Duke well-advertised freshman class has lived up to its potential, but Danny Miller netted the key goal Sunday to break a 0-0 stalemate. The Blue Devils went on to add four more second-half goals to beat Saint Francis 5-0. The previous night, Duke topped Temple 3-0.
With the game still scoreless just over 15 minutes into the second half, Danny Miller dribbled past his defender on the right side of the field and fired a centering pass across the box. The serve connected perfectly with Blake Camp for a header into the lower left corner of the net.
Just minutes earlier, it appeared that Duke’s Sunday night game with Saint Francis (N.Y.) (0-2) would come down to a single goal or a lucky break, but once the Blue Devils (3-0) had a one-goal cushion, they were able to relax and eventually cruised to a 5-0 victory.
“I just think we needed to get in our rhythm, and when we finally did, once we hit one, we broke them. By that time, second and third goals come easy,” freshman Spencer Wadsworth said.
Duke began the game aggressively and it seemed as if the contest would be out of reach for the Terriers in the early going, but multiple opportunities yielded no scores. On the first possession, the Blue Devils dribbled the ball deep into the left corner, but a crossing pass was just beyond the reach of Chris Loftus as he charged toward the net.
Minutes later, Wadsworth sprinted a step ahead of his defender but clanked a shot off the right post. Karl-Anders Knutsen, the Saint Francis goalkeeper, knocked away the ensuing rebound, diving to make one of his three saves. Duke did not relent as it battled its way to 12 first-half shots—most were off target, however, as the Terriers jammed the box with all 11 players.
“It was just frustrating, but we knew in the second half if we kept going at ‘em, and going at ’em, and putting shots on goal and on keeper that they were going to go in, and they did,” Loftus said. “We did a good job of not letting down and going out there and playing our game.”
Both teams’ intensity picked up in the second half, and officials called the Terriers for two yellow cards and a red card as a result of their physical play.
The referee ejected Knutsen with just under 10 minutes to play, when he came out of the crease to contest a Wadsworth breakaway. As the freshman charged toward the right side of the net, Knutsen took out Wadsworth’s legs, and Duke received another penalty kick.
On the kick, Blake Camp hit a low shot to the left side of the net for his second goal of the game and a 2-0 advantage.
The Blue Devils poured in three more goals over the next several minutes. Wadsworth netted a slow shot from the left side, and Josh Swank, who leads the team with five goals, added two of his own.
Although the Blue Devils did not capitalize on their opportunities until the second half, their defense prevented the Terriers from getting any real chances on goal, limiting them to just three shots. Duke has yet to allow a goal in its three regular season games.
“You can play better than the other team, and you’re not going to have a lot of points to show sometimes, so you have to play through it,” head coach John Rennie said. “[You have to] realize that one mistake and the other team can get ahead, but we did a tremendous job defensively and really didn’t give them much of anything all night. Then when we did score it broke their spirit a little bit, and the goals started to come.”
The win was the Blue Devils’ second of the weekend. They defeated a competitive Temple team Saturday, 3-0, with goals from freshmen Michael Videira and Paul Dudley, as well as sophomore Swank.
For such a young and inexperienced team, their effort has led to a strong start to a season full of optimism.
“We worked very, very hard,” Rennie said. “We kept our patience and composure, played tremendous defense and finally the goals came, but it came as the result of hard work.”
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