After falling behind 3-0 against No. 2 UCLA, most teams would turn to senior leadership to spark a comeback.
This past weekend at the MetLife-adidas Soccer Classic, however, Duke's leader was freshman Jay Heaps. Heaps scored two goals in the second half to help his young Blue Devil squad to an exciting 4-3 overtime win on Sunday at Duke Soccer Stadium.
"It never crossed anyone's mind that we were going to lose," Heaps said following the game.
Two days earlier, Heaps tallied two goals in an impressive 4-1 win over Alabama-Birmingham. His stellar play earned him Most Valuable Player honors.
Honors were commonplace for Heaps back in his home of Longmeadow, Mass. Not only was he the Umbro and Gatorade State Player of the Year, but he also was named to the Parade All-America team as a senior. Fellow Duke freshmen Josh Henderson and Evan Whitfield were also named to this prestigious squad.
Heaps' total of 96 career goals was a school record at Longmeadow High School.
That kind of play made him one of the most heavily recruited players in the nation--Duke, Virginia and Harvard were all in the running for his services.
"I chose Duke because of the combination of academics, athletics and social life," Heaps said.
Head coach John Rennie and the rest of team are obviously very happy he selected Duke.
"Jay knows exactly what he is supposed to do out there--he is extremely coachable," Rennie said. "He has great feel for the correct play."
Junior Brian Kelly is also excited about the freshman's play thus far.
"Jay has been a major contributor to the team--this weekend was a prime example," Kelly said.
The strengths of Heaps' play are his skill on the ball, speed and field awareness.
"He has good vision on the field and great skill," sophomore forward Andy Kwon said.
The fact that Heaps has been able to contribute so early in his Duke career is due in large part to his experience with the Under-17 and Under-20 National Teams. Although the soccer on these squads was very competitive at the national level, Heaps feels that NCAA Division I soccer is in a different class than any competitive team for which he has played.
"The guys in Division I are more physical and much quicker," Heaps said.
Heaps has handled the transition without noticeable difficulty, scoring five goals in four games. He has scored all five goals at the center midfield position, after being moved from left midfield halfway through the second game against Drake.
Although he has been more productive at that position, Heaps is indifferent as to what position he plays.
"I just want to be out there playing," Heaps said.
His desire to play is certainly evident.
"He really loves the game, and he shows it on the field," Kelly said.
Rennie has also noticed his work effort and love for the game of soccer.
"He has an awful lot of heart, and he plays hard the entire 90 minutes," Rennie said.
In the UCLA game, of course, Heaps hustled for an extra 30 minutes--the overtime period--to lead his team to a surprising win and a 4-0 record. The victory was surprising in that, with the loss of three-time All-American Jason Kreis and four-year starting goalkeeper Garth Lagerwey to graduation, 1995 was expected to be a rebuilding year for the Duke men's soccer program.
But that was before the arrival of this year's freshman class.
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