Completed Event: Men's Soccer at #14 Akron on November 30, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2
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Final
Men's Soccer
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at #14 Akron
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#1 Duke Men's Soccer Captures First Ever ACC Tournament Championship With 2-1 Victory Over Virginia
11/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
WINSTON-Salem, NC (November 14) -- The Duke University men's soccer team captured their first ever ACC
Tournament Championship title on Sunday with a 2-1 triple overtime
victory over seventh seeded Virginia (12-8-1) in front of 2,317 fans in
Winston-Salem.
Junior Stephen Pate scored his fourth goal of the season in the third overtime period to lift the top seeded Blue Devils over Virginia. Pate took a cross from Dwayne Harris and lifted it into the left corner of the net just over the Cavalier goalkeeper David Comfort's arms in the 129th minute to win it for Duke.
I am very happy about winning, said Duke Head Coach John Rennie. I knew coming into this final that it was not going to be an easy game. The players knew it was not going to be an easy game.
Duke's Ali Curtis put the Devils on the board first, collecting a loose ball from six yards out and chipping it into the back of the net at 8:55. Trevor Perea and Donald McIntosh combined to give the ball to Curtis in scoring position. The score stood at 1-0 in Duke's favor till the second half when Virginia came out firing as Kyle Martine finished a cross from Sheldon Barnes and slid it past Blue Devil keeper Jeff Haywood from 10 yards out.
The match turned into a defensive standstill, going into the third of a possible four overtimes with the score deadlocked at 1-1. Duke continued to get shots off, but none proved more important than Pate's with just over six minutes left in the third overtime period.
Duke (15-0-3) outshot the Cavaliers 17-11 for the game and will receive the ACC's automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. The field will be announced at 9:00 PM on Monday.
We had some great tackles and thanks to Mr. (Jeff) Haywood and a great goal by Pate we came out with the win, said Rennie. I'm happy for these guys, especially the seniors. It was a great win-a long time coming and its something that I'm proud of for this team, these players, for Duke and for myself. Today was our turn.
For the tournament senior Troy Garner was named M.V.P. with his two goals on Friday vs. North Carolina and dominant play on Sunday. Six other Blue Devils were named All-Tournament Robert Russell, Ali Curtis, Nii-Amar Amamoo, Haywood, Trevor Perea, and Donald McIntosh.
Pate on his game-winning goal, I was more worried about getting in front of my man (than scoring) and it just went in off my left foot. I was just happy the game was over. I was just happy!
2026 Duke Men’s Soccer Intro
Monday, September 01
Cinematic Recap vs Notre Dame
Tuesday, November 12
A DOMINANT WIN OVER NOTRE DAME - MEN'S SOCCER
Tuesday, November 05
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
