut the door with Lewkowitz's score.

The Terps, who had given up just three goals entering the weekend, saw Duke equal that total in one afternoon. The Blue Devils, ranked 13th by Soccer America and fifth by the NSCAA, snapped Maryland's string of five straight shutouts and handed the Terps their first loss since a season-opening setback to defending national champion Indiana.

"This was a real team win," Rennie said. "Everyone played and contributed a lot."

In the eighth minute of play, Curtis one-touched Peter Gail's pass past Terp keeper Christian Lewis to put Duke up 1-0.

Four freshmen took the field for the Blue Devils Saturday, and that was with Perea sitting out. Duke also continued to receive solid play from junior Ryan Furgurson, who started at midfield Saturday after making just four starts in two seasons. Furgurson didn't even play in the Blue Devils' first four games, but Rennie inserted him into the lineup late in the first half against Clemson and he's been contributing ever since.

"He's meant an awful lot to us," the coach said. "He had a lot of injury problems his first two years, but he worked hard and came in ready for the season. I'm really happy for him."

Neither Sanchez nor Lewkowitz started, but each scored a crucial insurance goal off the bench. Lewkowitz's score was particularly sweet, coming less than two minutes after Maryland defender Mike Shebuski pushed him over by head at the edge of the penalty box before he could get a shot off. The officials ruled that the foul occurred outside the box, denying the Blue Devils a one-on-one with Lewis, and Duke failed to convert on the ensuing free kick.

But in the 73rd minute of play, Kevin Sakuda found Lewkowitz streaking down the middle of the field, and the midfielder beat Lewis with a shot into the lower lefthand corner of the goal.

"There was a lot of trash talking going on out there," he said. "I was happy to put my money where my mouth was."

Lewkowitz had an excellent chance to score late in the first half but couldn't put it away. Freshman Jamal McClendon started the Duke charge, faking out his defender in the midfield. The freshman led Stephen Pate perfectly, and Pate then found a wide open Sanchez, who dribbled untouched into the penalty box, where he lofted a crossing pass. Lewkowitz got his foot on it by the left goalpost, but his shot sailed over the net.

The Terps had an opportunity to tie the game 1-1 in the 28th minute of the first half on a breakaway by midfielder Sumed Ibrahim. But Haywood came out of the goal to block the shot and record one of his seven saves. The junior made another key stop in the 12th minute of the second half, punching the ball over the net on a Maryland free kick.

Shebuski's clothesline of Lewkowitz was hardly the only foul of the afternoon. There were more than a few elbows and midair collisions in what Lewkowitz called Duke's most emotional game of the season.

But things won't get any less emotional for the Blue Devils next weekend, as they travel to Chapel Hill for a showdown with No. 12 North Carolina.