The mood around the Blue Devils’ practice yesterday was much lighter than it had been in recent weeks. Snapping a streak of three consecutive one-goal losses with a 5-2 blowout on the road can do that for a team.
Duke (2-4) looks to ride its high spirits tonight at home against UNC-Wilmington, hoping to build on its dominant victory at Clemson last Friday.
“One performance doesn’t make a season,” head coach John Kerr said. “Just because we did well against Clemson doesn’t mean that we’re going to win all of our games now.”
The Seahawks (2-4) come into tonight’s match off a tough 1-0 defeat Saturday night to William & Mary. Despite an 11-9 shooting advantage, UNC-Wilmington could not find the back of the net for the second time this season.
“[We have] some experience, but a lot of young guys too,” Seahawks’ head coach Aidan Heaney said. “We’re trying to bring those guys in, but it’s a fairly young group, and with that comes some mistakes you’ve got to put up with.”
While UNC-Wilmington returns only five starters, though it will get senior midfielders Brian Harrison and Daniel Roberts back on the field after both missed a majority of last season due to injury. The latter was named to the preseason All-CAA team by a vote of the league’s coaches, and both have appeared to regain their pre-injury form.
In goal the Seahawks have athletic senior Brandon Miller. Miller, who registered a 0.55 goals-against average in five starts as a backup last year, has allowed 11 goals in his six games this year, including just one clean sheet.
“Historically they’ve always been a tough team,” Kerr said. “Their coach, [Aidan] Heaney, always has them prepared and fired up to play us. They’re very good on set pieces, long throws, corner kicks and they’re solid defensively. Going forward they’re talented and smart, [they] get the ball to their front guys and the midfield runs well. We’ve got to be prepared and ready to absorb their counter attack.”
Goalkeeper James Belshaw and forward Andrew Wenger—both named preseason All-Americans by College Soccer News—lead an equally-young Blue Devils’ squad. Freshmen Nick Palodichuk, Andrew Morales and Nat Eggleston have combined for 17 starts in the Blue Devils’ six games, and all have made key contributions.
Wenger, the reigning ACC defender of the year, has netted six of Duke’s 10 goals since moving to forward this season. While the transition hasn’t been seamless, the junior co-captain has begun to make Kerr’s decision seem like a smart one. Wenger recorded his first career hat trick in the Clemson victory.
“I had nine shots,” Wenger said. “Some of them had to go in.”
Heaney highlighted stopping Wenger as key if the Seahawks want a victory tonight.“[Wenger]’s a quality player,” Heaney said. “He’s not easy to stop, [he’s] got a lot of weapons [and he’s] multidimensional. We’ve got to keep an eye on him, but we can’t forget about everyone else either.”
The Blue Devils’ match against UNC-Wilmington will be the first of a three-game home stand. Duke is looking for consecutive wins for the first time this season before returning to ACC play Friday when it hosts Wake Forest.
“[The Seahawks] want to come here and get a result,” Wenger said. “We’re 0-3 on our own field so they think they can get a result. It’s going to be a tough game but we’ll be alright.”
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