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Duke University
1
vs
2
Louisville (First Round)
Louisville Hangs on to Beat Duke, 2-1
11/4/2015 10:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.—The University of Louisville scored two early goals and held off a furious second-half charge from Duke to earn a 2-1 victory in ACC Men's Soccer Championship first round action tonight at Koskinen Stadium. The loss ended the Blue Devils' five-game win streak.
“They got the momentum in scoring a second goal quickly after the first goal,” said head coach John Kerr. “We dug a massive hole for ourselves and had to chase the game the rest of the way.”
Louisville improves to 7-8-3 overall and advances to the ACC Championship quarterfinal to play top-ranked Wake Forest Sunday in Winston-Salem. Duke falls to 10-7-2 overall and will await its NCAA postseason fate when tournament selections are announced Nov. 16 at 1 p.m., on NCAA.com.
The Cardinals, needing a win to keep any hopes of NCAA postseason alive, tallied goals 47 seconds apart in the first 20 minutes of the opening half to take a commanding 2-0 lead. The Blue Devils regrouped well and dominated the action in the second half, but couldn't come away with that elusive second goal to force overtime.
“We didn't play badly in the first half,” Kerr said. “We just let them have those two opportunities and they capitalized. To be fair to them they were first to every loose ball and to be fair to our guys we were first to every loose ball in the second half.”
It was even play throughout the opening 10 to 15 minutes with neither team creating any quality chances. A free kick from 30 yards in the middle of the field swung the momentum in Louisville's favor as Tim Kubel stepped up and put a shot over the wall and just past a diving Mitchell Kupstas for the 1-0 advantage.
Less than a minute later Ben Strong headed a goal kick over the Blue Devils backline where Tate Schmitt ran onto it. All alone inside the box, Schmitt made sure to finish his chance and put the Cardinals up 2-0 in the 18th minute.
The Blue Devils, a resilient team all season, continued to try to get into a rhythm, but struggled to connect through the midfield to generate scoring opportunities. Duke tried to press high on Louisville's backline, but it remained organized and pulled the Blue Devils offside five times to go into halftime ahead 2-0.
Duke came out firing in the second half, peppering the Louisville goal from the opening whistle. Less than two minutes in, Jeremy Ebobisse had an excellent chance cleared off the line by Louisville. Sensing a goal was on the horizon, the Blue Devils continued to take it to the Cardinals.
After numerous quality looks at goal, Duke broke through in the 57th minute as senior Zach Mathers collected a ball Theo Jamilloux had punched out of danger and ripped into the back of the net to cut the Cardinals' goal in half.
“We had a couple chances to score to get the momentum early in the second half, which we didn't finish,” Kerr said. “We finally got a good goal back from Chachi, but they did well defensively and got men behind the ball and we weren't able to get that elusive second goal.”
The Blue Devils, full of confidence and energy, fought for that second goal over the next 35 minutes. Duke had 11 shots in that span, including a couple close calls on corner kicks and set pieces, but weren't able to score the equalizer. Overall, the Blue Devils outshot Louisville 15-2 in the second half and 19-9 for the game.
Jamilloux finished with five stops for Louisville, while Kupstas matched his season-high four saves.
#GoDuke
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