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Men's Soccer
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Friday, October 30
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7:00 PM
Duke University
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Virginia Tech
Seniors Shine in 2-1 Win over Virginia Tech
10/30/2015 10:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.—Duke University graduate student Jared Rist headed home a service from senior Zach Mathers in the 80th minute to lead the Blue Devils to a 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech on senior night. The win was the fifth straight for Duke and guaranteed a home game in the ACC Men's Soccer Championship First Round.
Duke (10-6-2, 3-4-1) reached the 10-wins mark for the first time since 2011 and earned the No. 8 seed in the upcoming ACC Championship. The Blue Devils will host the first round game Nov. 4 at 7 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium. Virginia Tech falls to 5-9-3 overall and 0-5-3 against conference foes.
“It was exciting,” said Mathers. “It's been a good four years and it was nice to have everyone recognized tonight. I think we started a little bit slow, but we also knew we had to win the game to get that 10th win. I think the guys really knew that going into the second half. It was a great night.”
Mathers, playing in his final regular season game at Koskinen, finished the night with a pair of assists. He has at least one goal or assist in four of Duke's five wins in this stretch. Jeremy Ebobisse registered Duke's first goal off an assist from Brody Huitema.
The Blue Devils, with the better of play in the early going, got on the board in just the 12th minute with a textbook ball movement. Mathers collected the ball in the attacking portion of midfield and sent a perfectly weighted pass out to the right flank for Huitema. The junior winger took a touch and slid the ball across the 18-yard box where Ebobisse deftly tapped it past Virginia Tech goalkeeper Morten Lamps. The goal was the seventh of the year for the sophomore.
Virginia Tech got the equalizer in the 40th minute, taking advantage of a loose ball just outside the box. Som Essome fed Collin Verfurth in behind the Blue Devils' backline for an easy one-on-one with Duke goalie Mitchell Kupstas.
Knowing that earning a 10th win was crucial, Duke regrouped at halftime and returned in the second half determined to get the go-ahead score.
“I think we were confident [at halftime],” Mathers said. “We knew we didn't play the best first half and we were up 1-0. We kind of gave them that goal so overall our confidence was high and we knew that if we played our style we would get that goal.”
The Hokies, fighting for their postseason lives, were able to pressure the Blue Devils and create a few dangerous chances down the middle, but couldn't beat Kupstas and Duke's backline.
Duke weathered the brief storm and started creating dangerous opportunities of its own. After numerous close calls just didn't go the way of the Blue Devils, Rist stepped up in the 80th minute with his diving header goal for the 2-1 lead.
The work was not done yet for the Blue Devils as Virginia Tech continued to battle in the waning minutes. Duke sophomore defender Carter Manley made an outstanding recovery run to block a Daniel Lauretano shot wide with five minutes to play.
Kupstas, outstanding throughout the game for Duke, made two crucial saves after the Blue Devils took the 2-1 lead. He finished the night with two saves and improves to 5-2-0 on the year.
The ACC Championship gets underway Wednesday, Nov. 4 with the first round games. Duke will host the No. 9 seed at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the quarterfinal round Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.
#GoDuke
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