Missed opportunities.
Such has been the story thus far for Duke, and Friday's game at Koskinen Stadium was no different. Leading 1-0 for nearly the entirety of regulation, the Blue Devils seemed to have their first conference victory of the season in hand before a Virginia Tech team playing with 10 players battled back in the final minutes of regulation to force a 1-1 draw.
“They were resilient all game long," Duke head coach John Kerr said. "They rolled up their sleeves... and decided that they're not going to be easily beaten."
The Hokies (2-1-1, 1-0-1 in the ACC) proved their resilience, as substitute Robert Alberti's equalizer in the 87th minute negated the Blue Devils' effort. Duke (2-1-2, 0-1-1) finished with 23 shots to Virginia Tech's seven and could not convert in the second half despite outshooting the Hokies 15-4.
Kerr realized his team's need to take advantage of missed opportunities.
“We need to do a better job because we can't keep dominating other teams and then coming out on the wrong side of the result,” he said.
Duke got on the board quickly, scoring the game's first goal just four minutes in. Midfielder Sean Davis lobbed a free kick towards the box from 25 yards out and captain Sebastien Ibeagha was able to redirect the ball into the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead.
Ibeagha acknowledged the importance of scoring early and setting the tone in these first few games of the season.
“The last three games we've been talking about getting a good start and this game was another," Ibeagha said. "We didn't finish well but we've been working on good starts. It's good to get that and to build on that as the game goes on.”
Duke's best opportunity to increase its lead came in the 77th minute when Davis was awarded a penalty kick. Virginia Tech defender Alessandro Mion received a red card for tugging Davis down by his shirt in the box, which put Duke in an excellent position to seal the game. Davis blasted what seemed like a surefire goal into the top left corner of the net only to be denied by a diving effort from Virginia Tech goalkeeper Kyle Renfro.
“We had a chance to go up 2-0 when we had the penalty kick and didn't take advantage of our chances," Kerr said. "Sometimes games go like that."
Virginia Tech was forced to play a man down for the rest of the game, but if anything that only fed their hunger to force the game into overtime. The Hokies' lone goal of the night came with just three minutes remaining and only 10 men on the field, and they were able to hold off the Blue Devils over the two 10-minute extra periods following regulation.
“Sometimes it is harder to play against 10 men because you know that they're looking for that extra effort from each individual to compensate that guy begin sent off,” Kerr said.
For most of the game Ibeagha's goal seemed to be enough, but a gritty Virginia Tech team refused to back down in what became an intense clash of two defensive-minded ACC teams. Whistles echoed across the pitch all night, culminating in a total of 41 fouls and seven bookings between the two clubs.
"That's why everyone wants to play in the ACC," Ibeagha said. "It's the best conference to play in for soccer."
With his team still searching for its first conference win, Kerr said that ACC play is only going to get more challenging as Duke moves forward.
"That's what it's all about. The ACC is going to be a league like that," Kerr said. "Next game we gotta make sure that we get on the right side of the result."
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