After an uplifting 2-1 victory over then-No. 3 Virginia Friday, Wednesday night's game against Davidson at Koskinen Stadium had all the makings of a classic trap game for No. 9 Duke.
Coming off of a big win and playing an upset-minded, aggressive Davidson squad in a typically challenging mid-week contest, the Blue Devils knew they could not slip up and expect to win.
Duke (9-2-1), however, never let the Wildcats (5-10-0) seize any semblance of momentum. Graham Dugoni deflected a Zach Pope corner kick into the net in the eighth minute, and Chris Loftus converted the eventual game-winning penalty kick in the 25th minute as the Blue Devils beat Davidson, 3-1.
"We talked before the game started to come out and bury them early," Pope said. "After that, we knew we had to get another one and just come at them harder and harder."
Duke's offense took advantage of Davidson's high-pressure strategy, amassing 26 shots and a plethora of legitimate scoring opportunities. Both of Duke's first-half goals resulted from risky defensive maneuvers-Pope's corner kick was guarded by two defenders, leaving the near post open for Dugoni, and Loftus' penalty kick was awarded when Joe Germanese stole an errant pass and was tripped in the box.
Pope added a tally in the 76th minute, heading in Michael Videira's 40-yard free kick from point-blank range.
Coming into the game, Davidson had plenty of reason to dream of an upset. The Wildcats lost to Virginia in overtime earlier in the season and tied with No. 16 North Carolina in the preseason. In addition, the Blue Devils' last mid-week game was a disappointing 1-0 loss to UNC-Wilmington Sept. 19. Duke also entered the game coming out of a tough ACC stretch when it played Maryland and Virginia-two top-5 squads-in consecutive games.
"Mid-week games are a little tougher in the mentality," Loftus said. "They are tough to come out for, but I liked the way we came out and got the win."
Not to be overshadowed by the dominating offensive effort, Duke's defense effectively countered Davidson's frenzied attack. Although he was not challenged much, goalkeeper Justin Papadakis was solid in net, making four saves. Aaron West scored Davidson's lone goal in the 63rd minute.
After West's goal, Davidson's attack seemed to garner confidence for a few minutes. The ball gradually moved from Duke's offensive end to the midfield. The play was in the midfield when freshman Joshua Bienenfeld baited his Davidson counterpart into a foul.
Videira served the ensuing free kick to the top right of the penalty box, where Pope ran past Davidson goalkeeper Ben Ashton and headed the ball into the net.
"That was the big goal of the game," head coach John Rennie said. "They had to push everybody relentlessly forward. We should have been able to score a fourth or fifth goal there, but the ball just wouldn't go in."
Davidson tried to counterattack in the last 15 minutes of the match, but the efforts were to no avail. The shifting of defenders up front simply opened up more offensive opportunities for Duke. Mike Grella had two good looks inside the penalty box, but he pushed both shots left.
Despite Duke's offensive output in the first half, Rennie was not happy with the team's overly aggressive play.
"I told them at halftime, 'If you stop fouling, they will give us the ball,'" he said. "We stopped fouling, we were a little more patient defensively, and they did turn the ball over-and we went forward very, very well."
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