Two overtimes and a golden goal later, the Blue Devils are headed to the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.
Seventh-seed Duke is fresh off of a 3-2 thriller against No. 10 seed North Carolina State and hopes to continue its strong play as of late as it heads to SU Soccer Stadium to take on second-seed Syracuse 1 p.m. Sunday.
“We’re coming to the end of our season, and the whole team, especially the senior class, wants to extend the season,” senior defender Nat Eggleston said. “We’re fighting for our lives and I think that’s something. It’s almost desperation how we don’t want it to end. We wanted to keep going and that helped us pull out a win against [N.C. State].”
The Blue Devils’ season was filled with highs—knocking off top ranked North Carolina in another epic chapter of the state rivalry—and lows—a midseason five-game losing slump. Fortunately for them, they are on the upswing again, as they ride a four-game victory streak into the matchup against Syracuse. A strong Duke senior presence has been a big part of the team all season long, and they know that every game is do-or-die for their Duke careers now.
Team captain and senior Sean Davis is tied for third in the country with 10 assists and continues to command the Duke offense. His 10th assist went to fellow senior Nick Palodichuk who scored the equalizer against N.C. State –his fourth goal of the season—with less than two minutes left in regulation.
Eggleston then gave the crowd one more reason to erupt, as he nailed the game winner in the second overtime period. Senior Wilson Fisher reclaimed the starting goalkeeper spot as he’s gone 4-1 as the starter, providing strong leadership in the Duke defensive third. The team knows the weight the playoffs hold, but to the seniors, it carries just a little bit more. Against the juggernaut defense of Syracuse, the Blue Devils will have to keep up the magic that makes playoff season so special.
The Duke offense is quarterbacked by Davis. Sophomore striker Brody Huitema leads the team in points scored—five goals and five assists—and freshmen Cameron Moseley and Palodicuk have added five and four goals apiece. The offense has been inconsistent, but they’ve managed to score two or more goals in each of their last four games. It will be facing their toughest challenge yet in Syracuse, anchored by Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono.
The Orange junior has been a stalwart between the pipes this year, allowing only 0.40 goals per game—best in the ACC—en route to a Division I-best 11 shutouts. He’s racked up 55 saves with a save percentage of 0.887, playing every minute this season for the Orange. The nearly impenetrable Syracuse defense has given up only seven goals this season—one each to Notre Dame, Albany, Wake Forest, Boston College and Bucknell, and two to Louisville. Duke has played three of these teams—Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Louisville—in ACC matchups and were blown out in each game.
With just one team scoring more than a goal against the Orange over 17 games played this year, the most likely scenario for a Duke win will be to keep the game close and squeak out a 1-0 win.
Should the Blue Devils come up lucky and find the back of the net, they will have to back it up with top-notch and error-free defense.
“They definitely have some dangerous pieces on offense,” Eggleston said. “Defensively, it comes down to concentration, focus and communication. A problem we’ve had is giving up goals early on in games. We’ve got to adjust. The ending of close games, like the Davidson game, is all about focusing in those critical areas and that will allow us to be successful against Syracuse.”
With scoring opportunities bound to come few-and-far-between, Duke’s primary shot takers—Huitema, Moseley, Davis, Palodichuk and freshman Jeremy Ebobisse—will need to finish Saturday. If they don't, the Blue Devils' season will come to a close.
But as much as the focus has been placed on top-ranked Syracuse, Duke is not counting itself out.
“They’ve had a great year and I think Syracuse is a really good team,” Eggleston said. “But we’re on a four-game win streak and we’re definitely confident going into the game. We’re confident. We’re up for it. We have the right mentality. We just need hard runs and to finish with confidence.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.