In the first half of Tuesday’s season opener, the Blue Devils looked like a team that had never played together before. They couldn’t link passes together, didn’t communicate well and failed to muster any real threats against James Madison’s goal. It took two walk-ons who have lived, played and grown together since the day they were born to help Duke figure out how to work as a unit.
Sophomore midfielders Daniel and Christopher Tweed-Kent, who are twin brothers, provided the chemistry Duke had sorely lacked and the Blue Devils scored two late goals en route to a 2-0 win in Koskinen Stadium.
“They’ve been unbelieveable,” junior Cole Grossman said. “They’ve worked really hard, you couldn’t ask for more from those guys. They’re awesome.”
Grossman was impressive himself, as he scored both Blue Devil goals—but not without significant help from both of the Tweed-Kents.
With just over 20 minutes left in the game, Daniel Tweed-Kent split the Dukes’ defense with a perfect ball in to Grossman, who was fouled hard before he could finish the easy opportunity. On the ensuing penalty, James Madison’s goalie guessed the correct direction, but Grossman’s well-placed shot found the bottom corner of the net anyway to score Duke’s first goal of the year.
“I like taking penalties, especially in big situations,” Grossman said. “It’s a pretty cool situation to be up there with the game on the line.”
Emboldened by the 1-0 lead, Christopher Tweed-Kent began making the Dukes’ defenders look foolish as he commanded the Blue Devils’ left wing. Countless times he manuevered through multiple James Madison backs and sent crosses that nearly found the heads of Duke’s strikers.
“I think its always a matter of just getting comfortable with the game,” he said. “Once you know who’s playing and how they’re playing, you can find their flaws and attack them.”
Fourteen minutes after the first goal, Tweed-Kent worked out of trouble out wide and slid to deliver a beautiful centering pass into the Duke attacking third. The Blue Devils moved the ball quickly across to the right wing, where Daniel Tweed-Kent took one dribble and miraculously squeezed a chip through two of the Dukes’ defenders right in front of goal. There Grossman calmly settled, turned and buried his chance from point-blank range for his second goal of the game.
“I can’t tell you what an amazing pass that was,” Grossman said. “An amazing pass, an easy finish. That was all him.”
With their two assists and countless displays of skill, the Tweed-Kents both showed a level of poise and confidence that belies their inexperience.
“The first preseason game I was pretty nervous,” Daniel Tweed-Kent said. “But once you get into the game and you see what it’s all about, you adjust to the level of play and it raises your own level of play. Just get the ball to Cole’s feet, and everything will work out.”
The Tweed-Kents weren’t the only Blue Devils making their debuts Tuesday. Goalie Nick Tsipis notched his first career start and shutout, aided by another rookie, freshman central defender Andrew Wenger. Fellow freshman striker Ryan Finley, after a successful preseason, created numerous threatening chances and was a menace in the Dukes’ end all game.
“Even though he didn’t score, he caused all kinds of problems with his runs and his aggression,” head coach John Kerr said of Finley. “He was unlucky in a couple of attempts.”
Few Blue Devils created more excitement, however, than the 5-foot-9 twins from Pittsfield, Mass.
“They just keep getting better and more confident,” Kerr said. “Their work ethic is second to none. Their attitude and their approach to the game is fabulous and that’s why they’ve earned spots on the team. They’ve earned it.”
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