GREENSBORO - Last night, the soccer stadium in Greensboro was filled with UNC-G fans hoping to witness a redemption of last year's Big Four Tournament, at which the Blue Devils emerged victorious when a Spartan player scored on his own goal.
The crowd's mood was optimistic: everyone knew ninth-ranked Duke was favored to win the tournament's final game this year, but confidence in the UNC-G squad was high coming off its first-round 6-0 crushing of N.C. State.
But when the Spartans (12-6-1) took the field against the Blue Devils yesterday, they got far more than they bargained for as Duke (12-4) shut them out 5-0.
Duke's play over the weekend was described by coach John Rennie as having "moments of brilliance" offensively, with tremendous defense throughout both games.
In last night's game, Rennie needed look no further than Demetrio Sanchez to find that brilliance, as the junior midfielder scored three times in just over eight minutes at the end of the first half.
Sanchez's first goal came in the 34th minute of play, off an assist by freshman forward Jordan Cila. Under duress from a double team, Cila passed out of trouble and found Sanchez, who was open near the goal.
Sanchez scored again in the 39th minute, this time assisted by a pass from Dwayne Harris. Sanchez's final goal was unassisted, as he lifted the ball over the head of Spartan keeper Joe Crump to boost the Blue Devils' lead to 4-0 at the half.
The third goal of the night, occurring just 17 seconds after Sanchez's second score, might have also been the most exciting. Senior forward Ali Curtis, reigning Hermann Trophy winner, collected his 51st career goal to tie Tom Cain's record for the most career goals at Duke.
The goal leaves Curtis with just one game in the regular season, in addition to the postseason, to separate himself from Cain as the highest scoring player in Duke history.
"It feels great, it's probably one of those things that 10 years from now, I'll look back on," Curtis said. "Right now I'm just trying to enjoy it, I'm really excited about it."
Curtis was taken out of Friday night's game against UNC-Charlotte after scoring two goals, leaving him one shy of Cain's mark. Though he laughingly admitted he was a little nervous about that, the senior superstar expressed his confidence in Rennie's decision-making and leadership.
"Coach Rennie really knows what he's doing," Curtis said. "He made sure everyone had the rest they needed to come out and play well tonight."
And play well they did. Cila capped Duke's scoring early in the second half for the team's fifth and final goal.
Despite his stellar career performance and position as an important team leader, Curtis remains uncertain about whether or not he will score again to hold the record alone.
"The way things are looking right now, I may not score any more goals," Curtis said. "We have a lot of guys on the team that are able to step up and score goals for us and that's very important, especially going into the postseason. I'd like to break the record, but right now we're playing great soccer and that's what's important."
The Blue Devils will close their regular season against Wake Forest at home in Koskinen Stadium Saturday at 4 p.m.
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