No. 2 Duke Prevails 4-1 In Rainy Night Match Over Alabama A&M

Tuesday, October 17

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Alabama A&M

Wadsworth Named Duke Student-Athlete Of The Week

No. 2 Duke Prevails 4-1 In Rainy Night Match Over Alabama A&M

10/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The Duke Blue Devils (11-2-1, 4-1-1) added another win to their resume with a 4-1 triumph over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (4-9-1) on Tuesday night. Although a steady rain fell throughout the game, Duke's recent offensive successes were not slowed. The Blue Devils have scored 13 goals in their last four games, all resulting in victories. A balanced attack has developed for Duke as the season has progressed, as nine different players scored in the last four games, and twelve Blue Devils have notched goals throughout the season.

The first 20 minutes of the game were a period of adjustment, as both teams seemed to be settling in with the rain and conditions of the field. This quickly ended, however, when junior midfielder Tomek Charowski tallied his first goal of the season from 10 yards out on the right side. Junior forward Spencer Wadsworth was credited with the assist, increasing his ACC-leading total to nine. Wadsworth is also tied for third in the nation in that category.

Alabama A&M bounced right back from that deficit 42 seconds later, as junior forward MfanaFuthi Bhembe scored his team-leading sixth goal after being left one-on-one with goalkeeper Justin Papadakis. Junior midfielder Henry Kabeta played a ball through the Blue Devil line of defense, and Bhembe was able to skirt through and finish it.

In what is becoming a trend in their last few matches, Duke took control after an early 1-1 tie,
dominating on both sides of the field. Papadakis only saw two more shots on goal for the rest of the game, and made saves on both of them. The Blue Devils had an equal number of corner kicks as their foe, and only outshot the Bulldogs 15-12, but the defense led by sophomore Graham Dugoni and junior Tim Jepson was able to force those shots to be awkward and off the mark.

Just over a minute after Alabama A&M knotted the game, Duke came back with another goal, this time on an unassisted blast by sophomore midfielder Pavelid Castaneda. It was Castaneda's first goal of the season, and came from 30 yards out after Alabama A&M defenders attempted to clear the ball.

The rest of the first half would be goal-less, but in the second half the Blue Devils continued their attacking ways. In the 52nd minute of play, Wadsworth scored his sixth goal on the year off of a sharp pass from sophomore forward Mike Grella. Wadsworth now is second on the team in goals scored, and tied for the most points with Grella.

It was Grella's turn to score a goal less than a minute later, when he shot a bender from 25 yards out on the left side of the field into the upper right corner of the net. The play began when captain and senior forward Kyle Helton played the ball down the sideline. Charowski received the pass and pushed the ball over to Grella, who did the rest on an impressive shot. It was Grella's team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Duke's Coach John Rennie will attempt to set the record for most wins in ACC play by one coach this Friday, October 20, versus North Carolina. Rennie recently overtook former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim for most overall wins at an ACC school, and now has 392. With Tuesday's win, Rennie is also tied for fifth all-time in Division I with 436 wins.

The North Carolina Tar Heels will travel north on U.S. 15/501 on Friday for the 84th meeting between the two schools. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium, and it will be Senior Night for six Blue Devils: Kyle Helton, Chris Loftus, Danny Miller, Ryan Pascioni, Chase Perfect, and Scott Siegel.

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