No. 12 Wake Forest Uses 1st Half Goals to Hold Off Duke

Friday, September 16

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

2-2-1, 0-2-0

Wake Forest

5-1-1, 2-0-0

Wake Forest

Duke

No. 12 Wake Forest Uses 1st Half Goals to Hold Off Duke

9/16/2016 10:38:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photos: Wake Forest 2, Duke 0

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.—Wake Forest scored a pair of first-half goals and held off a second-half charge from Duke to earn a 2-0 win over the Blue Devils in ACC men's soccer action Friday night at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils outshot the 12th-ranked Demon Deacons 13-12, but couldn't overcome the early deficit.

“We had some good moments tonight and I thought we tried our tails off,” said head coach John Kerr. “We got ourselves back in the game. We didn't get that elusive goal to really get that momentum, but we never stopped working. I'm really proud of their effort and we'll be better as we go forward.”

Wake Forest (5-1-1, 2-0-0) was outstanding in the opening 45 minutes, finding the open spaces behind Duke's defense and wreaking havoc on the flanks. Rookie Ema Twumasi was a key player in giving the Blue Devils' backline problems as he snuck his way behind the defense.

Duke (2-2-1, 0-2-0) goalkeeper Robert Moewes was fantastic for the Blue Devils, making a pair of diving stops to push before Ema Twumasi got loose in the box and finished a shot to the lower right corner for the 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.

Six minutes later it was Jon Bakero collecting a pass from the midfield and striking a perfect shot into the right side of the goal past a sprawled out Moewes. It marked the first time this season Duke had given up more than a single goal in a game.

Holding a 2-0 lead, the Demon Deacons continued to control the run of possession as Duke struggled to find a rhythm. Wake Forest outshot the Blue Devils 10-3 in the opening half with Moewes finishing with four saves.

Duke was a different team in the second half, possessing the ball and moving the ball quickly to find the open spots on the field. Looking for that first goal to shift the momentum in their favor, the Blue Devils put pressure on the Wake Forest defense and goalkeeper Alec Ferrell early.

“I thought our reaction in the second half was much better,” Kerr said. “A little more positive and we have to believe in ourselves. [Wake Forest] is a good team. There were a lot of positives tonight and we're going to move forward in the right way.”

In the 58th minute, junior Macario Hing-Glover was able to beat his defender to the end line and fired a shot on frame that Ferrell tipped over the bar. Moments later it was Ryan Thompson testing Ferrell, forcing the veteran keeper to make another stop.

Sophomore Ciaran McKenna nearly converted a Suniel Veerakone corner kick before a Wake Forest cleared it from danger. That trend continued as Duke controlled play through the midfield and created chance after chance.

Duke's best look of the night came off the foot of Thompson in the 86th minute. The graduate student, after a great buildup from the Blue Devils, collected the ball on the left side of the box fired a shot past Ferrell only to be cleared off the line by a Wake Forest defender.

Ferrell added two more exceptional saves to his total in the waning minutes to push his total to four and earn his first victory of the year. Moewes also finished with four saves in the 90-minute outing.

In addition to outshooting Wake Forest, the Blue Devils had seven corner kicks to the Deacs' three.

Duke is back in action Tuesday night against Georgia Southern. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., for the Blue Devils' first midweek contest of the 2016 season.

#GoDuke