Sometimes a single play totally changes the complexion of a game.
Wake Forest's Justin Moose was tearing down the right side of the field, and Duke goalie Justin Trowbridge came all the way out of the penalty area, but slipped on the cold, dewy turf. Moose knocked a long leading pass into the deserted 18. Wake Forest All-American Jeremiah White then took off for the ball, gaining a first step on Adam Guren who dragged White down from behind on the edge of the six, just before White would have knocked the ball into Duke's open goal. Referee Ken Andres swooped down with a red card for Guren and a penalty kick for Wake Forest.
When Trowbridge dove to his right and White blasted a shot low in the other direction, 62 minutes of even, fiercely-contested soccer were erased, and the visitors held a one-goal and one-man advantage. They would add another goal in the 89th minute to defeat Duke (10-6-1, 3-3 in the ACC) 2-0.
"Adam did everything he could," Trowbridge said. "You can't fault him for that. I was the one who made the mistake."
Co-captain Scott Noble added: "Adam sacrificed himself in the heat of the moment, and I hope anyone would do the same. You make them to have to make the penalty kick."
Until then, Duke had played even with No. 1 Wake Forest (12-0-4, 4-0-2).
"That one play changed the game," head coach John Rennie said. "It's a shame. We played a great game in spite of that and tried to push forward, and obviously you leave yourself open."
During the last 28 minutes of the game, Duke's offensive style went from consistent, to aggressive, to frenetic, and Wake Forest kept getting counter-attack opportunities. The Demon Deacons finally converted in the 89th minute, when Ryan Alexander crossed the ball from the left side and White knocked it into the corner of the net. Trowbridge never had a chance.
Despite playing a man down against a team packing the backfield, the Blue Devils did not lack scoring opportunities. Duke had two late corners and a handful of Trevor Perea free kicks from around the box. Most notably, Robert Antoniou headed one free kick from the side just wide of the goal.
As the game progressed, the fans and the teams were paying close attention to the periodic announcements of the Virginia/Maryland score. Going into the night, Maryland held first place in the conference, but if Virginia were to beat the Terrapins, Wake Forest would take it with a victory over Duke. If the Terrapins were to lose, and Duke won, the regular season title would be shared in Durham and College Park.
Minutes after beating Duke, Wake Forest began celebrating at midfield when it heard that Virginia had won 1-0.
"If they're the No. 1 team in the country, I don't think we're too far behind," Rennie said.
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