2016 Duke Men's Soccer Season recap

2016 Results | 7-8-2 | 2-5-1 ACC | ACC First Round

Season Highlights

Duke Sends Seniors Out in Style

Duke freshman Brandon Williamson had a night to remember as he scored a pair of goals to lead the Blue Devils to a thrilling 2-1 double overtime upset over No. 4 Notre Dame in ACC men’s soccer action. Senior Robert Moewes was outstanding with seven saves to help send Duke’s six seniors out on a high note in their final regular season game in Koskinen.

“It was a total team effort. I got a beautiful cross in from Max [Moser] and I was in the right place at the right time and I did what I could to put it in the back of the net.” - Brandon Williamson

The win over the No. 4 Irish was Duke’s second against a top-10 team in 2016 - the Blue Devils also beat No. 9 UCLA 1-0 in September. It was also the first victory over the Fighting Irish for the Blue Devils since 1992, stopping a six-game skid.

“I thought we were superb tonight,” said head coach John Kerr. “I thought we were very good and we were playing against an excellent team so to maintain our poise and fitness level to the end was very impressive.”

The two goals from Williamson, who earned a starting role recently, were the first of his young Blue Devils career. He is the second rookie this season to record a pair of goals, joining Suniel Veerakone in the exclusive club.

Lots of great memories from this game for all Blue Devils, especially the seniors and rookie Brandon Williamson

Duke Upsets No. 4 UCLA on White's Golazo

Brian White and crew celebrate after his highlight reel goal to upset No. 4 UCLA

After playing a scoreless 85-plus minutes that featured spectacular goalkeeping from both teams, White took a fantastic touch from rookie Suniel Veerakone, raced 15 yards down the field and struck a perfect shot off the inside of the left post for the winner with 2:03 left in regulation.

UCLA goalkeeper had no chance at stopping this wonder strike

Prior to the wonder strike from White, goalkeeper Robert Moewes was the story for the Blue Devils. The graduate student transfer put on a clinic in net, making eight saves overall in the game and numerous highlight-reel stops.

After UCLA missed a penalty kick wide in the early portion of the second half, Moewes came up with stop after stop to keep the Bruins off the board. His saves ranged from point-blank saves to diving efforts as he posted his first shutout of the season.

Individual Highlights

Max Moser: 17 GP-16 GS | 7 assists | 1342 minutes

ACC All-Freshman Team and Team's Most Outstanding Rookie

Moser, possessing an incredible ability to serve quality crosses from the flanks and corner flags, led all Blue Devils with seven assists in 2016 to earn ACC All-Freshman Team recognition as well as the team's rookie MVP award. His total is third in the ACC season and tied for third among all freshmen nationally. Only eight freshmen in Division I soccer have at least seven assists to their names. Moser’s 0.41 assists per game average is second among freshmen and tied for 34th overall nationally.

A starter in 16 of 17 games, Moser registered the tying assist in a 1-1 draw with San Diego and also had the service that led to the game winner over No. 4 Notre Dame during the regular season. Overall, Moser played in all 17 games and amassed 1,326 minutes to rank tied for sixth on the team.

Brian White: 17 GP- 17 GS | 5g, 4a, 14 pts | 3 GWG

  • Team's leading scorer and All-ACC second team pick
  • Most Valuable Offensive Player as voted by his teammates

An All-ACC second team pick, White was Duke’s points leader in 2016 with five goals and four assists for 14 points.

A native of Flemington, N.J., White started all 17 games for the Blue Devils and ranked fourth overall in minutes played. He led all scorers with five goals and four assists for a career-best 14 points, ranking tied for 10th in the ACC.

In his 17 outings, White tallied three game-winning goals, including the 90th minute strike that lifted the Blue Devils over No. 9 UCLA 1-0 in Los Angeles. He also tallied the overtime winner against Elon. White, also possessing the ability to find the open man, provided the game-tying assist in Duke’s 2-1 come-from-behind win over NC State. For his career, White has played in 53 games with 43 starts and compiled 34 points from 13 goals and eight assists.

