No. 4 Duke Handles Davidson 3-1 As Dugoni, Loftus, and Pope Score

Wednesday, October 11

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Davidson

No. 4 Duke Handles Davidson 3-1 As Dugoni, Loftus, and Pope Score

10/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Duke (9-2-1, 3-1-1) won its second straight game for the first time in over a month as they beat Davidson (4-10-0, Southern Conference 1-4-0) by a score of 3-1. The Blue Devils ran their record up to 7-1-1 at home in Koskinen Stadium.

Duke jumped out to an early lead in the seventh minute as sophomore defender Graham Dugoni headed in the first goal of his career between Davidson junior goalkeeper Ben Ashton's legs. The assist came from a corner kick by junior midfielder Zach Pope, which marked his team high seventh assist on the season.

Next in scoring was senior forward Chris Loftus, as he scored on a penalty kick 24 minutes into the game after junior midfielder Joe Germanese was taken down in the box. Loftus beat Ashton when he lined the ball into the lower right corner of the net.

The game was up-tempo throughout, and the shots for both teams reflected that. Duke outshot Davidson 26-11, although the shots on goal margin was not as dominating, with Duke having the advantage 12-5. Goalkeeping for both teams was strong, with Blue Devil junior Justin Papadakis notching four saves and junior Ashton coming up with nine.

"Our offensive mentality was high pressure and to get them on one side and make them turn over the ball," said Loftus. "We were fouling way too much in the first half, so we cut down our fouls a lot in the second half and they gave us the ball to go at them."

Davidson's lone goal came in the 62nd minute as speedy junior forward Aaron West netted his second goal of the season unassisted. That brought the Wildcats within 2-1, but they were not allowed to tie the game due to a stingy defense and a strong attack by the Blue Devils.

Pope sealed the game for Duke in the 75th minute with a five-yard header off of a free kick by junior midfielder Michal Videira. The goal was Pope's first of the season, and Videira moved into second place for points on the team with his fifth assist.

"That was the big goal of the game," Coach John Rennie said, "and then they had to push everyone relentlessly forward ... and certainly Mike Videira had a great game running the team."

Rennie now has the most wins of any coach at an ACC school, with 390 career victories at Duke. He has a chance to surpass former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim this season for most wins in ACC play. Rennie is one win behind Ibrahim, and has three more ACC contests to tie and surpass the record.

Next up for Duke is an ACC contest at N.C. State on Sunday, October 15 at 2 p.m. The Wolfpack play their home games at Method Road Soccer Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. The Blue Devils return home on Tuesday, October 17 versus Alabama A&M at 7 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium.