When Duke announced its decision to move star defender Andrew Wenger to forward, it was his position change that dominated the headlines. Friday night in Greensboro, though, it appeared it was the rest of the team that needed a little more time to adjust to their new roles.
Despite two late goals from Wenger, No. 23 Duke (0-1) could not overcome an early three-goal deficit and lost to UNC-Greensboro, 3-2.
The Spartans (1-0) came out with guns blazing to start the game. Oddur Gudmundsson beat James Belshaw, sneaking it by the goalkeeper to give the team an early 1-0 advantage. Hakan Ilhan tallied the second score of the game six minutes later on a penalty kick, extending the lead to two after only 16 minutes of play.
Belshaw, a preseason College Soccer News first-team All-American, recorded only one save on the night. Neither team was able to score for the remainder of the half and UNC-Greensboro held a 2-0 lead.
“We got a little sloppy and made some hesitant decisions,” head coach John Kerr said. “They scored an early goal and coming back on the road isn’t easy. It gave them a lot of confidence and momentum.”
The second half began with Ilhan’s second score to give the Spartans a commanding three-goal advantage. Following the strike, the Blue Devil offensive attack stormed back. Wenger looked like the player Kerr expected him to be when he made the decision to move him back to forward, as the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year scored in the 64th and 66th minute to cut the deficit to one.
The two goals tied a career-high for the junior forward, which he set as a rookie against Presbyterian while playing defense. Duke dominated possession and outshot the opposition 9-4 in the second half, but UNC-Greensboro held the Duke offense at bay long enough to secure the victory.
“We knew we still had a chance [to score] and clawed back,” Kerr said. “The last 15 [minutes] there was only one team that was going to score and that was going to be us.”
Although the changes in defensive strategy made an obvious impact in the first half of play, Kerr was not worried about the early deficit and made it clear that, with a little bit of work, Duke is still a dangerous team.
“It’s the first game and it’s a tough place to play,” Kerr said. “For a couple of guys it was their first game at a different position and it’s not unusual to have growing pains. I told the team after that next time we just have to put together a 90-minute effort instead of a 45-minute one.”
The Blue Devils will seek their first win tonight on the road against Furman at 7 p.m.
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