While outplaying an opponent traditionally yields a victory, sometimes that is not the case.
Friday night’s matchup at Koskinen Stadum between No. 9 Duke and No. 18 N.C. State was one of those rare exceptions.
Despite getting the best of the rival Wolfpack (8-2-1, 2-2-1 in the ACC) for most of the night, the Blue Devils lost their first home game of the season in the waning moments of the second overtime. In what was one of the more physical matches of the year, Duke was unable to get shots on target, which ultimately made the difference in the match.
Head coach John Kerr was pleased with the team’s performance, but not with the outcome.
“It was a tremendous team performance overall,” he said. “It’s a cruel game because I thought we edged it with possession, we edged it with shots, we edged it with our play, and [it was] unfair that we came out with the wrong result.”
In the first half, both the Blue Devils (7-4-0, 2-3-0) and the Wolfpack moved the ball well, yet it was apparent that Duke’s runs forward were stronger and better coordinated. However, both teams countered with solid defense, leaving the score knotted at zero.
Coming out in the second half, the Blue Devil attack picked up its intensity, yet the shots still were not finding the net. In the 65th minute, junior Cole Grossman hit a shot off the crossbar, which was followed up a minute later by junior Christian Ibeagha mishitting a header that sailed just high. Not to be outdone, N.C. State came close on the other end, hitting the crossbar in the 73rd minute from a deep shot well outside the box.
The trend in the first overtime was the same as the second half, as Duke held possession but could not get a shot on target. In the 96th minute, another Duke attempt banged off the crossbar, and back-to-back corner opportunities yielded no results.
The second overtime session was a little more even as the Wolfpack finally managed some control. But the Duke defense held long enough for the offense to launch its one and only shot on goal, a strike by Christopher Tweed-Kent that was saved by N.C. State’s goalkeeper. Yet on the ensuing possession for the Wolfpack, with just 49 seconds left in the game, senior Ronnie Bouemboue came through with a goal to devastate the Duke faithful.
The story of the game for the Blue Devils was the inability to get shots on target. While the offense moved the ball brilliantly, it simply could not finish.. Of Duke’s 12 shots, only the last one was on frame.
Defensively the game was a solid performance as Duke managed to shut down the biggest offensive threat in the ACC in Bouemboue for the majority of the match. Ibeagha and freshman Andrew Wenger were in charge of the task and came through. Also impressive was the midfield’s play in stopping N.C. State playmaker Alan Sanchez, who leads the conference in assists. Senior Ryan McDaniel marked Sanchez well throughout the match and prevented him from making a major impact on the game.
The physical play of the match was also notable as the referee stepped in many times to try and keep the match under control. Overall 41 fouls were called, the most in a Duke match this year, seven more then the previous season high set against Maryland last week.
However, Ibeagha says it is something that you have to expect in this type of match.
“It’s always physical in the ACC, and going from out of conference to back into the ACC, the physicality raises tenfold,” he said. “It ends up being physical and that probably was the toughest game we’ll have all year.”
While the heartbreaking loss to N.C. State will surely be a tough one to take, the next match Tuesday against UNC-Greensboro will bring back similar memories. Last year Duke was ousted from the NCAA tournament in the first round by the Spartans, losing 2-0 at Koskinen Stadium.
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