Exhibition thriller ends in tie

Before a large crowd Friday night, the men’s soccer team played its final exhibition match against the 18th-ranked Connecticut Huskies. Much of the game was a stalemate, as neither team was able to score until the last seven minutes. In dramatic fashion, Blake Camp tied the game at one goal apiece with only eight seconds remaining when his penalty kick slid under an outstretched UConn goalie.

“From an organizational standpoint, we were much better prepared than we were [against Virginia Commonwealth],” head coach John Rennie said.

The Blue Devils finished a productive preseason in which they played to a draw with two top-20 teams. The exhibition matches also provided the opportunity for a lot of players to get valuable playing time. Duke played six of 10 freshmen Friday, five of whom started.

“We all go out there with the same mindset,” freshman Paul Dudley said. “You can’t be scared... we’ve all been there before.”

The confidence of the new players has been evident throughout the preseason, and the second-ranked recruiting class has lived up to the hype in the early going. In Friday’s game, the 6-foot-7 Dudley was an imposing presence upfront, creating scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. Dudley also led the team with three shots. Fellow freshman starter Spencer Wadsworth, a McDonald’s All-American in high school, put pressure on the UConn defense with feisty play from whistle to whistle.

Camp, who was named team co-MVP in 2003, said the team still had a few things to work on including chemistry. Both squads seemed to still be working out some kinks, as the game was marred by miscommunication and incomplete combinations.

Duke had its best chance at 10:03 in the first half as senior Nigi Adogwa barely missed a diving header amidst heavy traffic in front of the net. Both Adogwa and Rennie contested the no-call. The referees had their hands full the entire night in a scrappy game that was marked by three yellow cards. With 1:42 left in the second half, another close call disallowed a goal when Duke was called for offsides.

Connecticut senior William Osorio netted the Huskies’ lone goal in the 83rd minute, when his shot from outside the 18-yard box sailed into the top right corner of the net. Camp’s game-tying penalty shot came seven minutes later in the closing seconds.