The Duke men's soccer team opened its 2001 campaign yesterday with a 1-0 exhibition loss to Old Dominion Monarchs at the Blue Devils' practice field.
But coach John Rennie was by no means disappointed with his squad's performance.
"I thought we played very well," he said. "Obviously we didn't score, but I thought that everyone that played in the game played pretty well. You want to win and get the players experience playing together. Maybe we weren't as concerned with winning as Old Dominion was. Sure you want to win, but mainly we wanted to see how the guys played."
The game opened without a great deal of action, as neither team gained a decisive advantage.
The score remain tied until the 24th minute, when Blue Devil defender Matt Ahumada committed a foul just outside the penalty area.
The official gave Ahumada a yellow card. On the subsequent direct kick, Monarch midfielder Carlos Mendes bent the ball around the mis-positioned wall and into the bottom left corner of the net.
"This is a preseason game," Duke goalkeeper Scott Maslin said. "It's the first game we played. [The goal] was a mixture of guys not knowing what was going on and where to set up the wall. It won't happen again. This is what preseason games are for."
The Blue Devils had a solid chance just five minutes later, when Trevor Perea beat a defender in the box. Perea, on a difficult shot, missed to the right side of the net and Duke remained off the board.
The Monarchs played a physical game throughout the first half, but tempers did not flare until Ian Kaila's foul on Adam Guren in the 37th minute.
As the two players charged the ball from opposite directions, Kaila raised his foot as Guren lowered his head.
The blow knocked Guren down, and he remained on the field until the trainer arrived. According to the coaching staff and trainers, Guren received a slight concussion and should be able to play within a few days.
The referee ejected Kaila.
"I thought for a scrimmage the tackle on Guren in the midfield was really dirty," Jordan Cila said. "But the kid got thrown out of the game, which was well-deserved."
Despite playing a man up for the remainder of the game, the Blue Devils were unable to crack through Old Dominion's defense.
"We've got to make better runs," Cila said. "I think we need to take better shots, make better runs and take more chances. It will start to come. We got off to a slow start last season, but we're not going to let that happen again."
While the offense could not generate any production, the defense kept the Monarchs from making any legitimate challenges in the second half.
"I saw a lot of good things from the defense," Maslin said. "It's a new group of guy.Kevin is the only fixture back there. I think everyone is working well together. We'll do fine this year."
The second half was not without its anxious moments. With 15 minutes remaining, Andy Borman hit his head and went down in the Old Dominion box. He required stitches to the right side of his head. Rennie said that Borman is fine, and will be able to play in a few days.
"I think this is just what we needed," Rennie said about the game. "Old Dominion is a real solid team. It's a short preseason, and we've got a lot of new guys out there. But by next Saturday, [when the Blue Devils open their regular season against Massachusetts in the Adidas Wolfpack Soccer Classic in Raleigh] we'll be ready."
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