Durham, N.C. – Duke's Hassan Pinto found the back of the net in the 35^th minute to lift the 10^th-ranked Blue Devils to a 1-0 victory over Furman in the season opener for both schools at the John Rennie Nike Invitational at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Friday evening.

"Great performance tonight against one of the top 10 teams in the country," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "Max Fisher played well in goal. Unfortunately, we didn't take our chances, but we played very, very well in the second half against a good Duke team. We'll look to build on this the rest of the way."

Aedan Stanley and Conor Kelley setup Pinto's goal at the 34:55 mark to put the Blue Devils in front and Duke weathered the Furman attack in the second half as the Paladins banged two shots off of the woodwork in the final period.
 
Will Pulisic recorded four saves to earn the shutout for Duke (1-0-0), while Max Fisher turned away two shots for the Paladins (0-1-0).
 
Cole McLagan was denied in the 54^th minute and Rocky Guerra's follow-up effort hit the post. Will Pulisic, who finished with four saves, turned away Conor Sloan bid for an equalizer in the final 10 minutes as Furman poured on the pressure.
 
The Paladins posted a 9-8 edge in total shots, including 5-2 advantage in the final 45 minutes, and 4-3 margin in shots on goal.
 
Furman returns to action in the John Rennie Invitational on Sunday at noon when it faces Elon in Durham, N.C. The Phoenix downed Cal State Bakersfield, 3-2, in the opening game of the tournament on Friday afternoon.