Blue Devils Draw, 2-2, With Wofford

Thursday, August 31

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

2-0-1, 0-0-0

Wofford

0-2-1, 0-0-0

Wofford

Duke

Blue Devils Draw, 2-2, With Wofford

8/31/2023 10:27:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM – The No. 3 Duke men's soccer team battled to a 2-2 draw against Wofford at Koskinen Stadium on Thursday night. The Blue Devils (2-0-1) and Terriers (0-2-1) both had players log braces, with Forster Ajago accomplishing the feat for Duke while Nikolai Rojel did so for Wofford.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The two teams spent the opening minutes of the game getting accustomed to the flow of the match, with the first shot taken in the seventh minute by Nick Pariano.
The Blue Devils nearly got on the board halfway through the first half following a low-driven pass by Forster Ajago that crossed in front of net but the pass emerged on the opposite side of the 18-yard box.
Wofford got on the scoreboard first, with Nikolai Rojel scoring his first goal in the 32nd minute.
The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Terriers heading into halftime.
The Blue Devils emerged from the locker room on the attack, taking five shots in the first seven minutes of the second half.
Duke continued to push forward as the second half wore on, holding a majority of possession on its attacking side of midfield.
Ajago leveled the score at 1-1 with a bicycle kick goal in the 72nd minute off an assist by Luke Thomas.
The graduate transfer capped off his brace just over 90 seconds later, slotting home a goal with his left foot off a pass set up by Pariano.
Wofford drew back level in the 82nd minute as Rojel finished off his brace, heading in the game-tying goal.

NOTES

Forster Ajago is the first Blue Devil to record back-to-back multi-goal games since Shakur Mohammed finished with consecutive braces against Notre Dame and George Washington during the 2022 season.
Ajago now has five goals in 2023, two shy of the seven he finished the 2022 campaign with while at Dayton.
Duke out-shot Wofford, 18-4, including a 12-2 advantage in the second half.
Nick Pariano tallied his third assist of the season, and currently leads the team in the category.
Luke Thomas broke into the scoresheet for the first time this season with his assist on the first goal of the night and now has five assists in his career.

QUOTES

"We weren't as sharp as we normally are. Wofford played a great game. Their coach had them ready for us and they were playing on the front foot, and we took things a little bit for granted. We had to make some adjustments at halftime … and I thought we played quite well in the second half. I thought we really dominated the game. We took the game to them. We got a little bit more aggressive in the final third and created a bunch of opportunities." – head coach John Kerr on the team's effort in the second half
"It's still early in the season. We're still finding our way and we're still finding out who can do what, when. And a lot of questions were answered by our performance tonight. We've still got work to do and I think all the players realize that. So, it's back to the drawing board in the morning and we'll continue to work forward together." – head coach John Kerr on the next steps for the team
"Every mid-week game is a hard game. Guys went to class for the first time and then played a game afterwards for the first time in their careers. That's something we have to adjust to quickly. This is all a process, and we have to figure some things out. It's all about feeling really good when the ACC [play] comes around. We're frustrated about the draw but there's stuff to work on and there's some good things there as well." – senior captain Nick Pariano

UP NEXT

No. 3 Duke hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to take on Princeton on Monday, Sept. 4. The Blue Devils and Tigers are set for kickoff at 4 p.m., on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium. Fans can watch the match on ESPN+.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMSOC".

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