Wake Forest @ Duke

I expected to be heading to Greenville for the night to get ready for my trip to Norfolk. There was a little screw up in the assignment schedule. The ODU-George Mason match is actually in Fairfax, VA. That is a longer drive that I necessarily don't want to make. So I'm canceling that trip. I get to see Old Dominion when they come down to North Carolina next Tuesday.

I decided to make the trek down I-40 West to Durham and watch Duke take on Wake Forest. This is my first time watching Wake play. I've seen Duke two times already in their tournament.

Duke won the match 4-1. Wake started off brightly and faded towards the end of the half. A Jonathan Aguirre penalty kick gave Duke the lead. Also James Belshaw (DU) saved a penalty by Luca Gimenez (WF) to keep the lead to 1-0 at the half.

The second half was pretty much dominated by Duke with Andrew Wenger scoring twice and Joe Pak rounding out the match. Wake got a consolation goal from Ben Newnam. Also Wake was down to ten men due to a red card by Jared Watts with a studs up challenge on Aguirre.

Duke's play seems to revolve around Andrew Wenger. If they didn't have a player like Wenger, I think the match would be equal. Jay Vidovich tries to incorporate his slick passing style with this crop of players. The problem is that as of right now this group isn't good enough to do the things that Marcus Tracy, Zack Schilawski, Sam Cronin, etc.. could do. This Wake team is definitely in rebuilding mode but they do have some promising players.

Duke:

Andrew Wenger:

The Junior forward pretty much does it all. He is a good passer, has a powerful shot, decent pace, and does a good job in leading his team. I didn't notice how fast he was in the first two games I watched him until I saw him ghost past Sam Fink, WF Center-back on numerous occasions. He doesn't mind tracking back also.

I believe whenever he comes out, he will be a top 5 pick in the MLS SuperDraft. He's one of the best players I've seen play this season. He is pivotal to the success of this Blue Devil team.

Sebastien Ibeagha:

Tough Center-back who is pretty good in the air. Very aggressive tackler. Possibly too aggressive. He fouled Luca Gimenez to set up WF's PK. Decent technically. He can pass or dribble out of the backline.

His Communication was much better than that of the SMU game. He was barking out orders that were more constructive to his teammates along the backline. Has some pace and reads the game well. Able to intercept passes or put players in an offsides position.

Wake Forest:

Danny Wenzel

Tenacious Defender. He has leadership qualties. Very vocal. Another aggressive tackler. A solid defender overall. His passing was inaccurate. He couldn't make the longer distance passes to a forward checking to. Has average technical ability.

Doesn't mind putting his body on the line. Made a couple of goal-saving tackles. Also he put his body in front of a couple of shots.

I think he will make a MLS roster but I can't see him making much of an impact as a center-back. He isn't dominant enough to play in the CB position. He might need to move into a fullback role but he will definitely need to improve with his technical skills to play the part.

Luca Gimenez

Brazilian Left-Winger who doesn't mind taking players on. He is a right-footed player so he would cut inside rather than cross with his left foot. Has some good pace and nifty moves but he isn't as good in making the final pass. He usually makes the wrong choice in either making the wrong pass or he'll dribble into defenders.

Kinda hot-headed. Let's his temperament get the best to him at times and makes the wrong choices like diving in the box or yelling at teammates when he doesn't get the ball.

Overall he is a good player who could make an impact with the Deacons in the next couple of years and can be a good professional.