On a cold and rainy night in Koskinen Stadium, the skies cleared for the Blue Devils in the twilight of their tilt with the Tigers.
After squandering several opportunities, Duke found itself trailing Clemson 1-0. But with the clock running down in the second half, lightning finally struck for the Blue Devils—twice.
The winds of change began with senior Matt Thomas, who soared above the pack to head the ball straight into the net on a corner kick, evening the score at 1-1 in the 75th minute. Soon after, junior Cole Grossman calmly sunk a penalty kick to score the game-winning goal.
Coasting on a two-game winning streak, the No. 19 Blue Devils (10-4-0, 3-3-0 in the ACC) were expected to handily defeat the Tigers (2-10-1, 1-5-0). But head coach John Kerr said he knew his team would have to earn the victory.
“We kept telling our players they’re like a wounded animal, Clemson right now, because they’re having a tough season and they’ve got nothing to lose and they want to just see what they can do,” he said. “We understood going in it was never going to be an easy game.... They suffered a tough result, but I thought they played quite well.”
The Tigers dominated possession for much of the first half, capitalizing on holes in the Blue Devils’ defense to create several scoring opportunities.
After a Clemson shot off a direct free kick thundered off the goal post in the 15th minute, senior Josh Bienenfeld stole the ball at midfield and quickly fired it to Grossman. The midfielder’s shot, however, sailed over the net.
The Tigers’ possession came to fruition when Nathan Thornton beat goalie James Belshaw, a freshman, to a loose ball outside the penalty box for a clean shot in the 22nd minute, tallying the first goal of the game.
Duke’s troubles blew over in the second half as the Blue Devils stormed onto the field with renewed vigor, heeding the coaching staff’s advice to “get the ball and just go for it,” Kerr said.
Thomas and freshman Andrew Wenger sharpened the Blue Devils’ defense, stifling the Tigers’ advances and then sprinting to the other side of the field to make offensive attacks of their own.
Although the strategy could have allowed the Tigers to counterattack and catch the Blue Devil defenders on the break, Wenger said he decided it was worth the risk.
“It’s always a concern, but you’re down 1-0,” Wenger said. “You really have nothing to lose. You’ve got to take chances.”
The risk paid off. Duke was the clear victor of the second half, outshooting the Tigers 11-3 in the period.
The win brightens the Blue Devils’ forecast for the rest of the season considerably. Duke is now .500 in conference play and well-positioned for the ACC tournament, which begins Nov. 10. But Kerr said the Blue Devils won’t be savoring this victory for too long—the team faces Presbyterian Tuesday.
“We’re taking nothing for granted and trying to keep our composure,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that we don’t overlook [Presbyterian]. We’ll just take it one game at a time and take care of business.”
Gabe Starosta contributed reporting to this story.
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