Last night against Elon, Duke put up 22 shots. The one that would matter most, though, came on the defensive end.
The Blue Devils scored an own goal in the 74th minute, squandering a chance for a win against the Phoenix and finishing with a 1-1 tie.
Before the own goal, the No. 9 Blue Devils (4-1-3) put together a promising offensive display in the away match against Elon (3-2-3). The matchup was an opportunity for Duke to prove its abilities as one of the top ten teams in the country, especially playing away from home.
Ryan Finley continued to show why he is one of the most dangerous front men in the ACC, as he put three shots on goal. In the 56th minute Finley fired a shot that forced a deflection off of an Elon defender. The ball fell at the feet of junior midfielder Chris Tweed-Kent, who showed great poise as he calmly slipped the ball to senior Cole Grossman. With no hesitation, Grossman coolly slotted the ball into the right side netting, marking his second goal of the season.
Even though the Blue Devils continued to put forth an offensive assault, goals were difficult to come by.
“Sometimes in a game like that you want to make sure that you gain a second goal to make sure that you have a little bit of a margin of error,” head coach John Kerr said.
This statement would hold true, as Duke never put the match to rest. The tables turned in the 74th minute, though, as a shot fired by the Phoenix’s Denzel Ogunyase ricocheted off the foot of a Duke defender into the back of the net.
With the momentum from the late goal, Elon continued pressing the Blue Devil defense. Sophomore goalkeeper James Belshaw came up big for Duke in the final stretch, making a critical save to keep his team in the game. Belshaw’s superb goalkeeping lit a spark among his teammates. They fought hard in the final five minutes of regulation, gaining three corner kicks and a swerving free kick from Grossman which bent around the Elon defensive wall, nearly finding its way into the net.
As the game entered the first half of extra time both teams battled to control possession. Freshman Jonathan Aguirre came close to grabbing the game-winner, firing a 22-yard shot that forced Elon keeper Clint Irwin into making a desperate save, pushing the ball over the crossbar. The second half of extra time lacked creativity, as both teams failed to find their offensive flows.
Duke will attempt to move past this stalemate as it takes on No. 8 Maryland at home Friday.
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