It's been a long time since the men's soccer team finished the regular season undefeated.
It's been even longer since the Blue Devils beat perennial power Virginia by as many as three goals.
But yesterday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium, No. 7 Duke (9-0-3, 3-0-2 in the ACC) knocked off the Cavaliers 3-0 for its largest margin of victory over UVa since 1962 and earning a chance to wrap up the schedule without a loss for the first time in 18 years. With four games against unranked opponents remaining, the 1999 Blue Devils have a chance to match the '82 Final Four squad.
"Right now we're starting to play as well as we can play...." coach John Rennie said. "We're a well-balanced team and if we continue to play well we'll be hard to beat."
Duke broke a scoreless tie in the 31st minute of play when Peter Gail deflected a Nii-Amar Amamoo throw-in into a mob of players in front of the net. Freshman Robert Antoniou headed it home for his first collegiate goal and a 1-0 Blue Devil lead. (8-6-1, 1-4-1)
Just over six minutes later, Kevin Sakuda launched a free kick at midfield into the penalty box, where forward
After losing their starting goalie, defensive anchor and the national player of the year from their '98 squad, the Blue Devils need only to beat N.C. State in their final ACC contest to secure the regular-season conference crown and a bye in next month's tournament.
And with midfielder Robert Russell playing all 90 minutes yesterday in his second game back after a month-long absence due to injury, Rennie likes the way his team is coming together.
"We have an awful lot of confidence in our defense," he said. "Having Russell back in the midfield makes all the difference in the world. And we have a great goal-scorer in Ali."
Rennie thought his team might lose some games in the first part in the season, but the Blue Devils survived a few early scares and have allowed just one goal since Sept. 11. Against the Cavs, Duke didn't suffer a letdown against a proud program desperate to climb out of the ACC cellar.
"I'd probably attribute it to the intensity in practice," said Gail, a senior. "We're very deep, and we haven't had that since I've been here. We have a lot of guys come off the bench and competing every day in practice. It makes a big difference.
"We try not to have lulls. Other teams I've been on have plateaued in the past, and we don't want that to happen."
UVa had a chance to pull within one early in the second half on a breakaway, but forward Sheldon Barnes' shot sailed wide right. Duke then rushed back down the field and Gail scored to put the game away.
Once the Blue Devils led 3-0, Rennie made his first significant substitutions of the day. In a marked contrast from early-season contests in which the coach would go deep into his bench, only 12 different Duke players saw time over the first 67 minutes of the game as Rennie continued to solidify his rotation for the rest of the year.
And with the Cavaliers added to a quickly growing list of victims, the Blue Devils are starting to focus on some more lofty aspirations.
"Our goal is no less than the Final Four," Gail said. "There's no doubt about it."
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