It's hard for a team to raise its level of play after it stayed neck-and-neck for 90 minutes with the best squad in the country.
Just three days after drawing with No. 1 Wake Forest, Duke (7-5-2) came out sluggish but turned it around in time to knock off Elon 2-0 Tuesday at Snyder Field and break a three-game winless streak.
The letdown against Elon (6-8-1) was something that sophomore midfielder Cole Grossman understood, but not one he was willing to accept. Grossman scored a goal and assisted Nick Sih's tally in the second half.
And as the regular season nears its end, Grossman deemed the inferior play unacceptable.
"We weren't professional in our approach to the game," Grossman said. "We can't take our foot off the pedal. We don't have any room for error anymore in the season."
But despite not playing at its highest level early, Duke's play quickly picked up. The Blue Devils jumped to a lead by allowing the defense to feed the offense.
"[Elon] had a great chance where [defenseman] Joe Pak stuck a header off a corner kick off the line," head coach John Kerr said. "From that clearance, we were able to counter-attack them."
On the break after Pak cleared the ball, Grossman placed a shot in the lower left corner of the net to give Duke a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute.
To Kerr, Grossman's goal marked a major turning point in the game. At halftime, he called for even more motivated and inspired play. In what his players called a matter-of-fact tone, Kerr spoke about the times during the season when higher intensity has yielded better results.
"[A letdown after Wake Forest] really showed in the first half," senior goalkeeper Brendan Fitzgerald said. "But good teams find a way to win."
Fitzgerald needed just two saves in his seventh shutout of the year. Duke's defensive unit made it easy for the goalie by limiting the Phoenix to seven shots.
"They were very good in the air, tight on their men-the pressure was excellent," Fitzgerald said. "We played exactly according to plan, and it showed."
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