Mercer University
Duke
Men's Soccer Falls at Duke, 2-0
11/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. – The Mercer men's soccer team fell to a very talented Duke squad 2-0 on a cold rainy Friday evening at Koskinen Stadium.
Duke (10-6-2) came into Friday night's game as the fourth ranked scoring offense in the nation and it showed against a Mercer (8-7-3) defense that entered the game as the top-ranked defensive unit in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Things started pretty slow for both teams early on. The Blue Devils registered the first threat on the offensive end in the 11th minute, when freshman Nick Palodichuk fired a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that freshman Greg Ranjitsingh corralled for the save.
That is the way things stayed until the 28th minute of play, when Duke broke up the scoreless draw. Freshman forward Matt Slotnick picked up loose ball in the box and fired a shot off the fingertips of Ranjitsingh and into the back of the net to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Devils came out of the locker room after halftime and found another goal to double their lead. Freshman Nick Palodichuk weaved his way through the Mercer defense and fired a low shot that beat Ranjitsingh to give Duke a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute.
The Bears best scoring chance of the match came in the 67th minute of play. Redshirt junior Matt Brazer tried to chip a shot over a drawn out Duke goalkeeper, but his attempt was blocked by the last defender to keep the Blue Devils up by two.
Ranjitsingh tied his career-high with six saves in defeat while Duke goalkeeper James Belshaw registered his fourth shutout of the season in the win.
Mercer returns to the field on Wednesday evening when it takes on Lipscomb in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Championship. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Summers-Taylor Stadium on the campus of East Tennessee State University.
