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Reeling Duke men's soccer squad faces top-20 test at Virginia Tech Friday

<p>Junior Cameron Moseley and the Blue Devils are hoping to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Davidson.&nbsp;</p>

Junior Cameron Moseley and the Blue Devils are hoping to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Davidson. 

Following their most deflating loss of an up-and-down season, the Blue Devils will jump back into conference play hoping to rebound.

Duke will travel to Blacksburg, Va., to square off with No. 18 Virginia Tech Friday at 7 p.m. at Thompson Field following a 3-1 loss to Davidson Tuesday in which the Wildcats scored twice in the final 25 minutes to break a 1-1 tie despite being outshot 11-5 in the second half. 

The loss epitomized the Blue Devils’ offensive inconsistency this season—Duke has scored just eight goals in its last eight games despite generating more than 14 shots per game this season—and the normally-reliable Blue Devil defense finally broke down, allowing three goals for the first time all year. 

“We’re going to have to get ourselves organized,” Duke head coach John Kerr said after Tuesday’s game. “Some movement of the ball was okay, but just not fast enough to move them.... We were a little careless with the ball and then we got punished.”

The Blue Devils (4-4-2, 1-2-1 in the ACC) started the year 2-0-1 following a road upset at then-No. 9 UCLA, but have since floundered and now will likely need an improbable finish to the season to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011. A week before falling to Davidson, Duke lost to Georgia State for the first time ever.

Although the Blue Devils won at N.C. State in between the two losses, they have struggled with consistency since upsetting the Bruins—which might not bode well against a team that allows 0.7 goals per contest in the Hokies (8-2-1, 1-2-1).

Virginia Tech boasts the same ACC record as Duke, but the Hokies have only suffered setbacks this season against then-No. 1 Notre Dame and then-No. 7 Clemson and have beaten two ranked teams this year.

Despite its strong start to the season, Virginia Tech is also hoping to jumpstart its offense after scoring only one goal in its last two ACC games, and forward Marcelo Acuna is the likely candidate to spark the Hokies. The junior from Costa Rica leads the team with eight goals this season, including three tallies on five shots in Tuesday’s 7-1 victory against the Virginia Military Institute in which Virginia Tech took out its offensive frustrations.

Even with their struggles scoring against top ACC competition, the Hokies still average more than two goals per game compared to Duke’s 1.4. Seven Virginia Tech players have scored multiple goals this year, a feat only three Blue Devils have accomplished in 10 games.

To stay in the game against the Hokies, Duke’s defense will have to get back on track and do a better job protecting goalkeeper Robert Moewes, who is among the ACC’s best in saves per game. The Blue Devil offense could also give its defense a boost by finding the back of the net early Friday as it did a week ago in the win against N.C. State. 

“It’s tough, we’ve created a lot of chances this season and we’re not as sharp in front of goal as we need to be,” Kerr said. “We’re not decisive and we’re not punishing teams.”

The most likely candidates to get Duke on the scoreboard are juniors Cameron Moseley and Brian White and freshman Suniel Veerakone, who have scored nine of the team’s 14 goals this year. The Blue Devils need the trio to stay consistent Friday and get boosts from their other players if they hope to notch a second top-20 road upset.

Among the others who could make their mark with a breakout game are graduate student Ryan Thompson and senior Jared Golestani, who have each scored one goal this season. Friday’s game starts a daunting stretch for Kerr’s team, which will take on No. 4 North Carolina and No. 2 Notre Dame in the coming weeks.

“If we’re going to get on the winning side of things going forward, we need to punish teams when we get these opportunities,” Kerr said. 

Cade McCurdy contributed reporting.


Michael Model

Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113.  Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.

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