With his team mired in a six-game winless streak three weeks ago, Duke men’s coach John Kerr could feel the season slipping away.
“We gave up 14 goals in six games,” Kerr recalled. “We needed a spark.”
The Blue Devils found a couple of them. Kerr inserted Brown transfer Mitch Kupstas, a graduate student, as his starting goalkeeper and moved senior Zach Mathers from his holding midfielder role to forward.
Duke (7-6-2) has gone 3-2 in its past five games, and while there’s still a lot of work to do in the final three regular-season games if the Blue Devils harbor any designs on the postseason, they have clearly righted the ship.