After finally snapping their five-game skid, the Blue Devils will look to pick up one last victory at home.
Duke hosts Georgia State to close out its nonconference slate Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils earned a key 2-1 victory against Pittsburgh Friday night that secured them a spot in the conference tournament, but Tuesday’s game will have no bearing on ACC postseason play.
Instead, Duke is embracing this game as a chance to improve in certain areas and an opportunity to build up positive momentum for its playoff push.
“There’s a great vibe among the team,” head coach John Kerr said. “Again, going back to that five-game losing streak, we played extremely well in a few of those games. We were due for a good ACC win and we’re going to try to take that momentum and build it into this week.”
Despite a talented mix of freshmen on the roster, it was the upperclassmen that lifted the Blue Devils (6-8-1) to victory Friday, when Kerr inserted eight seniors into the starting lineup on Senior Night. In addition to the usual contributions of captain Sean Davis—who tallied his team-leading seventh assist of the season— and the consistent play of lineup fixtures Jack Coleman, Nick Palodichuk and Nat Eggleston, Duke received clutch play from some of the more unheralded members of the Class of 2015.
Goalkeeper Wilson Fisher—thrust in for his first career action after freshman Joe Ohaus went down with a concussion last week—continued his strong play in goal, recording three key saves and helping to preserve a 2-0 halftime lead, while midfielder Jake Butwin scored what would prove to be the game-winner for the first goal of his career.
Kerr believes it’s no coincidence that the seniors have raised their level of play as their final season nears its end—and he expects them to continue playing a major role in the team’s success Tuesday.
“More than anybody else, [the seniors] feel the urgency more than the rest of the team,” Kerr said. They’re seniors and they know that every game is precious down the stretch here and they want to keep continuing to play this season. I definitely took that into account when I started eight seniors Friday night and they did a great job, so don’t be surprised if you see guys back in the lineup tomorrow night.”
Against the Panthers (6-8), Duke will look to continue its domination of its Sun Belt Conference opponent. The Blue Devils are 5-0-0 all-time against Georgia State and scored three second-half goals versus the Panthers en route to a 3-0 victory in 2012. In that game, current Blue Devil upperclassmen Nick Palodichuk and Zach Mathers combined to contribute a goal and two assists, making them quite familiar with the challenges posed by Georgia State.
This year’s Panthers are much improved from the 2012 squad that finished 6-12. They are led offensively by the duo of senior Stephen McGill and freshman Rashid Alarape, who have accounted for six goals and two assists combined this season. Georgia State has been outscored by its opponents 24-15 on the year, but Kerr sees a different team than the one from two seasons ago, and recognizes their ability to knock off his squad.
Even though Tuesday’s contest holds no direct implications on the ACC tournament, Duke is not planning to hold back. Kerr emphasized the need for the Blue Devils to come away with a victory to improve their RPI and boost their candidacy for the NCAA tournament, as well as to make sure that they are playing their best soccer when the games matter most.
“We are preparing for this game just like any other game and vying for a win,” Kerr said. “We want to try to get a shutout and score as many goals as we can, and the three points at the end of the evening is what we’re after. We’re approaching it just like any other game. We have a lot of respect for Georgia State, we’ve watched them on tape and they’re a very talented group. Their record doesn’t really display how good they are, so we have to be on our toes.”
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