Columbia
Duke
Men's Soccer Falls to Duke in Season Opener, 2-1
9/4/2009 10:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. ? The Columbia men's soccer team took an early 1-0 lead thanks to a goal by junior Bayo Adafin, but could not hang on as the Duke Blue Devils took home a 2-1 victory on the opening day of the Duke/Nike Classic on Friday.
The Lions found the scoring column first, as Adafin notched his first goal of the season in the 16th minute. The junior forward cashed in on a rebound chance in the box and put
Just over 10 minutes later, the Blue Devils would tie the game on a corner kick. Christopher Tweed-Kent took the corner and found senior defender Matthew Thomas, who headed home the first goal of his career to knot the contest at 1-1.
Following the equalizer, Duke put the pressure on and tallied two more shots in the subsequent four minutes, but could not find the go-ahead score.
A header off a corner by first-year Will Stamatis was snared by Blue Devil goalie Nick Tsipis, and with just 10 seconds left on the first-half clock, junior co-captain Peppe Carotenuto fired a free-kick shot that was also denied by Tsipis.
Duke held the edge in first-half shots by a slim 8-7 margin, while the Lions had the advantage in corners, 5-4. Sophomore goalkeeper Alexander Aurrichio totaled four saves in the half.
In the second half, the Blue Devils would take their first lead of the game in the 58th minute thanks to freshman Ryan Finley. After a shot by Cole Grossman was blocked, Finley was on the doorstep and gave Duke a lead it would not relinquish.
For the game, the host squad outshot the Lions, 17-11, while closing with an 8-6 edge in corner kicks.
