For a second there, it almost seemed like Duke was going to live to regret that.
The 17th-ranked Blue Devils were forced to work for a 3-0 victory against Michigan at Koskinen Stadium Thursday night. Goals courtesy of freshman defender Axel Gudbjornsson and junior midfielders Peter Stroud and Luke Thomas decided the affair, with a particularly masterful showing by Stroud, who controlled the tempo from start to finish.
"It took a lot of grit and desire to really get going," Stroud said. "We played for each other. To win 3-0 at home is tremendous."
Though Stroud gave his piece to the final count through a second-half penalty kick, the scoring was opened by Gudbjornsson’s leaping header at the far post. A beautiful cross by sophomore midfielder Felix Barajas through the box found the relatively unmarked 6-foot-4 Iceland native, who launched himself airborne to assuredly nod the ball into the bottom right corner.
The freshman played strongly throughout the game but was twice penalized for a couple of crunching tackles on Michigan’s forwards. The first, a yellow card, came in the opening 45 minutes and the second, a red card, with less than 30 minutes to play. This left Duke (3-0) a man down for the rest of the game and without arguably its greatest physical threat from set pieces.
It seems like there is a bit of a trend emerging in head coach John Kerr’s Blue Devil program, with passionate players from Iceland marshaling games and providing the breakthrough in close contests. Last year it was Thorleifur Ulfarsson—now plying his trade for MLS side Houston Dynamo—and this year, Gudbjornsson seems poised to assume the mantle for Duke.
"Overall [he’s] doing well," Kerr said of Gudbjornsson. "Coming from Iceland is a big change for him. But he's doing great, he's getting better as we speak every day. He's pleased with the performance and he's going to be a force in the air for sure."
Gudbjornsson’s goal set the tone for the Blue Devils, but it took a while for the unit to get rolling. Duke was imprecise for much of the first half and got caught in behind several times by Michigan’s forwards. The big difference maker was Kerr’s midfield duo of Stroud and freshman Kenan Hot, both of whom were tenacious on defense and eager to press forward when the ball found their feet.
"[Hot is] an experienced player despite his years and he knows how Peter [Stroud] works, he's been around and played with him," Kerr said. "He knows his game, so it's really helpful that they understand each other and can compensate for each other's movements."
Hot was impressive, but Stroud stole the show. From several inch-perfect slide tackles to millimeter-perfect through-passes, the junior consistently threatened Michigan’s net and was duly compensated with an ice-cold goal from the spot.
"Definitely came out a little bit flat in the second half and got a breakthrough that penalty," Stroud said. "When we got the penalty, I really wanted to take it, really wanted to get my first goal of the season. Scoring that penalty to go 2-0 up, it just changed the game."
An All-ACC selection and ACC Midfielder of the Year last season, Stroud is one of the most talented and capable names on Duke’s roster, and any hopes of building on an immensely successful 2022 will likely rest on the junior’s shoulders.
While the game remained testy after Stroud’s goal—the Blue Devils were down a man, after all—and the Wolverines (1-2) had a few goes at goal that just didn’t land, it was two substitutes that combined to put the contest to bed. Senior midfielder Cameron Kerr ran past Michigan’s back line and with some lovely footwork squared the ball to junior midfielder Luke Thomas, who coolly slotted it near post to rest the score at 3-0.
It was by no means a perfect performance, but it got the job done, and sometimes that is all one can ask for in soccer. Thursday’s win will clearly bring areas of improvement to training this week, but the boost from a big win against a resolute Power Five foe bodes well for the Blue Devils' next match, a Sept. 10 visit to Louisville.
"It's gonna be a difficult game," Kerr said. "Louisville away is always a good little game for us. We just hope we can continue building and getting stronger and go out there and get a result. It’s not going to be easy and we understand that, so we've got to be on our A-game."
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Andrew Long is a Trinity senior and recruitment/social chair of The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously sports editor for Volume 119.