The victory ship left port three weeks ago, and the men's soccer team (2-4-1, 0-1 in the ACC) got pushed off board. After three consecutive 2-1 losses and a tie at Campell last Wednesday, the Blue Devils once again came up short Sunday at Koskinen Stadium with a 2-0 loss to No. 1 Maryland (7-0, 2-0).
"Opportunities are hard to come by in these ACC games," senior Matt Ahumada said. "They're a quality squad, they came in and worked hard. They put away their chances and that's the way it goes."
The Terrapins' first opportunity came after midfielder Scott Buete lost the ball to Duke defenders and fell forward into the penalty area. The referee whistled for a foul just outside the box even though Duke head coach John Rennie thought Buete had purposely fallen to receive a penalty.
On the ensuing free kick, Maryland was able to jump on the board in the 37th minute when Abe Thompson rifled a shot left of the wall into the upper-90 portion of the goal for a 1-0 lead.
"The first goal they scored on a free kick, which in my opinion, was just a dive," Rennie said. "It should have been called for a yellow card against the Maryland player. That's how they play and it took the referee 30 minutes to figure it out. When he finally figured it out they couldn't get away with it anymore but they had two goals."
Just a minute into the game the Blue Devils had a golden opportunity to net a goal. Duke forward Jordan Cila found himself with a breakaway on the left side of the penalty box and deftly maneuvered around Maryland goalkeeper Noah Palmer. Instead of shooting on a partially empty net, Cila opted to pass the ball to fellow forward Nigi Adogwa but a Maryland defender jumped in front and intercepted the pass.
"We missed a great opportunity early when Jordan beat the keeper and he couldn't get a shot off," Rennie said.
Throughout the physical match on Sunday, the Blue Devils took control at times but were unable to finish their chances. Maryland counterattacked toward the end of the first half and used Thompson as its lone forward. This tactic paid off, as Thompson sent a spiraling cross directly to the head of teammate Domenic Mediate, who finished the goal to the near-side of the net in the 29th minute.
After another frustrating loss, Duke does not have any time to rest. The Blue Devils travel to Chapel Hill Wednesday for a matchup with their rival Tar Heels before heading home for a Saturday game against Harvard.
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