Final Score: Duke 1-0 UNC A pretty even first half, but I'll have to give the edge to Duke. The Devils had more possession and did a bit more attacking than Carolina. The Heels lost David Testo to an ankle injury in the first half, and that hurt their attack. Still, Duke's Trevor Perea controlled the play and kept the Devils pushing forward. Duke also did a good job defending the dangerous Marcus Storey who looks faster every time I see him. (He also looks like a younger Snoop Dogg). Early in the second half, Duke's Jordan Cila scored the only goal of the match. He received the ball outside the 18 (not sure who got the assist, or, if it was unassisted), had some space, turned and fired a laser with his left foot. Upper 90, 1-0 Duke. Ford Williams, who played well, had no chance. The shot was perfectly placed. The final 25 minutes of the match belonged to UNC. Duke put 9 guys behind the ball and managed to weather the storm. The Heels put tons of pressure on, but Justin Trowbridge made a big time save, one handed, late in the match to preserve the win. One of the best saves I've seen in a while. Great crowd at this game...nearly a full house at Duke and the weather was perfect.
Blue Devils for real Maybe they didn't play well against South Carolina and Maryland, but Duke proved they were for real tonight against the defending national champions. It was a great night for college soccer (with close to 5,000 fans in attendance). Even though he is usually someone who gets blasted on Big Soccer.com, Jordan Cila showed flashes of what he is capable of with a tremendous goal that belongs on highlight reels. A couple of keys to the game: how the Blue Devils were able to keep Storey (who is one of the most dangerous players in college soccer) in check, Testo's injury in the first half, Perea's ability to run the show for Duke and the emergence of Justin Trowbridge in goal and Matt Ahumada and Mark Mattern on defense for Duke. Two good teams who played a heck of a match. Like I said earlier, a great night for college soccer.
On the road in the ACC The ACC is wide open this year with every team finding it very difficult to win on the road. UMD beat Duke at last week 3-0 and loses at Wake this 0-3. It's going to be a very exciting and unpredictable season.
Blue Chip: Cila's goal was quality, but for a good portion of the game, he was invisible out there. He just disappears too often, and that's the main criticism I think most people have. Obviously he has a great shot, good speed, etc., but for long stretches during a match, he's not a factor.
Obviously a disappointing result for Carolina. That said, Duke played a good game, played smart once they got the lead, and deserved the win. I've always said that I respect teams that are able to battle and get wins, whether or not they are the better team. And Duke proved once again that this is possible and is what makes the game beautiful. A couple notes on the game: -Cila's goal was absolute class. I'm not sure what happened on the buildup to the goal...but Duke must have had 10 passes in a row before Cila got it and hit a cracker. -Duke's backs were superb in the air in winning the long balls UNC sent in during the 2nd half. Kneipper did manage to get a great head on a ball and someone has already said it, but the save on that header was a sight to see. -UNC's Ray Fumo was tireless in the middle of the field. Much is said about Perea, and his abilty as a small player...and Perea is awesome. Fumo showed a lot of grit and good distribution. He was able to get into the attack more than usual, and played several dangerous balls into the box including the one the Kneipper almost scored on. I'm not saying that Fumo is Perea, only that he got a lot of crap on one of these boards earlier this year and he has really stepped it up. All in all, another great ACC match. You really can't tell who's going to be the great champion of the league this year, though all early indications seem to suggest that Wake Forest is for real. But they still have some big games ahead of them in the ACC, and we all have a lot of great soccer to watch.
Agree with you on many points, including Duke's back line that really played great. Matt Ahumada anchors the back for them and he was terrific. Plus, that was probably the best game their keeper has ever played. Both keepers had great games. However, it's painfully obvious that the Heels miss Logan Pause as their playmaker. When he came forward, UNC was dangerous. But it was interesting to me to see how UNC avoided the midfield when they had the ball, always looking for the long ball. It looked like Crawford was playing the attacking mid spot, but he didn't get many touches at all.
I agree wholeheartedly that Logan Pause is missed in the midfield. Fumo played a smart game and hit good serves, but Pause adds a different dimension to the UNC game. In the last 15 minutes UNC put Porter at center back and let Pause go forward and they must have had 4 good chances to score. I wonder if they will think about using that sort of formation once Porter gets completely healthy from his ankle injury.
The emergence of Matt Ahumada at the back and Justin Trowbridge in goal have been the difference for Duke this season. Ahumada was hurt most of last season and Trowbridge sat behind Scott Maslin last year. This has strengthened a once-dodgy defense to play behind Perea, Cila and McIntosh.