Duke men's soccer blanks Appalachian State for second straight shutout

The Blue Devils' tale of two seasons continues: undefeated at home and winless on the road.

Duke blanked Appalachian State 2-0 Tuesday night, maintaining its perfect record at Koskinen Stadium and recording its second consecutive shutout. The Blue Devils got off to a commanding start to the match to move to 5-0-1 at home this season and 20-0 all-time against the Mountaineers.

“The emphasis of the night was to get off to a good start,” Duke head coach John Kerr said. “Our movement was better and our timing and directness was good. I’m happy with that, but I want to make sure that we can play 90, 45 minutes at a time. We need to keep the attitude positive going forward.”

Registering his first goals of the season, junior defender Zach Mathers provided all the offense for the Blue Devils (5-3-1). Duke and Appalachian State (3-5-1) accumulated 19 and 15 fouls, respectively, during the match, with the Blue Devils capitalizing on their chances to fight it out in the box. Mathers’ first opportunity came in the 21st minute when, while trying to create a look for a teammate, he inadvertently chipped the ball over the Mountaineer goalkeeper and put Duke up 1-0.

“It was meant to be a cross, but it ended up working well for me,” Mathers said. “I was looking for someone at the back post and it just came up off my toe. The goalie wasn’t expecting it. It was awesome.”

The leadership of senior captain Sean Davis, sidelined with a leg injury, was absent against the Mountaineers, but Mathers and other teammates stepped up to provide guidance for the young Blue Devil squad during the tough match.

“Nat Eggleston worked his socks off today in encouraging our young guys,” Kerr said. “They work hard, and we make mistakes sometimes, but overall they did a good job.”

Duke controlled the pace for much of the first half, limiting the Mountaineers to only two shots on goal in the opening period. However, the Blue Devils' dominance did not continue for the whole game, as Appalachian State used its physicality to wrangle more possessions away from Duke. One of the Mountaineers' first chances came in the 13th minute, when Appalachian State striker Donovan Japp drove a breakaway ball into the corner only to have it deflected off the chest of a Blue Devil defender.

“In Tuesday night games the other team’s always going to try to rough us up a little bit,” Mathers said. “I thought our defense stayed strong though, we got the shutout, so I think we did great matching their physicality.”

Goalkeeper Joe Ohaus stayed strong against a hungry Appalachian State offense, thwarting multiple comeback attempts in the second half. Ohaus finished with three saves in 85 minutes.

“His positioning, his holding of the ball, his decision-making was solid,” Kerr said.

Appalachian State’s aggression continued well into the second period, creating good looks but failing to capitalize on them. The Mountaineers took two free kicks in the second half but both went harmlessly over the goal. After Japp was ejected following his second yellow card in the 75th minute, the Mountaineers struggled to maintain their attack playing a man down. After the Blue Devils were fouled in the box in the 80th minute and Mathers rocketed the ensuing penalty kick into the left corner of the net, Duke’s 2-0 lead proved insurmountable.

“It was huge for us—I knew if I scored we’d go up 2-0 with ten minutes left,” Mathers said. “We wanted to try to get the second goal earlier, but we still closed out the game.”

The Blue Devils will look to build on the momentum of two straight shutouts when they return to their ACC slate to take on Wake Forest and No. 11 Virginia in the coming weeks. Both of those matches will be played on the road, a setting in which the Blue Devils have yet to collect a single victory this year.

“We’ve given up a lot of goals this season—to have two straight shutouts is a big plus,” Kerr said. “Maintaining our starts to the game is a very big plus. We’re taking baby steps moving forward. It’s going to be a big couple weeks for us ahead, and we’re really looking forward to the game against Wake.”