The Blue Devils looked like a team without its top two scorers in a 1-1 draw against San Diego Friday night.
They appeared to find a few candidates to spark the offense Sunday afternoon.
Duke exploded for four second-half goals to defeat UNC Asheville 5-1 and win the John Rennie Nike Invitational Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium. As they have done throughout the early season, the Blue Devils relied heavily on freshmen, including center midfielder Suniel Veerakone—who led the Blue Devils with two goals—and also got a goal and an assist from junior midfielder Brian White.
Duke is still adjusting to life without Jeremy Ebobisse and Zach Mathers, who combined for 15 goals last season, but has some young playmakers who showed what they could do Sunday.
“[Veerakone] is a very good player. We see it everyday in practice how many good things he does, and now he’s just finding the pace of play in college,” Blue Devil head coach John Kerr said. “We have some great guys, capable of helping us right away, coming off the bench or starting.”
Kerr's team controlled possession from the onset of the match, surrendering just one shot to the Bulldogs in the first 24 minutes. On the other end, Duke had several opportunities to take an early lead, but failed to put the ball in the back of net.
One of the Blue Devils’ best scoring chances came in the 18th minute when graduate student midfielder Ryan Thompson intercepted a pass at midfield. Thompson dribbled down the left sideline before dishing the ball to sophomore midfielder Ciaran McKenna, whose ensuing shot was blocked by UNC Asheville goalkeeper Chris Katt.
Duke (1-0-1) finally struck with less than three minutes remaining in the first half. Freshman forward Colby Agu—who came off the bench for the second straight game—received a pass from classmate Max Moser and sent a shot into the bottom left corner of the net for his first career goal. Moser’s assist was his second in his first two collegiate games.
“Colby had a nice little finish. Max Moser had a good move to create a good opportunity for him,” Kerr said. “[The goal] was crucial going into halftime.”
It did not take the Bulldogs (0-2-0) long to answer, however. In the first minute of the second half, a rebound off a save by Blue Devil goalkeeper Robert Moewes found Chuka Anyafo for the equalizer.
Duke quickly responded less than a minute later when Thompson sent a through ball to White, who easily finished one of his three shots on goal to get the lead back for the home team.
The Blue Devils padded their lead from then on. White contributed to another goal in the 53rd minute, serving the ball in to McKenna for a header that bounced off the crossbar before hitting the net.
Like White, Veerakone—who was named MVP of the three-day invitational—continued to attack and draw fouls. The Caledonia, Mich., native delivered Duke’s final two goals off free kicks from about 25 yards out.
Veerakone’s first strike entered the upper left corner of the goal. Less than five minutes later, his next kick appeared to catch Katt by surprise as it sailed into the lower left corner.
“Maybe [Katt] tried shifting his weight and he realized he was going the wrong way, so he couldn’t move,” Veerakone said of the Bulldog goalkeeper barely moving on the second free kick. “I’ve taken a lot of free kicks. I watch all the pros and try to learn from them. I’ve seen [Mesut] Ozil and [Lionel] Messi do it a couple times.”
Defensively, Duke’s backline consisting of juniors Carter Manley and Markus Fjortoff on the outside and freshman C.C. Uche in the middle limited the Bulldogs to just four shots on goal. After playing just six minutes Friday, another freshman, Brandon Williamson also provided the Blue Devils with 42 minutes off the bench.
Moving forward, Duke’s line of defense will include another veteran defender in junior Kevon Black. After suffering a concussion a few weeks ago, the Ontario native sat out the match against San Diego, but returned for 21 minutes Sunday.
“We have a lot of depth,” Kerr said. “We have some good guys here now that are fighting for spots and its great to have that competition from within because it brings out the best in everybody.”
The Blue Devils will return to action after four days off at No. 16 UCLA Friday for their final nonconference game before ACC play begins Sept. 10.
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