No. 12 Blue Devils Ride Early Goals to 3-0 Win Over No. 16 North Carolina

Sunday, September 19

Chapel Hill, N.C.

7 P.M.

Duke University

5-1-0, 2-0-0

North Carolina

4-2-1, 0-2-0

Duke

North Carolina

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 12 Blue Devils Ride Early Goals to 3-0 Win Over No. 16 North Carolina

9/19/2021 11:43:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)JOHN KERR POSTGAME

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The 12th-ranked Duke men's soccer team defeated its second consecutive ranked ACC opponent Sunday night after defeating No. 16 North Carolina, 3-0, at Dorrance Field.

Duke (5-1-0, 2-0-0 ACC) was paced by two goals in the opening 14 minutes thanks to scores by freshman Shakur Mohammed and sophomore Amir Daley. The Blue Devils added an insurance marker in the 50th minute after junior Scotty Taylor registered his first goal of the season. Senior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill recorded his second straight shutout and fourth in five games this season. The Scarsdale, N.Y., native concluded his night with six saves.

Sunday's win marked the first time the Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels by multiple goals since a 4-0 victory on Nov. 12, 1999. The three-goal win was also the largest margin of victory in Chapel Hill since a 6-2 win on Oct. 5, 1997. With the Duke women's soccer team beating North Carolina on Friday night and the men's team winning on Sunday, it marked the first time both programs have beaten the Tar Heels in the same season in Duke Athletics history.

"We were just hungry," head coach John Kerr said. "This group is ambitious and excited and there's so much more we can do. We're not getting overly excited because we want to keep our calm in this situation, but there's so much potential with this group and I think they understand that they can play at this level and get great results. I was really proud of them tonight."

Right out of the gate, the Blue Devils were on the attack against their host. On the very first scoring attempt of the game, Mohammed corralled a bouncing ball in the box and ripped a line drive shot into the bottom right corner of the net for his first collegiate goal.

The Tar Heels (4-2-1, 0-2-0 ACC) were quick to respond with a counterattack, earning a great opportunity in the seventh minute when Cameron Fisher blasted a shot on frame. Fortunately, Hamill was there to make his first save of the night.

The teams went back-and-forth with opportunities until Mohammed made a streaking run with the ball down the left-hand side of the pitch. He found Taylor at the top of the box and the junior fired a shot that was just blocked. Daley collected the rebound and placed the ball into the back at the net, past the outstretched arms of North Carolina goalie Alec Smir, to record his first collegiate goal and extend the Blue Devils lead to 2-0.

Again, the Tar Heels answered with a scoring opportunity of their own. After a blocked shot by Ernest Bawa, the ball found its way to Santiago Herrera. The sophomore connected on low-driven shot, but Hamil came sliding in to save it with his feet for one of his best stops of the night.

North Carolina kept the pressure on and registered 11 shots, four on goal, in the first half to just three for Duke. The Blue Devils stout defense was able to limit the Tar Heels scoring chances to outside the box though.

Just like it did in the opening period, Duke earned an early scoring opportunity five minutes into the second half. An attempted clear by the Tar Heels' Jonathan Sinclair landed right on the foot of Taylor, who volleyed the ball into the top left corner of the net to extend the Blue Devils' lead to 3-0. Taylor entered the game as the last Duke player to score against the Tar Heels, registering the game-winner during the teams' 2019 matchup.

The Blue Devils faced some adversity late in the game, when freshman Ruben Mesalles picked up his second yellow card in the 63rd minute. Fortunately, Duke clamped down and limited the Tar Heels to only one shot on goal throughout the remainder of the contest.

Next up for the Blue Devils is a road trip to Syracuse, N.Y., for a date with Syracuse on Saturday 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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