#3 Duke Begins Season With 2-0 Shutout Against Long Island

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Thursday, September 1

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Long Island

#3 Duke Begins Season With 2-0 Shutout Against Long Island

9/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

Durham, N.C. - Chris Loftus and Mike Grella each scored a goal to lead #3 Duke past Long Island, 2-0, in the regular season opener at Koskinen Stadium on Thursday night. It was the third straight year that the Blue Devils kicked off their season with a shutout victory.

Loftus put Duke on the board in the first half with a header past Blackbirds goalkeeper Alex Fatovic at the 35:46 mark in the first half. Freshman defenseman Darrius Barnes received the assist on the play with a throwin pass that set up Loftus for the goal. Loftus put two previous headers on target but Fatovic made the save on each one.

In the second half, Grella, a freshman forward, gave the Blue Devils some breathing room with a goal in his first collegiate game. He received a pass from Spencer Wadsworth and hit the back of the net for the goal. Wadsworth got past the defense after a pass from Danny Miller and drew the keeper in before sending it over to Grella who was able to get the shot off. Grella finished the game with a team-high seven shots, three of which were on goal.

Duke finished the game with a 21-3 advantage in total shots and 9-1 advantage in shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Justin Papadakis earned his second career shutout with one save in the game. Fatovic finished the game with seven saves. Ryan Vanderkin had two of the three shots in the game for Long Island, including their lone shot on goal.

The Blue Devils continue their streak to three straight years with a shutout to begin the season. They defeated Liberty, 4-0, in 2003 and Emory & Henry, 10-0, last year. Under Head Coach John Rennie, Duke is 22-4-1 in season opening games.

Duke will face their first road test on Saturday when they travel to Missouri to square off against #25 Saint Louis University at 8 p.m. eastern standard time.