Men's Soccer Falls To Virginia In ACC Tournament Quarterfinal, 4-2

Wednesday, November 12

Cary, N.C.

8 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia

Men's Soccer Falls To Virginia In ACC Tournament Quarterfinal, 4-2

11/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

CARY, N.C.?The University of Virginia scored three second-half goals to slip past No. 23 Duke 4-2 in the ACC Men's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers capitalized on two penalty kicks to upend the No. 5 Blue Devils to advance to the semifinal against Wake Forest.

The Blue Devils got a goal and an assist from senior Mike Grella as they fell to 10-7-2 on the season. Duke held a 2-1 lead at the half before Virginia (10-7-1) exploded for three goals, including two in a five-minute span towards the end of the contest. Matt Poole and Brian Ownby combined for all four goals for the Cavaliers.

“I thought we were excellent tonight,” head coach John Kerr said. “When we were two-one up, we didn't get that elusive third goal. We're a bit thin and that might have hurt us tonight, especially that we didn't have our starting eleven out there. Both teams were intense. We made a couple of crucial errors, but effort and attitude were spot on. You have to give credit to Virginia. They played a good game and made it difficult for us out there.”

After the two teams spent much of the opening 10 minutes establishing a rhythm, Virginia got on the board first in the 18th minute with a penalty kick by Matt Jimmy Simpson got the ball deep in Duke's defensive third and fed a through ball to Poole who got loose in the penalty box and drew the foul for the penalty kick. He buried the ball into the corner for a 1-0 edge early on.

Duke continued to possess the ball and build its attack from the midfield. The Blue Devils worked to earn a corner kick with about 18 minutes left to play in the half. Grella served the ball into the box where Matt Thomas had his initial header blocked by a Virginia defender. The ball continued to bounce around the box and Darrius Barnes got to the loose ball and was able to get two shots off, but the Cavaliers came up big to keep the ball out of the back of the net and maintain their 1-0 lead.

Less than five minutes later, the Blue Devils took advantage of a restart around the goal. Grella drew a foul about 25 yards away from goal on the right side to set up a dangerous set piece for Duke. He stepped up to take the free kick and sent a bending ball into the box where Barnes headed it perfectly past Michael Giallombardo for the score. It was Barnes' first tally of the season and tied the game at one with 14:47 left to play.

Duke continued to push forward for the go-ahead score in the final 15 minutes. It didn't take long for the Blue Devils to get the second score as they put together great combination work at midfield to get Grella all by himself again. Quick passing from Trae Harrison and Nick Sih found Cole Grossman open in the middle of the field. Grossman got the ball on his foot and touched it to Grella running through behind the Virginia defense. The ACC Offensive Player of the Year broke away and fired a shot low into the right-hand corner to put Duke in front 2-1 in the 36th minute.

Duke held that lead over the final nine minutes to head into the locker room with the 2-1 advantage. The Blue Devils outshot Virginia 10-6 in the opening session and had a 2-0 edge in corner kicks.

It didn't take long for the score to even out in the second half. Much like the first half, Virginia was able to get into the box and draw a penalty kick. Poole stepped up to the spot and knocked home his second penalty kick of the evening to tie the score at two.

Six minutes later Brendan Fitzgerald made a crucial save for the Blue Devils after Poole sent a long flighted ball into Ownby. Fitzgerald came off his line just enough to cut down Ownby's angle and stop the one-on-one opportunity.

Grella responded right away with a great individual effort on the other end of the field. He flicked the ball into the air and got past the defender to volley a shot from 18 yards out that fell just wide of the net.

Virginia started to put the pressure on in the final 25 minutes as it was able to find openings behind Duke's defense with direct play out of the midfield. The Blue Devils continued to hold off the Cavaliers and were able to get some good possession of their own at times as well. However, a turnover in the middle third of the field quickly turned into a Cavalier counter attack. Simpson connected on a touch to Ross LaBeaux who served a through ball to Ownby who slipped it past Fitzgerald for the go ahead goal.

The Cavaliers' direct style of play paid off again when Hunter Jumper's pass from midfield found Ownby behind the defense again to set up his second tally and Virginia's fourth goal of the game.

Duke had a 19-13 overall edge in shots and won the corner kick battle, 8-4. In goal, Fitzgerald made five saves, while Virginia had four.

The Blue Devils will await their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, Nov. 17. The NCAA selections will be announced live on ESPNews between 6-6:30 p.m.

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