There was a sparkle in their eyes. Maybe it was the misty weather or the crisp night air. Maybe it was the fact that seven seniors were playing in their last regular season game or the fact that one of those seniors, Ali Curtis, needed only one goal to become Duke's all-time leading scorer. But the look said it all. Magic was in the air at Koskinen Stadium Saturday night for the men's soccer team that could not be matched by anything, and certainly not by their opponents, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, as Duke defeated them 2-1.
"The story is those seven seniors out there, they want to go out on top and they are going to do everything they can do to make that happen," coach John Rennie said.
When the game was tied 1-1 in the waning minutes of the second half, the Blue Devils were struggling offensively. Wake Forest had some intense coverage on Duke's top scorers and also had all their men covering the goal that made it virtually impossible to make that final score.
Curtis had the ball on the drive to the goal and made a shot from the left side. The ball flew back as fast as he had kicked it. There was a battle over possession close to the net when senior Dwayne Harris got the ball and side-kicked it back to Curtis, and in a flash, he netted the game-winning goal in the 85th minute.
"It feels great, this goal was especially tough to get because Wake Forest is a great team and it was an ACC battle," Curtis said. "It feels great to get the record. Coming into Duke I didn't think I would get the scoring title, but it happened and it was a great team effort. I'm glad I got the goal but everyone was a part of this record and everyone was a part of this win."
The Demon Deacons scored early in the first half, when Wake Forest player Jaron Barbee scored in the 21st minute with Jerry White assisting. The Blue Devils had some trouble gaining control of the ball, and the future of the game looked dim at halftime.
In the 64th minute, Duke sophomore Trevor Perea was put into the game to substitute junior Demitrio Sanchez. Not even two minutes later, Perea scored his third goal of the season. Assisting on the goal was senior Nii-Amar Amamoo and freshman Jordan Cila.
There was magic, all right. The seniors made the most of their last regular season game. Like Amamoo, who after getting seriously injured early in the second half, wrapped his ankle and ran sprints on the sideline until he was put back in the game. And senior goalkeeper Jeff Haywood who tallied four saves on the night and rallied his team from the net the entire game.
With the win, the Blue Devils finish the season first in the ACC, tied with North Carolina and Virginia. The Blue Devils head to Wake Forest for the ACC tournament Thursday as the No. 3 seed.
"This senior class has had no less than four wins [in the ACC] in each of their four years, which is remarkable," Rennie said. "This is the third time we've either won or tied for the ACC regular season championship in four years. We're playing well and we've won eight in a row, we just have to continue working hard and doing what we're doing."
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