Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at North Carolina on October 31, 2025 at 8 p.m.
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8 p.m.
Men's Soccer
at North Carolina
Saturday, September 26
Durham, N.C.
7 P.M.
Duke University
1
vs
0
NC State
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Pariano's OT Goal Lifts Duke Past NC State
9/26/2020 11:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.—Duke men's soccer freshman Nick Pariano scored his first career goal with 34 seconds left to lift the Blue Devils to a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory over NC State in their ACC and home opener Saturday night at Koskinen Stadium.
Duke head coach John Kerr captured his 200th career victory, becoming the just the second coach in Blue Devil men's soccer history to record 200 wins. His mentor, John Rennie, holds the record at 410.
The Blue Devils move to 1-1-0 on the year and 1-0-0 in the ACC. The three points put Duke atop the North Division standings with Wake Forest.
"I liked our resiliency and I liked our willingness to compete," said Kerr. "It was a hotly contested match that really could have gone either way."
Duke struggled offensively at times during the game as NC State did well to clog the middle of the field and not allow the Blue Devils space to attack down the middle.
"NC State did a great job tonight," said Kerr. "They really were disciplined. They worked their socks off. They got men behind the ball. They shut out any alley ways into our front guys and made us work for every moment out there. To only get three shots in regulation was a great job by them and a poor job by us. We need to be better."
After a scoreless 109 minutes and NC State with a goal kick heading into the final 60 seconds, it appeared as if the Blue Devils would walk away with a single point on the night. However, a pair of aerial wins from freshmen defender Lewis McGarvey off the goal kick gave the Blue Devils possession again in their final third. Jack Doran collected the loose ball on the left flank and was able to slot it across the middle. NC State was unable to clear Doran's cross from danger and freshman Peter Stroud did well to win to get a perfect touch to Pariano on the right side of the penalty box where the Philadelphia native curled it around the NC State defender into the left corner of the net.
"The ball popped out to Peter [Stroud] and he did well to get a touch on it and got fouled," said Pariano. "As soon as he picked it up, I knew I had to position myself to get a shot and as soon as he touched it out I took a one touch shot. I didn't want to mess around and wanted to get it on goal."
"It was kind of a scramble at the top of the box where both teams were fighting for the loose ball," said Kerr. "I think Peter Stroud nipped in and kind of toe poked it into Nick's path and Nick had the instincts to kind of understand that [the NC State defenders'] momentum was going towards their near post and he had the composure to bend it around them to the back post."
The Wolfpack held a 9-6 advantage in shots and had a few dangerous opportunities over the course of the 109:26, but Duke's defense stayed steady en route to earning its first shutout of the season. Senior goalkeeper Will Pulisic made one save to pick up his 20th career shutout in his 60th career start.
"As well as their defense played our defense played equally well," Kerr said. "I'm very proud of the effort and coordination of the back three. The wingbacks had to do a lot of running tonight – they must have had to cover seven or eight miles if I'm guessing. It was a really difficult game for us, we just didn't have enough quality on offense."
Both teams spent much of the first half trying to find a rhythm with consistent possession hard to come by from either team. The Wolfpack held a 2-1 advantage in shots after the first 45 minutes.
Duke, finishing the first period with the better of play, started the second half in much the same way. However, like the opening stanza, the Blue Devils couldn't find that finishing pass into the final third.
With just over 20 minutes remaining in regulation, momentum started to shift slightly into NC State's favor as they created a couple of dangerous changes, including a one-on-one opportunity stopped by Pulisic in the 64th minute.
Neither team threatened to score in the first overtime, setting up the heart-stopping finish in the second.
Duke returns to action Friday, Oct. 2, hosting North Carolina at 7 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX.
#GoDuke
Duke head coach John Kerr captured his 200th career victory, becoming the just the second coach in Blue Devil men's soccer history to record 200 wins. His mentor, John Rennie, holds the record at 410.
The Blue Devils move to 1-1-0 on the year and 1-0-0 in the ACC. The three points put Duke atop the North Division standings with Wake Forest.
"I liked our resiliency and I liked our willingness to compete," said Kerr. "It was a hotly contested match that really could have gone either way."
Duke struggled offensively at times during the game as NC State did well to clog the middle of the field and not allow the Blue Devils space to attack down the middle.
"NC State did a great job tonight," said Kerr. "They really were disciplined. They worked their socks off. They got men behind the ball. They shut out any alley ways into our front guys and made us work for every moment out there. To only get three shots in regulation was a great job by them and a poor job by us. We need to be better."
After a scoreless 109 minutes and NC State with a goal kick heading into the final 60 seconds, it appeared as if the Blue Devils would walk away with a single point on the night. However, a pair of aerial wins from freshmen defender Lewis McGarvey off the goal kick gave the Blue Devils possession again in their final third. Jack Doran collected the loose ball on the left flank and was able to slot it across the middle. NC State was unable to clear Doran's cross from danger and freshman Peter Stroud did well to win to get a perfect touch to Pariano on the right side of the penalty box where the Philadelphia native curled it around the NC State defender into the left corner of the net.
"The ball popped out to Peter [Stroud] and he did well to get a touch on it and got fouled," said Pariano. "As soon as he picked it up, I knew I had to position myself to get a shot and as soon as he touched it out I took a one touch shot. I didn't want to mess around and wanted to get it on goal."
"It was kind of a scramble at the top of the box where both teams were fighting for the loose ball," said Kerr. "I think Peter Stroud nipped in and kind of toe poked it into Nick's path and Nick had the instincts to kind of understand that [the NC State defenders'] momentum was going towards their near post and he had the composure to bend it around them to the back post."
The Wolfpack held a 9-6 advantage in shots and had a few dangerous opportunities over the course of the 109:26, but Duke's defense stayed steady en route to earning its first shutout of the season. Senior goalkeeper Will Pulisic made one save to pick up his 20th career shutout in his 60th career start.
"As well as their defense played our defense played equally well," Kerr said. "I'm very proud of the effort and coordination of the back three. The wingbacks had to do a lot of running tonight – they must have had to cover seven or eight miles if I'm guessing. It was a really difficult game for us, we just didn't have enough quality on offense."
Both teams spent much of the first half trying to find a rhythm with consistent possession hard to come by from either team. The Wolfpack held a 2-1 advantage in shots after the first 45 minutes.
Duke, finishing the first period with the better of play, started the second half in much the same way. However, like the opening stanza, the Blue Devils couldn't find that finishing pass into the final third.
With just over 20 minutes remaining in regulation, momentum started to shift slightly into NC State's favor as they created a couple of dangerous changes, including a one-on-one opportunity stopped by Pulisic in the 64th minute.
Neither team threatened to score in the first overtime, setting up the heart-stopping finish in the second.
Duke returns to action Friday, Oct. 2, hosting North Carolina at 7 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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