Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer versus Elon on October 7, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Men's Soccer
vs Elon
Tuesday, September 23
Wilmington, N.C.
7:00 PM
Duke University
1
at
2
UNC Wilmington
Blue Devils Fall on the Road to UNCW
9/23/2014 9:15:00 PM | Men's Soccer
WILMINGTON, N.C.—UNC Wilmington scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute and held on to hand Duke a 2-1 road loss tonight at UNCW Soccer Stadium. Nat Eggleston had the Blue Devils' goal in the setback.
UNCW improves to 6-1-1 on the year, while Duke falls to 3-3-1 and 0-3-0 on the road. It marks the sixth time in the past eight meetings the game between the two squads has been decided by one goal.
The Blue Devils had a little luck on their side in the opening 90 seconds as Jamie Dell's shot from 15 yards out hit the right post and bounced out. After dodging the early bullet, Duke settled into a rhythm and got into the UNC Wilmington defensive third.
Duke nearly capitalized on its first action in the offensive third as Sean Davis tried to curl a free kick from 20 yards out. Sean Melvin read the shot well and pushed it across the end line for a Blue Devil corner kick.
UNC Wilmington nearly got on the board again in the 20th minute, but Colin Bonner's shot sailed over to the left post to keep the game scoreless. The Seahawks continued press forward and captalized on a corner kick in the 38th minute. Mateo Cardona served in a driven ball to the near post where Jaco VanCompernolle headed it past Duke goalkeeper Joe Ohaus for the 1-0 lead.
Looking to its third come-from-behind win of the season, Duke looked to up its tempo in the second half. The Blue Devils were able to control the middle of the field, but were just missing that final pass in the Seahawks' defensive third.
Duke came through in the 69th minute to even the score with a Nat Eggleston goal from a Sean Davis corner kick. Brody Huitema, active for the Blue Devils in the second half, set up the goal for Duke by running at the Seahawks' defense and earning the corner kick.
The Blue Devils nearly took the 2-1 lead in the 75th minute, but Sean Melvin came up with a big save on a Davis penalty kick. Duke, appearing to take a 2-1 lead just a minute later on a corner kick, had its header disallowed on a foul call in the box.
After holding off Duke's pressure, UNC Wilmington came the other way and took advantage of a crowd in the penalty area. Brayden Smith slipped a ball wide to an open VanCompernelle on the left side of the penalty box. He quickly looked up a fired a low shot to the far post to lift the Seahawks to the 2-1 advantage.
Duke played with great urgency in the final 10 minutes in search of a way to send the game into overtime. Junior Zach Mathers had a fantastic strike in the 88th minute that Melvin pushed away for his fifth save of the night.
The Seahawks held a 16-13 edge in shots, while Duke had the 6-2 advantage from the corner flags. Ohaus had two stops in goal for the Blue Devils, while Melvin finished with five.
Duke resumes ACC play Friday night against Boston College at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live by ESPN3.
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
Cinematic Recap vs Notre Dame
Tuesday, November 12
A DOMINANT WIN OVER NOTRE DAME - MEN'S SOCCER
Tuesday, November 05
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
Welcome to Duke
Saturday, October 19
