No. 14 Duke Downs No. 21 UNC Greensboro 3-0 in Exhibition Contest

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Wednesday, August 16

Greensboro, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

UNC Greensboro- Exhibition

No. 14 Duke Downs No. 21 UNC Greensboro 3-0 in Exhibition Contest

8/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The 14th ranked Duke men's soccer team traveled to Greensboro, N.C. for its second exhibition contest of year and came away with a 3-0 victory over 21st ranked UNC Greensboro.

Mike Grella, a 2005 ACC All-Freshman team selection, played a large role in the victory with a goal and two assists. In the 20th minute, Grella found Joe Germanese, one of Duke's new additions to the 2006 roster, and Germanese pounded it home for his first goal as a Blue Devil. Germanese transferred from Vanderbilt where he finished second on the team in scoring in each of the past two seasons.

“I think we played very well today and more importantly the defense stepped it up,” said Grella. “You have to start out playing good defense to get a good offense going so I think overall the whole team really stepped it up today.”

Just over three minutes later, Kyle Helton, a senior captain from Alpharetta, Ga., sent a ball from midfield to the top of the box where Grella flicked it over Nate Berry's head to put Duke up by two goals. UNC Greensboro had a pair of chances to cut the lead down before break when Michael Fitzgerald put two shots on goal but Justin Papadakis made two of his seven first half saves to preserve the shutout through 45 minutes.

Grella was at it again in the second half, finding Zach Pope on the far right side of the box. Pope made a move to get past the defender and fired it into the goal to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.

“I think it gives a lot of confidence and show us that we can play,” said Grella. “Sometimes we were up and down last year and this shows us that we can be serious contenders this year.”

Duke finished the game with a 16-9 advantage in total shots. Berry finished with one save in a half of action while Chad Janda stopped three shots in the second half. Brendan Fitzgerald played the final 45 minutes in goal for Duke.

The Blue Devils will conclude the preseason on Saturday when they return home to host No. 2 UConn at 7 p.m. Duke will open the regular season at Koskinen Stadium when Hartford visits Durham on August 25.