Robert Moewes: 17 GP- 17 GS | 1.36 GAA | .736 SV% | 67 Saves | 2 ShO

  • Voted by the team as Duke's Most Valuable Player in 2016
  • ACC Defensive Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after recording eight saves in the 1-0 shutout win over No. 9 UCLA

Duke’s defensive anchor in goal, Moewes played all but 28 minutes in 2016 and posted a 1.36 goals against average and a .736 save percentage. The Germany native ranked third in the ACC in saves with 3.94 and 67 overall. In Duke’s upset win over No. 9 UCLA Moewes made a season-high eight saves, including five in the second half, to earn ACC Defensive Player of the Week and College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer Teams of the Week. He was equally as outstanding in Duke’s upset victory over No. 4 Notre Dame with seven saves, three of which came from point-blank range in the second overtime.

Brandon Williamson Has a Night to Remember

Rookie Brandon Williamson will never forget the night he had October 21, 2016 at Koskinen Stadium. After having earned a spot in the starting lineup a couple games prior, Williamson turned in the biggest performance of his career with two goals, including the overtime winner, to upset No. 4 Notre Dame on Senior Night.

“It’s hard to defend against our wide players,” Williamson said.”They’re so good at getting crosses in that it’s only a matter of time before you get one in the back of the net.” - On both of the services he received to set up his goals.

The two goals from Williamson, who earned a starting role recently, were the first of his young Blue Devils career. He is the second rookie this season to record a pair of goals, joining Suniel Veerakone in the exclusive club.

Brandon Williamson (left) and Suniel Veerakone both registered multiple goal games in their rookies seasons.

OTHER NOTABLES

Award Winners

  • All-ACC: Brian White (2nd Team), Max Moser (All-Freshman), Suniel Veerakone (All-Freshman)
  • ACC Defensive Player of the Week : Robert Moewes (Sept. 5)
  • ACC Offensive Player of the Week: Brandon Williamson (Oct. 24)
  • Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week : Robert Moewes (Sept. 5), Brandon Williamson (Oct. 24)
  • College Soccer News Team of the Week : Robert Moewes (Sept. 5), Brandon Williamson (Oct. 24)
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities Duke Athlete of the Week : Brian White (Sept. 5), Brandon Williamson (Oct. 24)
  • John Rennie All-Tournament Team : Suniel Veerakone (MVP), Max Moser, Robert Moewes, Brian White
  • Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI: Robert Moewes, First Team
  • Team MVP : Robert Moewes, Offensive MVP: Brian White, Defensive MVP: Markus Fjortoft & Carter Manley, John Rennie Award: Markus Fjortoft, Rookie of the Year: Max Moser
  • CoSIDA Academic All-District III First Team: Cody Brinkman, Ryan Thompson
These nine Blue Devils earned some fashion of honor for their play on or off the field in 2016

Late Game Heroics

Eight of Duke’s 22 goals this season came in the final 20 minutes of the game or in overtime and five of those were scored in the final two minutes of either regulation or overtime. Cameron Moseley tied the game against San Diego in the 90th minute, tallying a goal with 16 seconds left. Brian White scored with 1:05 remaining to upset UCLA and Ryan Thompson netted the game winner against Georgia Southern with 1:47 left in regulation. Brandon Williamson lifted Duke to victory over Notre Dame with a goal with 1:49 left in overtime and Brian White followed that lead with a tally with 1:56 left in the first overtime at Elon.

“We kept plugging away. The last 20 minutes they were tired and we had fresh legs. We had a bunch of guys we brought off the bench and they made a big difference. And [Robert] was huge for us today. Player of the match.” - Head coach John Kerr

“It was a great soccer game for the fans. San Diego is a rugged team, very tough and they fought for every ball. They made life very difficult for us. We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. At least we were in good spots and we tried our tails off. It’s disappointing that we didn’t come out with a win, but I’m so happy they tied it up in those last couple seconds.” - John Kerr

#GoDuke

Credits:

Duke Athletics, Andy Mead, Peyton Williams

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