It may be early in the season, but the Blue Devils have one of their toughest games of the year Saturday night when they face off against the Virginia Cavaliers at 7 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium. The defending national champion Cavaliers opened their season in a resounding fashion, beating UAB and St. John’s by a combined score of 7-1.
No. 8 Duke (1-0-1) will look to improve upon a moderately successful opening weekend. The Blue Devils scraped out a 0-0 draw against Louisville thanks to an incredible performance by sophomore goalie James Belshaw and easily defeated Sacramento St. 4-1 behind three goals from sophomore Ryan Finley.
But Duke will have to take its game up another notch if it wants to stick with a talented No. 2 Virginia team.
“Starting off the season with Louisville [was tough] and Sacramento St. was another good test... but none is bigger than this week when we play the defending national champions,” head coach John Kerr said.
Last year, the Blue Devils took down those defending champions 1-0 in a double-overtime thriller, with junior Daniel Tweed-Kent slotting home the game-winner. Belshaw earned a clean sheet in that match, but he faced just three shots on goal. He could be much more active Saturday.
“Belshaw single-handedly kept us in the game last weekend,” sophomore Andrew Wenger said. “Our defending, our back four, wasn’t the best. Just knowing that in the back of our heads, that he can do that for us, is fantastic.”
Duke’s defense will look to close down a potent Virginia attack that is led by sophomore Will Bates and freshman Brian Span, who have combined to score four of the Cavaliers’ seven goals this year.
That responsibility will fall upon senior captain Christian Ibeagha and Wenger at the center of the defense. Ibeagha’s brother, Sebastian, started next to him against Louisville, but left the game early in the second half with a knee injury and will likely be unavailable Saturday. After the younger Ibeagha departed, Kerr altered his lineup by moving Wenger from forward to the backline.
Wenger started all 21 games in 2009 at center defense and took home ACC Freshman of the Year honors for his stellar player at the position, but Kerr plans on using the sophomore at different positions this year. Wenger will return to his normal position of center back for this pivotal contest.
“Wenger is talented enough to play any part of the field, midfield, the forward, or in the back,” Kerr said.
“I’m just doing my best there [at center back] and I think it’s just best for me as well,” Wenger said. “I do what the team asks and I’m going to defend this week and do it the best I can.”
On the attack, Duke will face a goalkeeper as good as its own in Diego Restrepo, who has allowed just a single goal this season. Over his Virginia career, Restrepo has allowed just nine goals in 26 games, posting a 0.32 goals-against-average.
With Wenger lining up on the backline, the scoring load will fall to Finley, senior midfielder Cole Grossman and the Tweed-Kent brothers, Daniel and Christopher. Finley will be the first option for the Blue Devils as he is coming off a hat trick against Sacramento St. and is the most experienced forward on the Duke roster.
Freshman Jonathan Aguirre will start alongside Cole Grossman at the center-midfield position. Aguirre’s first game as a Blue Devil did not go as planned after he was red carded in the 68th minute against Louisville. However, the Madison, N.J., native linked up well with Grossman throughout the first half and opened up scoring opportunities for both Wenger and Finley. How Aguirre handles the pressure in his first big ACC game will be a major factor that determines whether the Blue Devils can pull off an upset for the second straight year.
“He can create opportunities for himself and he can also slip guys in with through-balls and play one-twos,” Kerr said of the freshman. “He’s a very talented player. He won’t be over-awed by the occasion on Saturday.”
While it is still early in the season for this Duke team, it has a chance to make a statement to the rest of the ACC Saturday night that though it may be young, it will not back down.
“It’d be great to knock off the defending national champions,” Kerr said. “We’re worried about the game and if it carries over and gives us confidence and creates a good spirit for our team, that’d be great. But we have to take care of business first.”
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