Grossman Scores Twice to Lead Duke Past James Madison

Tuesday, September 1

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

James Madison

Blue Devils Upset No. 16 Virginia in Double Overtime

Grossman Scores Twice to Lead Duke Past James Madison

9/1/2009 10:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.-Duke University junior Cole Grossman scored a pair of goals in 14 minutes to lead the Blue Devil men's soccer team to a 2-0 win over James Madison in its season opener. Grossman tallied both goals in the second half to seal the first victory of the season.

"I thought we performed really well," head coach John Kerr said. "We kept our patience. JMU is a good team, they are well organized and they work hard for each other. They cause us a lot of problems because they're very disciplined. That made it difficult for us. We had to move the ball around a little bit quicker and break them down and finally we were able to get that breakthrough with that penalty."

Duke got into the attack in the early going and earned a corner kick in the fifth minute. Christopher Tweed-Kent sent the ball in from the right side to the head of senior Trae Harrison. Harrison's header sailed into the hands of James Madison goalie Ken Manahan for the first of four first-half saves.

Just minutes later the Dukes were awarded a free kick 25 yards from goal. James Madison's Christian McLaughlin pushed the ball past the wall, but Duke keeper Nick Tsipis was there to tip it over the endline to keep the match scoreless.

The Blue Devils continued to create scoring opportunities that just missed the mark as the two squads headed into halftime knotted at zero. Duke held a 7-4 advantage in shots in the opening 45 minutes.

"We changed the formation a little bit and had Cole [Grossman] sitting in the hole," Kerr said. "We told our players to move the ball quicker because we were moving it but much to slow in the first half. We were able to do a better job of that in the second half and find Cole in that spot right in front of the defense. That was crucial because when he's on the ball he's very good at distributing so he caused a lot of problems with them in the second half."

That change in formation for the Blue Devils did prove to wreak havoc on the Duke's defense. Getting much of the possession in the opening 20 minutes, the Blue Devils finally broke through in the 70th minute.

With Christopher Tweed-Kent leading the attacking play down the flank for Duke, Ryan Finley and Grossman were open in the penalty box to create problems for James Madison. A ball got loose in the penalty area and Grossman drew the foul inside the 18-yard box for the penalty kick.

Grossman calmly stepped up to the 12-yard mark and slipped the ball into the right side of the goal.

"I like taking penalties, especially in big situations," Grossman said. "It's a good feeling to be up there with the game on the line and it's pretty cool to help the team out and make the PK."

Duke staved off James Madison for the important five minutes following the score and added a second tally in the 84th minute. Daniel Tweed-Kent was responsible for the assist this time, threading the ball past two defenders to Grossman's feet 12 yards from goal. Once again, Grossman buried the ball to seal the win for the Blue Devils.

"I was out there for just a few minutes," Daniel Tweed-Kent said. "The ball just came to me and I saw Cole [Grossman] so I just did a little chip and it went through the two guys and Cole buried it."

Tsipis finished with four saves in his first career start for Duke, while Manahan had six stops. The Blue Devils held a 15-11 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

Duke returns to action in the second annual Duke/Nike Classic on Sept. 4-6. The Blue Devils host Columbia at 7:30 p.m., on Sept. 4 and Denver on Sept. 6 at 2:30 p.m.

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