No. 4 Blue Devils Outlast No. 14 Louisville, 3-1

Friday, October 1

Durham, N.C.

7 P.M.

Duke University

8-1-0, 4-0-0

Louisville

7-3-0, 3-1-0

Louisville

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 4 Blue Devils Outlast No. 14 Louisville, 3-1

10/2/2021 12:11:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)JOHN KERR POSTGAME PETER STROUD POSTGAME Photo Gallery

DURHAM – The No. 4 Duke men's soccer program (8-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC) has moved into sole possession of first place in the ACC, following a 3-1 win over No. 14 Louisville (7-3-0, 3-1-0 ACC) on Friday night at Koskinen Stadium.

"I'm really, really happy overall," said Head Coach John Kerr. "There's moments in the game that we could have done better at times, and we rode our luck at times as well but overall, I thought we did a great job and I'm really pleased with the guys."

With the win, the Blue Devils have started a season 4-0 in ACC play for the first time since 1980. The Blue Devils are now the only remaining unbeaten team in ACC action and have started 8-1-0 to mark the program's best start since 2004.

Sophomore Thorleifur Ulfarsson scored two goals in the win, bringing his season total to seven goals and 14 points. The Kopavogur, Iceland native has scored five of the team's seven goals this week. Freshman Shakur Mohammed also tallied a goal and assist, while sophomore Peter Stroud assisted on Mohammed's goal. Senior Eliot Hamill made two saves in the win, allowing just one goal to Louisville's Pedro Fonseca.

The game began with both teams angling for possession, with only two shots in the first 20 minutes. However, Stroud led a quick counterattack for the Blue Devils, finding Mohammed, who delivered a cut inside the box and buried a shot into the bottom left corner past Louisville goalkeeper Detre Bell to make it 1-0.

The Cardinals had a brilliant opportunity just minutes later, when Macoumba Ba ripped a shot that took a deflection on its way, forcing Hamill to make a save against the momentum of his body for his best save of the night.

Later in the half, the Blue Devils went on the counterattack once again, with freshman Felix Barajas feeding senior Conor Kelly in the box. Louisville's Bell went for a sliding save and upended Kelly, earning Bell a yellow card and forcing a penalty kick for the Blue Devils. Ulfarsson took the kick and tucked it in the bottom left corner to make it 2-0.

The Cardinals did not go quietly, as Pedro Fonseca cut the deficit to one. Fonseca made a slicing run into the box, before tucking a shot near post past Hamill. The goal ended Hamill's most recent shutout streak at 308:03, after making 18 consecutive saves.

A physical battle ensued for the remainder of the game, with the two teams combining for 11 bookings. Ulfarsson continued to press through the physical play, with several tremendous opportunities. His first would come in the 53rd minute, when his deep header clipped the crossbar.

Ulfarsson and the Blue Devils thought they secured the third goal of the game when the sophomore delivered another shot on goal, that Bell made a save on but could not corral, floating in the air just above the goal line. Louisville's Bradley Sample kicked it off the goal line, forcing a VAR review. The call would stand, but Ulfarsson's big day would continue.

In the 72nd minute, sophomore Santa Ihara delivered a ball into the Louisville box to the feet of Ulfarsson, who collided with Bell in the box. Bell was assessed a red card, forcing backup goalkeeper Gavin Krenecki to enter and defend another penalty kick. However, Ulfarsson rang the penalty kick off the right post to keep the score 2-1.

However, Ulfarsson would not be denied his second goal of the game. After a dribbling run by Mohammed, he tucked a pass into the feet of Ulfarsson, who delivered a chip shot over a sliding Krenecki to put the game away.

The Blue Devils will wrap up the three-game homestand with a game against Elon on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMSOC".

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