Duke Falls to No. 1 Syracuse in ACC Quarterfinal

Sunday, November 9

Syracuse, N.Y.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Syracuse (Quarterfinals)

Duke Hosts No. 17 Charlotte in Final Exhibition

Duke Falls to No. 1 Syracuse in ACC Quarterfinal

11/9/2014 3:08:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Top-ranked Syracuse scored a pair of first-half goals and locked down Duke's offense in the second half to post a 2-0 win over the No. 7 seed Blue Devils in the ACC Men's Soccer Championship Quarterfinal this afternoon in front of 2,533 fans at Syracuse Soccer Stadium.

Duke drops to 9-9-1 overall record, while Syracuse moves to 15-2-1 on the year. The Blue Devils will await their fate for NCAA Tournament selections on Monday, Nov. 17.

"Credit to Syracuse today," said head coach John Kerr. "We gave up that early goal and they were organized and strong in the back to keep us off the board. I'm proud of the way these guys played hard in these past four games and the senior leadership we've gotten in this final stretch of the season."

The Blue Devils created the early opportunities in the game. Senior Matt Slotnick nearly put Duke up 1-0 just 30 seconds into the contest as his header hit sailed over Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono and hit the crossbar. Minutes later, sophomore Brody Huitema had a go from long range stopped by Bono.

The Orange (15-2-1) came to life after the early chances by Duke and controlled the run of play. Nick Perea, collecting the ball on a good give-and-go into the penalty area, was stonewalled by Duke goalkeeper Wilson Fisher to keep the game scoreless. Fisher came off his line to cut down the angle perfectly and Perea couldn't get it over the senior goalie.

Less than two minutes later Alex Halis collected a Julian Buescher pass on the doorstep and this time beat Fisher high for the 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. With the Orange dominating possession, Duke tried to get an equalizer with efforts from long range, but Bono was always there to make the stop. The best chance of the afternoon for Duke came off of a corner kick in the 30th minute. Brian White flicked a Sean Davis service towards the back post, but no Duke player was able to knock it in for the equalizer.

Nick Perea, minutes later, put the Orange up 2-0 with a header off of a cross from the left side by Oyvind Alseth past Fisher for his fifth tally of the year.

Duke applied pressure in the final minutes of the opening frame with better possession in Syracuse's defensive third. However, the stalwart Orange defense refused to let the Blue Devils into the penalty area for any dangerous chances on goal.

The Blue Devils came out strong in the second half with increased pressure through the midfield to keep the Orange from pushing forward for a potential third goal. Duke, needing a goal to cut into the lead, was unable to find the open spaces in Syracuse's defensive third.

Duke was equally as good in the second frame with Fisher leading the charge with four saves, including an outstanding reaction save with his right foot, to keep the Orange scoreless in the second frame. Overall, Syracuse outshot Duke 9-4 in the second half and 19-11 for the game.

Fisher matched his career high in saves with six, while Alex Bono had seven stops to post his 12th shutout of the season.