After a disappointing loss to unranked Lehigh Sunday and a drop of six positions in the Soccer America rankings, the Blue Devils executed an aggressive gameplan earning a 4-1 victory over Manhattan College Wednesday night at Koskinen Stadium.
While Duke dominated the first half, keeping the ball in the Manhattan zone for the majority of the 45 minutes, the Blue Devils were unable to put points on the board until the 34 minute mark when Jordan Cila headed a Trevor Perea corner kick into the upper left corner of the net.
The Blue Devils added two more tallies before the half was over as they adjusted well to a new scheme implemented prior to the game. As a result of many defensive injuries, head coach John Rennie decided to leave only three defenders in the backfield and push eight men up with the hope of outscoring rather than outdefending Manhattan.
"We are decimated in the back and are probably going to give up some goals with most of our defenders sitting on the bench," Rennie said. "We will try to score more and win 6-4 instead of 1-0."
The game was virtually decided at the end of the first period when the modified Duke attack began to excel and the Manhattan defense showed signs of quitting.
After an Ian Carey shot from close range was stuffed by the Manhattan keeper and a Donald McIntosh shot missed the mark, Owoicho Adogwa connected on a 15-foot strike that slid under the dive of the Manhattan keeper. The goal was the first of two on the night for Adogwa who was starting his first game for the Blue Devils.
Adogwa, who had a big smile on his face after the game, was rewarded with a start for his impressive play in prior contests.
"It was fun and the guys were just great," he said, referring to his teammates who set up the goals. "The balls were just coming in and I was just lucky to be there."
Duke capitalized on the Jaspers' sluggish play when, with less than a minute remaining in the half, McIntosh slammed a centering pass from Perea into the lower right corner of the net.
"Once they scored our guys put our heads down," said Manhattan head coach Billy Walsh. "We are not mentally tough enough."
The overmatched Jaspers hung with the Blue Devils in a physical second half where each team scored once. The Duke goal came in the 61st minute when Adogwa jumped up to redirect a Trevor Perea centering pass into the net. The assist was the third on the night for Perea.
Manhattan's Walter Kotchin scored his team's only goal on a centering pass from Matthew Seher. The goal was the only slip-up for sophomore keeper Justin Trowbridge who played solidly in net. The aggressive Duke game plan limited Manhattan to seven shots on the night.
The end of the second half was highlighted by a red card given to Manhattan's Stephen McKenna with less than three minutes remaining. The physical play was not limited to the Jaspers as Duke's Justin Bodiya was also handed a yellow card in the 72nd minute.
"That was pretty much all they had left, they couldn't play with us so they were just going to start kicking," McIntosh said.
Rennie seemed impressed with his team's overall play and its adjustment to the new system. "Its great to score goals," said Rennie, who seemed content to stick with his modified alignment in upcoming contests against N.C. State and Campbell.
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