If they keep playing like this, the Blue Devils will never want to leave home.
Duke picked up another home victory Friday night, defeating Boston College 1-0 at Koskinen Stadium on a Nick Palodichuk free kick in the 65th minute. With the win, the Blue Devils stretched their unbeaten streak at home to five, outscoring opponents 15-5 in the process.
“This is our fortress and we want to make sure nobody takes advantage of our home field,” head coach John Kerr said. “So far, so good, we have a long way to go, but very happy with the results at home so far.”
Unfortunately for Duke (4-3-0, 2-1-0 in the ACC), the victory did not come without consequences. The Blue Devils had a scary moment early on, when senior captain Sean Davis went down with an apparent hamstring injury in the fourth minute. Davis—who had to leave the game and did not return—was replaced by freshman Cody Brinkman, who had only appeared in three games this year.
In the first extensive action of his young career, Brinkman played nearly the entire game and filled in ably at center midfielder for the veteran Davis, ensuring that the team did not miss a beat with its field general on the sidelines.
“[Brinkman], as a young freshman, getting his first opportunity to really get a lot of minutes and [he] did great,” Kerr said. “His tenacity, his enthusiasm and his skill level was really high tonight and I’m really pleased for him and the team because he showed us what he can do and the showed the crowd here that he’s a competent center midfielder with a lot of grit, and that’s what we needed.”
The first half featured plenty of back and forth action, but neither side was able to cash in on its opportunities as the half ended in a scoreless tie. Duke fired off five shots in the opening period, but none of them provided much of a test for goalkeeper Alex Kapp, who made all the saves with ease. The Blue Devils had plenty of other chances in the attacking third, but were unable to capitalize or convert them into quality shots on goal.
Defensively, Duke posted its first shutout of the season, and the first of freshman goalkeeper Joe Ohaus’ career. The shutout didn’t come easily, and the Blue Devils dodged a few bullets in the 26th minute to keep the game scoreless. Boston College junior Dylan Pritchard took a free kick from just outside the box and fired off a shot—one of nine for the Eagles (3-4-1, 0-3-0) in the first half—that appeared headed for the back of the net, before Ohaus sprung up and just got a hand on it to top it over the crossbar.
The pressure on that possession did not let up there, however, as midfielder Henry Balf hit the crossbar after the ensuing corner was played into the box. Isaac Normesinu—the Eagles’ leading scorer—tracked down the rebound and blasted another shot on goal, which the Duke defense was able to head out of play to end the threat and preserve the shutout.
“[Getting the shutout] feels good. It’s definitely a big step,” Ohaus said. “We’ve come close a few times and I’m kind of disappointed we hadn’t had one yet. We needed one and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Play started to get more aggressive in the second half as the tensions in a tight game continued to build up. Three yellow cards were awarded and fifteen fouls were committed in the final period as the teams continued to fight to try and score that elusive first goal.
The Blue Devils finally broke the ice in the 65th minute after forward Brody Huitema drew a foul to set up a Duke free kick outside the 18-yard box. With Zach Mathers and Palodichuk both lined over near the ball, Palodichuk—who scored the deciding goal in last season’s 1-0 win at Boston College—ran ahead and buried a shot in the back of the net, curling it beautifully past a diving Kapp to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 advantage.
“Usually Sean [Davis] is there to take it, so I was pretty excited that this was going to be my chance,” Palodichuk said. “Me and Chachi [Zach Mathers] were arguing over who was going to take it, and I told him I had it this time…. I knew there was a chance [it would go in]. I felt I hit it pretty well. I saw it bend over, and once I saw it get pretty close to the goal, I knew it was in.”
Duke will take the field at Koskinen Stadium again Tuesday night at 7 p.m. as it welcomes Appalachian State, looking to continue its success at home and establish a consistent level of play before it heads on the road for ACC play next weekend.
“We have App State that we’re not going to overlook Tuesday night here at home,” Kerr said. “Hopefully we can have a good performance and get the three points and build what we’re building on. I don’t want to go back to win one, lose one, win one, lose one, so I think we have a great opportunity to keep the ship moving forward.”
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