DURHAM, N.C- The Jacksonville men's soccer team fell 3-1 against the fourth ranked team in the country, Duke, on Friday evening. 

 

A thrilling season opener saw the Dolphins square off against nationally ranked and 2022 NCAA tournament quarterfinalists in Duke. The matchup marked the highest-ranked opponent the Dolphins have faced in the program's history.  

Straight from kickoff, both teams showed strong defensive play, and created an intense first 20 minutes of action that featured back and forth action. 

As the match began to open up, The Blue Devils launched a series of free kicks and three striking attempts, testing the Dolphins' defense. Yet, the Dolphins' early 'bend don't break' defense proved unyielding and stood strong against the ACC foe. 

The match carried on towards the halfway mark, and the Blue Devils seemed to settle into the match.  JU sophomore then proceeded to pounce on a Duke mistake with just one minute remaining in the half and punished the opposing defense to give Jacksonville the game's first goal. 

The second half began with similar fireworks to the first as both sides ripped a pair of shots in the first 10 minutes. Jacksonville's Andres Perez de Garcia and Owen Guske both narrowly doubled the Dolphins advantage, but just couldn't find the back of the net. 

The half began to dip in fireworks, however in the 75th minute, Duke's midfielder Drew Kerr found the back of the net off a set-piece to level the score. Shortly after the Blue Devils were rewarded with a penalty kick that they capitalized on to take their first lead of the game with just 10 minutes remaining. As the Dolphins searched for an equalizer and attempted to stretch the field, Duke was able to find the back of the net off another set-piece with just under four minutes remaining to clinch the season opening victory. 

 

 

"I'm incredibly proud of our group of our group of young men," said head coach Ali Simmons. "We played the #4 ranked team in the country today and went toe to toe. I think a draw would have been a fair result. We need to have a look back at a couple of decisions, but that does not take away from a good game of soccer and a significant effort by our team. Duke have been superb hosts and I wish Coach Kerr and his team the absolute best."