Duke men’s soccer recovers from Grand Canyon loss with 14-1 defeat of Averett

They say you can’t control the winds; you can only adjust your sails.

Duke found itself blown off course Friday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary as it fell 3-2 to Grand Canyon in its first non-conference regular-season loss since 2021. But in Koskinen Stadium Sunday, the Blue Devils trampled Division-III Averett, allowing just one goal from the Cougars while scoring 14 to tie their program record set in 1994 for most in a single game.

“It was good to get a rhythm and get our confidence back after a tough loss on Friday,” said head coach John Kerr Sunday.

Albeit sailing on much calmer water than what it faced Friday, Duke (2-1-1) adjusted its sails for Averett. Junior midfielder Drew Kerr started off the scoring in the seventh minute, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner of the net off an assist from graduate midfielder Colton Pleasants.

Like the wind, you can’t control the rain; sudden storms temporarily suspended the match in the 10th minute and commenced the 45 minute rain delay.

Both teams took the pitch after the delay, and with the sun out again, Duke’s dominance started heating up. Sophomore forward Ulfur Bjornsson stuck a foot out in front of the Cougar keeper’s clearance to deflect the ball back into the net in the 25th minute. In the same minute, Drew Kerr followed up a rebound into the net, and in the minute after that, Bjornsson scored off a rebound of his own.

“The good thing about our team is we can hurt you from all angles. We can hurt you from the middle, wide areas, crosses, dribbles, one versus one, and combination play top of the box,” Kerr said. “I was happy to see all kinds of goals this afternoon.”

Graduate midfielder Luke Thomas earned a penalty kick which was eventually saved by the goalkeeper, but that was the only break that Averett got.

“It's the first time I've ever played a D-III team,” said Kerr. “It was a good opportunity to get some other guys some playing time, and that was the good thing for us today.”

Such a statement victory for Duke helped ease the disappointment of Friday’s loss, when only two of the Blue Devils’ 18 shots found their way into the net.

“Grand Canyon is a good team, and they proved it. They were really good on the counter attack. They punished us for being a little slack in the fence. And you’ve got to hand it to them,” Kerr said. “Then in the second half, they dug in, and really made it hard for us to get some momentum.”

The Lopes opened the scoring in the 28th minute on its first shot of the night through junior forward Bright Nutornutsi. Grand Canyon’s goal received no response from its hosts as Nutornutsi slotted another one into the back of the net just 15 minutes later in the 43rd minute to make the score 2-0.

Of the Blue Devil’s seven first-half shots, not a single chance hit the back of the net, and Kerr’s team entered halftime scoreless.

Finally, 10 minutes into the second half, a penalty kick from Pleasants put Duke within one.

But the Blue Devils never evened the score, and in the 64th minute the ball found the back of the home team’s net once more after ricocheting off a Duke defender. Even though the Lopes recorded only a single shot in the second half, they found a way to extend their margin over the Blue Devils.

Senior defender Ruben Mesalles bent his corner kick into the net in the 88th minute to bring Duke within reach of Grand Canyon at 3-2, but the Blue Devil comeback attempt ended in failure.

The Blue Devils walked off the pitch with their first loss of the season, headed back to Koskinen to take on Averett. Safe at home there, Duke changed the score for the better — and for the record book.

Next, the team travels to Charlottesville, Va., Friday for its first conference matchup of the season.