It may have been the Blue Devil’s first matchup against a new conference member, but it was last year all over again as the Duke offense failed to find the back of the net for the entirety of the game.
The No. 25 Blue Devils fumbled their first conference game of the season, losing 5-0 to Louisville Saturday night at the Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Soccer Stadium in Louisville, Ky. After giving up two early goals the Blue Devils were never able to wrest control of the game from eighth-ranked Louisville in the team’s first matchup since the Cardinals became members of the ACC.
“It’s a crazy league, and there’ve been some crazy results this year around the country,” said head coach John Kerr. “The ACC has some really good teams, and every game’s a challenge”
The Cardinals (2-1-1, 1-0-0 in the ACC)—who had gone scoreless in their past two games—took quick control of Saturday’s match. Senior Will Vitalis received a cross from Tim Kubel and sent the ball into the left side of the net with a heal kick just past the three-minute mark. The Blue Devils (2-2-1, 0-1-0 ACC) were stunned once again just two minutes later when Cardinal Ben Strong deflected a ball from the center and found the back of the net to put Louisville up 2-0.
“When we gave up two soft goals at the beginning of the game, and when you’re playing a team like Louisville, very strong all over the field, it’s very difficult to get back into it,” Kerr said. “Although we did create a number of chances, to get one back, we gave up another unfortunate, naïve goal before halftime and that broke the camel’s back.”
The Blue Devils fired off six shots on goal in the first period, but to no avail. Sophomore striker Brody Huitema led Duke’s comeback effort, tallying five shots on goal throughout the contest. Despite Huitema’s efforts and attempts by Jeremy Ebobisse, Jack Coleman, Cameron Moseley and Nick Palodichuk, the Blue Devils were ultimately outshot by the Cardinals by a margin of 15-10.
Though the freshmen—five of whom started Saturday—had accounted for seven of Duke’s 13 goals this season, the Cardinal defense proved too strong for the inexperienced players to truly make an impact. Freshman goalkeeper Joe Ohaus notched four saves, matching his season-high, but was ultimately overwhelmed by the Cardinals’ more seasoned offense.
“We gave some younger guys a chance and we got a lot of help off the bench in the second half, but we’re still young,” Kerr said. “They’re still finding their way this early in the season, but they’ve got to get tighter in the back and do away with silly goals. We have to maintain our strength and security back there and learn from it.”
The meeting was Duke and Louisville’s first as members of the same conference, who, along with first-ranked Notre Dame, add to the in-conference competition. Kerr called attention to the strength of the squad as well as university’s recent construction of a new soccer system as some of the nicer aspects of including Louisville in the league.
“We lost Maryland to the Big Ten, but Louisville is the perfect replacement,” Kerr said. “They have a million dollar facility, and it was nice to play in it—even with the results.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.