The Blue Devils took a page from Notre Dame football on Friday night and won one for their gipper at Koskinen Stadium. Duke (4-8-1, 2-3 in the ACC) outlasted Virginia (7-6, 3-2) 3-1 in a game that featured a halftime ceremony honoring head coach John Rennie for his 25 years of coaching service.
"I thanked the players for winning in this scenario..." Rennie said. "There was added pressure with the halftime ceremony but they played through it. It was a great victory."
With the score knotted at 1-1 and rain beginning to drizzle on the grass, the Blue Devils took the field in the second half with a purpose. Duke pushed forward early and used the aerial attack to avoid passes skidding on the slippery grass. Midfielder Chris Loftus, who scored two of Duke's three goals, made a run through the Cavalier's penalty area toward the left side of the goal. Sophomore Blake Camp, who recorded a goal and an assist on the night, sent a precise ball to the head of Loftus, who beat UVA goalkeeper Ryan Burke for a 2-1 lead at the 56-minute mark.
"Blake and I stay after practice to work on headers all the time," Loftus said. "We both made eye contact and I took off for the back post and knew the ball was coming. It was a great goal."
Once again, the Blue Devils' opposition managed to get on the board early in the game. Friday night, Virginia tallied a goal on its first shot on net in the fourth minute of the match. Cavalier forward Mike Littlefield sent a ball across the penalty box for teammate Drew Harrison, who completed the play with a goal to the right side of the net past Duke goalkeeper Justin Trowbridge.
In contrast to past games, the Blue Devils finally caught a break to score their first goal of the match. After a broken play at midfield, forward Nigi Adogwa, who had two assists on the evening, and Loftus battled the Cavalier defense. Consequently, the ball came loose and it rolled toward Virginia's goal before Loftus rifled a shot to the lower left corner of the net that left Virginia netminder Burke standing still.
"The breaks are coming now," senior Jordan said.
"We scored three goals in the last two games. If we could start a game at the 30-minute mark I think we'd win every game four or five zero."
Cila had one of his two assists on the Blue Devils' insurance goal midway through the second half via a deft corner kick. After Duke began its set pattern of runs in the box, Cila served a ball curving away from the net and Camp was able to head another goal past Burke for a 3-1 lead.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.