Confidently coming off of three wins, the Blue Devils made their Bark at the Park game look like a walk in the park.
When an assist by sophomore forward Ulfur Bjornsson and junior midfielder Drew Kerr opened things up on the grass, graduate midfielder Colton Pleasants took advantage of a clear path and kicked the ball diagonally for a pretty goal. It was Duke’s third in a row, and it was still the first half.
At home in Koskinen Stadium Tuesday, the fifth-ranked Blue Devils took on the Lancers for their penultimate game of the regular season. Duke’s early spark led the team to a 4-1 victory over Longwood.
“Our team played well,” said head coach John Kerr afterward. “I have no complaints.”
At the start, Longwood and Duke (9-2-4, 3-1-3 in the ACC) just seemed to be getting to know each other. The teams hadn’t played one another since 2005, so there was catchup to be done. The Lancers (4-9-2, 2-4 in the Big South) initially stumped the Blue Devils; Duke would make drives to the goal, only to be kept out by Longwood’s deft defenders and unable to follow through.
Then, miraculously, 16 minutes into the first half, this stubbornly second-half team scored. Drew Kerr’s foot collided with the ball and it shot into the bottom left of the net like a bullet. That seemed to break the seal. Seven minutes later, Adam Luckhurst was in the right spot to receive the ball from graduate midfielder Luke Thomas, and the red-headed forward sent the ball into the goal’s bottom left, too. After that came Pleasants’ goal, to the same corner. Must be a lucky spot.
This was the first time in nearly a month that the Blue Devils have scored in the first half of a game.
By the end of the period, Duke had gotten to know Longwood well, finding its weak spots and following through with much more ease. In total, the Blue Devils found five shot-on-goal opportunities during the match and fired off 13 shots. The Lancers, meanwhile, managed just one shot the whole game. Graduate goalkeeper Wessel Speel looked lonely.
“We were hoping that we'd get off to a really good start,” Kerr said. They certainly did.
It was not only Duke’s fiery offense that allowed the home team to keep control of the field. The Blue Devil defenders were always at the line waiting, guarding, defending and keeping the ball inside the lines — focused.
“They do a good job. They’re smart,” Kerr said.
There was more movement across the field in the second half, but ultimately, Duke kept its hold of the ball and didn’t let Longwood have any real chances at the net. While the Lancers were aggressive on the grass, racking up 15 fouls, they were all bark and no bite.
“I thought we did a good job of maintaining possession tonight, but we weren't as effective in the final third as I'd like us to be,” Kerr said.
Neither team scored for the first half-hour of the second half, stuck in somewhat of a standstill. Then, a hard collision between Longwood goalkeeper Max Hinke and Duke freshman midfielder Julius Suber brought the game to a complete stop. A few minutes later, Suber came away with a yellow card and Hinke came off of the field.
With five minutes left, sophomore midfielder Caleb Donaldson brought the energy back. He smacked the ball into the net, and the team rushed to his side, almost knocking him over. In just 48 minutes this season, Donaldson has scored for Duke three times, once in each of his three game appearances.
The only mark that Longwood made in Koskinen Stadium came 34 seconds before the game’s end. Senior midfielder Ethan Stevenson drew a foul from Duke sophomore Andrew Myerson in the box, saving his team from a shut-out by virtue of a penalty kick. Which, coincidentally, also landed in the bottom left corner of the goal.
“I feel that [this match] gives us momentum going into Friday night, which we know is going to be a big game,” Kerr said.
The Blue Devils will face off against Notre Dame for some ACC play at home Friday.
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