For goalkeeper James Belshaw and head coach John Kerr, their first ACC tournament victory was no easy feat. Belshaw, the team co-captain, secured Duke’s place in the semifinals after making his first and only save in penalty kicks on Clemson’s sixth shot.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Kerr said of his first ACC tournament win as Blue Devil head coach.
The third-seeded Blue Devils beat the sixth-seeded Tigers 0-0 (5-4 on penalties) at Koskinen Stadium Tuesday night.
Both teams entered the match riding four-game win streaks, but Duke struggled early in the game to earn scoring chances against Clemson’s defense, which was led by an inspired performance from freshman defender Phanuel Kavita. In large part, though, the Blue Devils were unable to play their brand of soccer due to the suspension of sophomore center back Sebastien Ibeagha, Kerr said, who had accumulated five yellow cards on the season. The loss forced All-American junior forward Andrew Wenger to revert to his old position, center defender. Senior midfielder Chris Tweed-Kent, who ranks second on the team with 22 points, was also moved out of his natural wide position to a more forward location.
The unusual reconfiguration was difficult for Duke, as it lacked the incisive touch Wenger had previously brought to the offense. The first half was plagued by missed opportunities as the Blue Devils dominated possession but could not break through for a score. The team’s best chance of the half came on a shot from freshman midfielder Andrew Morales late in the period, but the effort was stopped by Clemson goalie Cody Mizell. Further compounding Duke’s problems was a total of six offsides calls, making it very difficult for the Blue Devils to get the ball into the final third of the pitch.
During the second half, both teams’ offenses began to exploit the fatigue of the defensive players, but neither team was able to create the decisive goal.
“We were battling the whole game and pretty much dominating,” Chris Tweed-Kent said.
Golden opportunities from freshman Nick Palodichuk and sophomore Lewis McCleod were squandered during the last 10 minutes of play, as neither player was able to convert chances from inside the 18-yard box. Clemson challenged Belshaw a few times but also failed to make the most out of its four corner kicks. Regulation ended with both teams exhausted and Duke hurting after injuries to starters midfielder Jonathan Aguirre and defender Daniel Tweed-Kent.
During extra time, an influx of substitutes led to both teams playing much better on offense, but the squads again failed to take advantage of their goal-scoring openings.
Interestingly, Belshaw opened the shootout for the Blue Devils, converting against the opposing goalkeeper. The next three penalty kicks scored, but Duke’s freshman midfielder Sean Davis missed to give the Tigers the advantage. With the game on the line, Wenger would make his shot, leading to another goalkeeper showdown—this time with Mizell taking his shot against Belshaw.
Mizell’s shot went high, though, bouncing off the top of the crossbar and falling on the goal line before being ruled a miss.
“I thought it bounced behind me,” Belshaw said of Mizell’s attempt. “We had a bit of luck on that one.”
Chris Tweed-Kent then made his shot to put all the pressure on Clemson’s Wes Nelson. With the game on the line, Belshaw made sure his team would have the semifinal berth, diving to his right to make his first penaly-kick save of the game.
“Anything can happen in a penalty shootout,” Kerr said. “It’s a crapshoot.”
Now that the Blue Devils have broken their winless tournament drought of four years, the team will have a chance to rest and recover. Duke will only have the next two days to prepare for Boston College, however, the squad that has eliminated the Blue Devils from the tournament the last two years—and the team that knocked out tournament No. 2 seed and national No. 2 Maryland in this tournament. The two teams face off Friday night at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.