Duke survived a late game surge from No. 24 Davidson (5-3-1) Tuesday night, continuing its resurgence to national prominence. Despite two potentially devastating circumstances--a mid-game injury to defender Matt Ahumada put him on the bench for the remainder of the game, and a red card to Adam Guren left Duke a man short for the final 17:40--the Blue Devils recorded a victory over its second consecutive ranked opponent.
"This is a huge win," junior Jordan Cila said. "It's just as big as any ACC game for us."
Fresh off a 1-0 victory against then-No. 2 South Carolina, a team that downed the Blue Devils 3-0, the Wildcats also knocked off then-No.2 North Carolina earlier in the year.
"These guys are tough," co-captain Scott Noble said. "Luckily we were able to hold them off for the final minutes."
The No. 18 Blue Devils (6-2-1) came out with a vengeance, controlling the game's possession and tempo from the start. Duke's first strike came on a corner kick in the 13th minute from Trevor Perea, which Noble headed, redirecting to Cila, who leaped and struck squarely with his forehead into the net.
"I had a good position to get up on it," Noble said. "I had a clear header and [Cila] got a head on it and finished it off."
Davidson shrugged off its sluggish start and began to retaliate with some long runs on goal. On one such possession with 16 minutes remaining in the first half, Ahumada slid into a Davidson forward and remained on the ground clutching his leg. He would spend the rest of the game on the bench with ice on his knee.
Duke's defense filled Ahumada's void well��led by freshmen defender Ryan Kerlew--negating any and all Davidson opportunities for the remainder of the half.
In addition to playing stellar defense, the freshman would assist on the Blue Devils' next score. Kerlew lobbed a pass from midfield to a streaking McIntosh, who bounced the ball off his chest, collected himself and sent a rocket past the goalie for a 2-0 Duke advantage.
Davidson found new life in the second half when Guren was handed a red card, leaving Duke a man down, which led to the Wildcats' lone goal in the 83rd minute. Joel Sadler fired from point-blank range and although Duke goalie Justin Trowbridge was able to slow the ball with his right hand, the strike had too much momentum and rolled into the net.
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