Following his decisive goal in Duke's Sept. 10 win against Louisville, sophomore forward Shakur Mohammed was named an ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week. He is the first Blue Devil to earn those honors since Thorleifur Ulfarsson on Oct. 5, 2021.
Although the Cardinals started strong with a goal from freshman Konstantinos Georgallides in the first half, the Blue Devils responded with two of their own in the second. The Ghana native, alongside junior midfielder Nick Pariano, assisted sophomore forward Jai Bean with Duke’s first goal in the 53rd minute. With only eight minutes left to play, Mohammed matched his 2021 goal total with his third goal of the season, a powerful shot to the bottom corner that had him kissing the ground in celebration.
While this is Mohammed’s first ACC Player of the Week, it certainly isn’t the only award he has earned for his dynamic plays, nor is it the first time he’s been recognized by the ACC. After a breakout freshman season in 2021, during which he tallied three goals and seven assists, he was named the ACC Freshman of the Year. This season, the 19-year-old has garnered a slew of accolades, including the PNC Achievers Student-Athlete of the Week and inclusion on the TopDrawer Soccer and College Soccer News’ National Team of the Week. Mohammed shares the ACC Player of the Week title with Wake Forest sophomore Roald Mitchell.
Mohammed’s accuracy has increased significantly since his first season. He has taken 2.6 shots per 90 minutes, only slightly more than his 2.45 shots per 90 minutes last year. Yet, this season, he is averaging 1.25 shots on goal per 90 minutes average, more than doubling his 0.6 from his freshman season. His current shot percentage is 27.3%, raising him from 9.1% in 2021 to a career total of 13.6%.
With eight points for the 2022 season, Mohammed currently leads the team, followed by Pariano with six points and freshman defender Axel Gudbjornsson with five points. Despite the team being only four games into the season, the sophomore has also matched his total goals from 2021, during which he played 18 games.
After a draw with North Carolina Friday night, the Blue Devils will travel to Elon on Tuesday and attempt to restart their winning streak.
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Audrey Wang is a Trinity junior and data editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 119.