No. 9 Duke Defeats No. 4 UNC 5-4 on Penalty Kicks to Claim the ACC Championship

Sunday, November 13

Cary, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

No. 9 Duke Defeats No. 4 UNC 5-4 on Penalty Kicks to Claim the ACC Championship

11/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

CARY, N.C. - After playing to a 0-0 tie for the second time in two games this season, No. 9 Duke and No. 4 North Carolina needed penalty kicks to decide the ACC Championship. Sophomore goalkeeper Justin Papadakis made two key saves and freshman Mike Grella netted the game-winner in the sixth round of the shootout to clinch the game for the Blue Devils.

Duke and Carolina remained even after the first three rounds of the shootout, with Ted Odgers, Scott Campbell and Ben Hunter scoring for the Tar Heels and junior Chris Loftus, sophomore Tomek Charowski and sophomore Zach Pope all finding the back of the net for the Blue Devils. North Carolina took the lead in the fourth round, however, when sophomore Kyle Helton missed the left side of the net following North Carolina's fourth point of the shootout off a Michael Harrington kick. Facing a must-save situation, Papadakis again came up big for the Blue Devils, making a diving save on Dax McCarty's kick to keep Duke's championship hopes alive. Senior Blake Camp hit the top left of the net to tie the shootout at 4-4 after five rounds. In the first round of sudden death, Papadakis saved Stephen Bickford's shot and Grella hit the left side of the net to give Duke a 5-4 win in the shootout.

Duke held a 4-2 advantage on shots in the first half, with sophomore Michael Videira putting two shots on goal, but both were saved by North Carolina's Justin Hughes. North Carolina came out strong in the second half, with Ben Hunter registering the Tar Heels' first shot on goal against the Blue Devils this season. Papadakis made a huge save on the play and came up with another nine seconds later on a shot by David Boole to keep the match scoreless.

North Carolina had another quality scoring opportunity in the 69th minute after sophomore defender Tim Jepson was issued a yellow card and the Tar Heels were awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. The ensuing kick ricocheted off of Duke's three-man wall, however, and the game headed for overtime. Regulation ended with the teams even on shots, 6-6.

With just over four minutes elapsed in the first overtime period, Videira curved a shot from the right side of the box toward the open left side of the net, but missed the goal by inches to the left. At the 98:34 mark, North Carolina's Blake Beach earned his second yellow card of the game for a foul at midfield and the Tar Heels were forced to play a man down for the remainder of overtime. Undeterred, North Carolina controlled the ball for much of the second overtime and Cameron Lewis notched the best opportunity of the extra periods, a blast from 15 yards out which Papadakis tipped over the net. Duke managed five shots in the overtimes, none of which were on goal.

The championship was Duke's second, with the first coming in 1999, and the fifth-seeded Blue Devils became the lowest seed ever to win the ACC Tournament.

Camp was named the Tournament MVP after netting a pair of goals in Duke's 4-2 semifinal win over Maryland along with the penalty kick which sent the shootout to extra frames. Papadakis, Pope and sophomore Spencer Wadsworth were also named to the All-ACC Tournament team for the Blue Devils. The four Duke players joined four Tar Heels (Hughes, Hunter, McCarty and Andre Sherard) along with Clemson's Dane Richards, Maryland's Jason Garey and Wake Forest's Steve Curfman on the team.

With the win, the Blue Devils gain a point in the Carlyle Cup, an annual competition between Duke and North Carolina. Duke leads the standings 5-3 after gaining a half point in men's soccer. The next event for the Carlyle Cup will be football and will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19 when the Blue Devils travel to Chapel Hill.

Duke is now 12-4-3 on the season after the scoreless tie. The NCAA will announce the tournament brackets on Monday, Nov. 14 between 4-4:30 p.m. There will be a selection show aired live on ESPNews.