The reliable magic of Koskinen Stadium came to a heartbreaking end Tuesday night.
Despite a strong effort by the Blue Devil attack, Davidson clawed a victory away from Duke in overtime 2-1. The loss was the first of the season at home for Duke, and the third consecutive in the month of October.
“It’s a disappointing loss for us,” Duke head coach John Kerr said. “For about 50, 60 minutes of the game I thought we did very, very well. We started slow, traditionally as we do, then we picked it up after we scored. We picked up our confidence and all of a sudden we are firing on all cylinders and [it’s] unfortunate that we didn’t get that elusive second goal.”
Throughout the first 25 minutes of the first half, the Wildcats (6-1-3) looked like they would take control of the match. Although play appeared slow and deliberate for both teams, Davidson was able to possess and stretch the back third of Duke (5-6-1), forcing goalkeeper Joe Ohaus to make two early saves to keep the game knotted at zero.
Despite a slow start to a half that did not see much movement from the front third of the Blue Devil attack, Duke was able to go into the locker room up 1-0 thanks to a beautiful cross by freshman Markus Fjortoft that was guided into the goal off the head of Matt Slotnick with 12:52 remaining in the first half. Slotnick had entered the game in the 27th minute, providing a much needed boost for a sluggish Blue Devil offense. Duke was able to get five shots off in the period—all of them coming after the Slotnick substitution—whereas Davidson registered six.
“We felt confident,” Ohaus said. “We’ve been a second half team all year. Most of the time we’ve been going into halftime down a couple of goals—one goal—so it felt good going in up one.”
The second half started with a much faster pace from both teams. The Blue Devils took advantage of several early opportunities to stretch the Davidson defense—firing three shots within the first six minutes. Crisp passing also kept the Blue Devils at what appeared to be an early advantage.
Davidson did not just roll over and give up the game, though, as it began to apply more pressure to the Duke defense as the second half unfolded. A key opportunity for the Wildcats came with 26:50 remaining, but sophomore Maxi Pragnell’s shot clanged off the right post just out of Ohaus’ reach.
Unfortunately for Duke, it would not be the last opportunity for the Davidson offense.
With 19:41 remaining, a costly yellow card by Blue Devil freshman Bryson Asher at the top of the box allowed Davidson to line up a penalty kick from Shane MacNamara. Despite a diving effort, Ohaus was not able to keep it out of the net, and the score was evened at 1-1.
“[With penalty kicks] there is not too much pressure on the goalie, you’re not really expected to save it,” Ohaus said. “[In] a tight game like that, [there] is always a little bit of pressure.”
The aggression from both teams in the second portion of the game seemed indicative of the way they have played all season. The Duke offense—which has scored 16 of its 21 goals in the second half—managed 12 shots throughout the period, and added eight fouls with two yellow cards. Davidson—which has scored 13 of its 15 regulation goals in the second half—added 10 shots in the second period to go along with five fouls.
The aggressive attack from both teams would not result in another goal in the first 90 minutes, however, and regulation would come to an end knotted at 1-1.
Prior to Tuesday’s contest, neither team had been able to pull out a win in overtime this season. Duke had been to overtime once, ending in a 1-1 draw against Loyola Marymount. Davidson also entered with some extra time experience, as matchups against both Valparaiso and Saint Louis ended in scoreless draws.
As overtime began, the Blue Devils looked like the more prepared team. An early breakaway in the fourth minute of overtime led to a Duke corner after the ball sailed over the goal line. Despite a solid cross by Nick Palodichuk on the ensuing play, Davidson goalkeeper Matt Pacifici—who managed seven saves on the night—caught the ball midair to prevent any further opportunities by the Blue Devils.
“We had the better chances in the overtime period to finish it off and we didn’t,” Kerr said. “It’s a cruel game sometimes.”
On the next Davidson advance, a solid strike by midfielder Alan Reiter would prove devastating for the home faithful. In the fifth minute of overtime, Reiter was able to move the ball to the top of the box and line up a shot from 15 yards out—flying toward the goal, the shot struck the inside of the crossbar and bounced into the top right corner of the net.
“It’s not easy,” Kerr said, “We [have] got to mentally get over it, and emotionally get over it, and we [have] got to heal, get our legs back and rest up and try it again.”
Duke will have to look past its first home loss of the season and turn its attention toward Notre Dame (7-3-2), who comes to Koskinen Friday for a tough ACC matchup. The defending national champion Fighting Irish—riding a two game winning streak—will look to continue their success against the Blue Devils.
“Notre Dame is one of the best teams in the country, [it’s an] ACC game and at this point for us it’s a must-win,” Ohaus said. “We [have] got to get going tomorrow and wait for Friday.”
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