Home sweet home—Koskinen Stadium proves faithful once again.
Duke was able to walk away with a win Tuesday night at home, defeating Georgia State 2-1. The Blue Devils have never lost to the Panthers in program history, and the victory marks Duke’s second straight after previously dropping five in a row.
“We dominated play from start to finish,” head coach John Kerr said. “We got the two goals to go through and win the game, and that’s what is most important this time of year.”
The first half got off to a quick start for the Blue Devils (7-8-1) as they registered five shots in the first nine minutes of play—including an unsuccessful penalty kick in the sixth minute. Under the direction of senior midfielder Sean Davis, the attacking third pushed a lot of opportunities past the Panther (6-9-0) defense, but were just not able to capitalize. The Duke offense was able to capitalize on one opportunity in the half, however. In the 35th minute, Davis led a counter attack down the center of the field and fed it up the left side to freshman midfielder Bryson Asher, who directed it back to the middle for Jeremy Ebobisse. The freshman forward put the ball into the back of the net on one touch to make it 1-0.
Unfortunately for Duke, Georgia State caught the defense off guard within the next two minutes. A lapse in concentration and defensive discipline allowed the Panthers to move the ball into the 18-yard box, where senior midfielder Niklas Kivinen attempted a cross that deflected off of senior goalkeeper Wilson Fisher. After being deflected, the ball bounced into the net for an own goal as the Blue Devil defense looked on, equalizing the score 1-1.
Despite dominating the offensive stat line—Duke outshot Georgia State 12-1 in the first half—the Blue Devils headed to the locker room lamenting lost opportunities and the lone mistake that left the game knotted at one.
“A majority of the seniors started and did a great job again,” Kerr said. “They bring the intensity, they feel the urgency and it really helps our team and some of these young guys come along.”
The Blue Devils came out of the locker room replicating their first-half quick start, creating a lot of early opportunities and keeping the ball away from the Panthers. In the second minute of the half, aggressive play by Duke forced its second penalty of the match. Sophomore forward Brody Huitema lined up against senior goalkeeper C.J. Cochran and bulleted a strike into the bottom left corner of the net, stretching the lead to 2-1.
The rest of the half showed much of the same aggression in attack for the Blue Devils as they sought a third goal to put the Panthers away for good. Although it would never come, by the end of the period Duke had registered 14 shots to Georgia State’s seven, and took four more corners.
The Panthers would not take the loss quietly, though, and became much more assertive in the final 15 minutes of the game—registering their third yellow card of the game in the 88th minute to go along with 11 fouls for the match. In the end, the Duke defense remained resilient and prevented Georgia State from equalizing.
Stepping off the field in his last regular season home game, Davis—who registered his career-best eighth assist of the season—reflected on the win and how he plans to lead the team moving forward in the final games of his collegiate career.
“I’m just trying to enjoy it,” Davis said. “These are my last games at Duke, a place that I really fell in love with over the years, so I’m just trying to enjoy it and give as much as I can to the team and lead the way.”
Using the momentum of the previous two wins, Davis will lead Duke as it faces off against ACC foe Virginia Tech on the road in Blacksburg, Va., Friday night at 7 p.m. It will be the final regular season game of the year for the Blue Devils, who look to come away with the victory and carry some momentum into the ACC Tournament. With a win or a tie against the Hokies, the Blue Devils will host the first round of ACC play at Koskinen Stadium Nov. 5.
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