Blue Devils Edged by Boston College in ACC Tournament

Wednesday, November 10

Cary, N.C.

8:00 PM

Duke University

Boston College (Quarterfinals)

Men's Soccer Set for Furman on Monday Night

Blue Devils Edged by Boston College in ACC Tournament

11/10/2010 10:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

CARY, N.C.-An early goal by Boston College doomed the Duke University men's soccer team this evening as the fifth-seeded Eagles slipped past the No. 4 seed Blue Devils 1-0 in ACC Tournament quarterfinal action at WakeMed Soccer Park. The 19th-ranked Blue Devils will await the NCAA Tournament announcement on Monday, Nov. 15.

"It's disappointing," head coach John Kerr said. "This wasn't our best game for sure. We didn't execute as well as we normally do. In looking at the stats we had a lot of the play, we just didn't get the very important goal to even things up."

Duke controlled much of the possession throughout the game, holding a 9-4 advantage in shots and a 5-0 edge in corner kicks, but a goal in the 17th minute by Boston College forward Amit Aburmad was all the Eagles needed to earn the victory.

"Things just didn't fall for us," junior Christopher Tweed-Kent said. "They did a good job, you got to hand it to them. We just didn't get the ball into good places. We just had a great result last Friday [against Wake Forest] so hopefully we can come out and play like that if we get a chance."

After the Blue Devils seemingly had control of the early part of the game, the Eagles notched a goal against the run of play. A long ball across the field from Kyle Bekker to a streaking Edvin Worley on the right flank forced the Blue Devil backline to retreat. Aburmad snuck in between Duke's defense and finished the cross from Worley for his fourth goal of the year.

The Blue Devils came right back after the goal and dominated the action. Junior midfielder Temi Molinar gave Boston College's defense fits on the right side and was able to get loose multiple times, but was unable to find that finishing touch. In the 24th minute, Tweed-Kent had a great chance as senior Cole Grossman sent a through ball into the penalty area. Tweed-Kent ran onto the ball and tried to sneak a shot past the near post, but Boston College goalkeeper Justin Luthy came out to cut down the angle and make the stop.

Less than 10 minutes later, sophomore Andrew Wenger got his head on a corner kick from Grossman that Luthy had to pull down in traffic and Tweed-Kent again forced Luthy to come up with a save in the 39th minute as the Eagles took a 1-0 lead into the break.

The second half proved to be much of the same with Duke controlling the run of play and possession. The Boston College defense remained organized and stifling as the Blue Devils struggled to find that final pass in the offensive third.

Tweed-Kent got into the action again late in the second frame when he sent a shot just wide left of the goal after beating the Boston College defender to the end line. Duke earned a pair of late corner kicks, but the Eagles defense remained steady to post their sixth shutout of the year.

"We just didn't come out tonight, but hopefully we'll get a chance to come back in the NCAA Tournament to rectify that," Tweed-Kent said. "We really wanted to come out and take it to them, but we just weren't able to, but we just have to keep our heads high."

In goal, Luthy had four saves in 90 minutes of action, while Duke goalie James Belshaw had no stops.

Duke will await word if it will earn its 24th berth in the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is announced on Nov. 15 at 4:30 p.m., on ESPN.

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