In their first game against a ranked opponent in 2006, the No. 14 Blue Devils used a dominating first half to defeat No. 18 South Florida, 1-0, and win the Duke/Adidas Classic.
Duke (4-0) won the tournament with a 2-0 record over the weekend, having beaten American, 3-1, Friday night.
"It's great for us," said tournament Most Valuable Player Michael Videira. "We really want to set an example this year that we're a really tough team to beat. We set the tone for the rest of the season."
The Blue Devils looked especially impressive Sunday night, outplaying a talented South Florida (2-2) team for much of the game.
Duke took control of the game from the onset, manufacturing multiple scoring chances in the first 10 minutes. The Blue Devils didn't get on the board, however, until the game's 26th minute, on their first corner kick of the night.
Junior Zach Pope's cross found Videira right in front of the goal. Videira's header was deflected by a Bulls' defender, but forward Mike Grella was there for the rebound and the 1-0 advantage.
"The goal I scored was a complete garbage goal," Grella said. "I was just sitting on the near post, and that's my role-to pick up the pieces or the garbage. [The ball] came out, and I just put it away."
Duke maintained control throughout the rest of the half, but it couldn't finish any of its other opportunities.
"We got a lot of chances in the first half-we took the ball away from them with high-pressure defense," head coach John Rennie said. "We should have done better with them. One disappointment is that we didn't score more goals in the first half."
In the second half, the Blue Devils played a more conservative style, protecting the lead and limiting South Florida's scoring opportunities. The Bulls did not take a shot after the intermission, and Duke goalie Justin Papadakis did not record a save in his first shutout of the season.
"We were just keeping everything in front of us and running out the clock," Rennie said. "Everybody just had the mindset that we wanted to get a shutout. We did that, and that's something very positive for this team to get a shutout against a very good team."
The victory over South Florida followed on the heels of a solid 3-1 win Friday night over American (2-2). After the Eagles jumped to a 1-0 lead in the third minute, the Blue Devils responded one minute later when junior forward Spencer Wadsworth finished a lead from Grella, a sophomore.
Later in the first half, Grella put away a pass from Tomek Charowski for the 2-1 advantage. Chris Loftus capped the scoring at the end of the first half, recording his first goal of the year off a cross from Joshua Bienenfeld.
Grella, Wadsworth and sophomore Pavelid Castaneda were named to the all-tournament team. Videira earned the MVP honors by controlling possession and the pace of play in each of the two games.
"He just does everything for the team," Rennie said. "He's our 'Mr. Everything' out there. It was just a great effort and a great performance."
Duke now prepares for its rigorous conference season, which begins this Friday with a trip to No. 16 Wake Forest.
"We're happy with where we are," Rennie said. "This was a great warmup this week. We played two very good teams, and we're happy. It was a great weekend for us."
N.C. State (2-2) defeated American, 3-2, in the first game Sunday night.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.