No. 12 Duke Opens Season With 1-0 Victory Against San Diego

Friday, August 26

Durham, N.C.

7:30 P.M.

Duke University

1-0-0, 0-0-0

San Diego

0-1-0, 0-0-0

San Diego

Duke

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

No. 12 Duke Opens Season With 1-0 Victory Against San Diego

8/26/2022 10:57:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM -- A quick offensive start and strong defensive showing for 90 minutes led the Duke men's soccer team to a season-opening win on Friday night. The Blue Devils defeated San Diego by a score of 1-0 inside Koskinen Stadium to kick-off their 2022 campaign. Scotty Taylor knocked in his first goal of the season after scoring three in preseason exhibitions and graduate student Eliot Hamill recorded the shutout in goal.

How It Happened

Duke started the game on the attack, tallying three shots on target within the first 10 minutes of play.
Scotty Taylor got the Blue Devils on the scoreboard with a left-footed goal just under 20 minutes into the contest. The senior corralled a loose deflection at the top of the 18-yard box and slotted home his first goal of the season.
Duke ended the first half holding a 65-35 advantage in possession and would go on to end the game at the same margin.
The Blue Devils defense settled in following the halftime break, holding the Toreros at bay in the second half, allowing just one shot total in the entire second frame.
Goalkeeper Eliot Hamill made three saves en route to his first shutout of the season. The veteran goalkeeper had six clean sheets last season.

Notes

Scotty Taylor continued his hot start to the season, scoring his first official goal of the season after scoring three in the preseason. The senior forward scored a goal in each of Duke's three exhibition matches.
The season-opening victory was the sixth consecutive win for the Blue Devils in their home opener
Duke had four players – Peter Stroud, Eliot Hamill, Antino Lopez and Kamran Acito – play the full 90 minutes.
Three freshmen made their Blue Devils debut in the starting lineup as Acito, Kenan Hot and Axel Gudbjornsson all got the nod from head coach John Kerr.
Duke was able to secure significant playing time for their bench, as four different Blue Devils logged at least 22 minutes in relief.

Quotes

"It's typical that when you start playing games for real, you find out a little bit more than what you've done in the preseason because now the games are for real and everyone's intensity is charged up another 10 paces. We have a long way to go, a lot of games, but happy with how we played and happy with the result and happy to get a shutout." – Duke head coach John Kerr
"I've utilized runs in behind a decent amount. That's my game for sure. Create opportunities for myself and create opportunities for my teammates." – Duke senior forward Scotty Taylor

Up Next
Duke returns to Koskinen Stadium for their second game in the John Rennie Nike Invitational when they take on the Milwaukee Panthers on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:35 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

#GoDuke