Kicking off the regular season with the third annual Duke/Nike Classic, the No. 11 Blue Devils used sophomore standouts to take two favorable results over the weekend at Koskinen Stadium.
Friday’s match against No. 20 Louisville was marked by the superb defense of goalie James Belshaw. Holding the Cardinals (1-0-1) to a draw despite playing a man down for 43 minutes, the sophomore keeper recorded a career-high 15 saves in net, including a penalty save in overtime.
“I’ve seen a lot of games in my lifetime and it’s the best performance I’ve ever seen live,” head coach John Kerr said on Belshaw’s Friday form. “It rivals up there with [legendary American goalkeeper] Kasey Keller.”
Not to be outdone, sophomore forward Ryan Finley put on an offensive clinic Sunday against Sacramento State (0-2-0) in the finale of the Classic. Netting three goals to lead Duke to the 4-1 victory, Finley recorded the first hat trick of his career.
“It’s definitely good in the first two games to get off on the right foot,” Finley said.
In Friday night’s performance, Louisville came out of the gate strong. Looking slightly outmatched by the speedy Cardinals, the Blue Devils failed to control possession and relied on touch-and-go passes. Yet going into the half, the score remained knotted at zero.
The second half started out better for Duke. Nearly scoring in the 61st minute off of a Finley rocket, the ball took an unfavorable bounce off the crossbar and rolled harmlessly back into play.
Things took a turn, however, when freshman Jonathan Aguirre was issued a red card in the 68th minute. Forced to play a man down for the remainder of the match, the Blue Devil defense entered a world of trouble.
That’s when Belshaw rose to the occasion.
Recording eight saves in the half, the keeper made a series of incredible stops. Despite not having a single shot on goal offensively, Duke headed into the extra time even.
In overtime, the Blue Devils continued to give up scoring chances, only to see Belshaw record save after save. The highlight of the night came in the 106th minute of play. A Daniel Tweed-Kent foul in the box forced a Louisville penalty—and a do-or-die situation for Belshaw. Diving to his right and smothering the ball, Belshaw kept his shutout intact.
“As the day was going, I didn’t think he was going to make it,” Belshaw said.
With the draw, the Duke gave itself the opportunity to win the tournament Sunday with a victory over the Hornets.
Playing against a weaker Sacramento State team, the Blue Devils took control from the beginning. Senior Cole Grossman scored in just the 16th minute, and from there Duke was rolling. Finley scored his first of three goals just a few minutes later in the 19th, and his second in the 26th. Duke then coasted onto the easy victory.
With a tilt against defending national champion Virginia looming, the Blue Devils will look to take momentum into what is sure to one of the most anticipated games of the season. Duke plays the Cavaliers Saturday, September 11 at Koskinen Stadium.
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