Last year, Davidson mauled Duke in a resounding 4-1 victory. Last night, the Blue Devils reciprocated, exacting revenge for last year’s loss.
“We came out and put them in their place,” sophomore forward Ryan Finley said.
After a disappointing loss to Maryland last Friday, No. 19 Duke (5-2-3) responded strongly, handily beating the Wildcats 4-1 at Koskinen Stadium.
“They embarrassed us last year, and we had that mentality to go bury them,” sophomore goalie James Belshaw said.
Finley ended a three-game goalless streak with two first half scores, giving the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish. His first goal, in the 23rd minute, was a volley off a blocked shot. The second came in the 41st minute after a perfectly executed through-ball from senior Cole Grossman gave him a one-on-one opportunity against Davidson goalie Chip Sanders.
“We had been creating chances [in the previous games], we’ve just been a little unlucky and haven’t been able to finish,” Finley said. “You just got to keep plugging away and sooner or later, the chips are going to fall into place like they did tonight.”
Finley, with his two goals last night, now has an ACC-best ten goals on the season.
The Duke offense held possession for much of the first half, limiting the Wildcats’ opportunities. And when Davidson (4-4-3) had chances, the defense shut the Wildcats down, only allowing three first-half shots.
“We needed to get a good start to the game,” head coach John Kerr said. “Our guys didn’t let them have a moment of peace.”
Duke wasted no time adding to its lead in the second half. In the 51st minute, Finley curved a corner kick that grazed off the head of Grossman, giving the senior his second goal of the season. Grossman followed that up by putting away a deflection in the 76th minute, assisted by junior midfielder Chris Tweed-Kent, who also assisted Finley’s first goal.
“We definitely created a ton of chances with good offensive movement,” Grossman said. “But when our pressure defensively is really sharp and intense all over the field, we’re more athletic than most other teams, so we can overpower.”
The game was physical, but there were many no-calls by the officials, which fueled tension between the teams. This climaxed in the second half as players from each team received a yellow card within minutes of each other. Grossman received one in the 68th minute while junior defender Hunter Hayes picked one up in the 70th minute for the Wildcats.
Davidson’s lone goal was in the final minute of play, against a lineup comprised of Duke’s substitutes. Senior Alex Caskey received a lead pass upfield and placed the ball over backup Blue Devil goalie Nick Tsipis.
Davidson’s goal was not enough to take the sweet taste of revenge away from the Blue Devils, who had marked this game as an opportunity for redemption after last year’s loss.
“I’ve been thinking about it a long time. It was pretty embarrassing, pretty disappointing,” Grossman said. “We just overlooked them.”
Duke understands, however, that it will need to keep playing well with more ACC competition approaching and that the Wildcats may not measure up to that level of play.
“With all due respect to Davidson, we’re playing against a different [level of] team,” Belshaw said.
Bearing that in mind, the Blue Devils head to N.C. State Friday, beginning a key stretch of four conference matchups within their next seven games. But Duke learned a lot about its character last night, which should help moving forward.
“We wanted to make a statement tonight,” Grossman said. “We’re a lot more mature than last year and also a lot better team than last year.”
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