No. 21 Duke Outlasts Wake Forest on Senior Night

Friday, November 5

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

Wake Forest

South Carolina Nips Duke in Overtime, 1-0

No. 21 Duke Outlasts Wake Forest on Senior Night

11/5/2010 10:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.-The Duke University men's soccer team tallied a pair of goals in span of 2:17 in the second half to earn a 2-1 victory over ACC rival Wake Forest this evening at Koskinen Stadium. The 21st-ranked Blue Devils came from behind in the second half to send the seven seniors away with a win in the final regular season contest of the season.

"It's a great feeling," head coach John Kerr said. "They're a great team and a great club. They knocked us out of the playoffs last year and it was sweet to get a win over them tonight. I thought everyone who played tonight were awesome."

Junior Christopher Tweed-Kent notched the first tally for Duke, while Cole Grossman posted the game-winning goal that pushed the Blue Devils to 9-4-4 overall and 3-3-2 in league play. The win guarantees Duke at least a No. 5 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. The final bracket will be announced on Sunday evening.

Duke was outstanding in the first half, controlling the run of play and getting into the Wake Forest penalty area. The Blue Devils attacked the Demon Deacons right from the opening whistle and created quality chances throughout the first 20 minutes.

In the seventh minute, junior midfielder Temi Molinar knifed his way through the Wake Forest defense on the right flank and fired a shot that skipped just wide left of the goal. Sophomore center back Andrew Wenger also had a couple of looks off of corner kicks, but came up just shy of notching the game's first goal.

The Blue Devils defense was outstanding in not giving Wake Forest much space and time to play the ball as the Demon Deacons were able to get just one shot off. Duke meanwhile was clicking on all cylinders as it posted 12 shots in the opening 45 minutes. Unable to connect on any of the 12, the two squads headed into the locker room even at zero.

"We were great in the first half," Ker said. "That was maybe the best first half we've played all year, but we just weren't quite able to finish. We gave up a tough penalty kick in the second half, but we were resilient and [Wake Forest] was fighting for their lives and we were able to hang on there at the end."

The opening 10 minutes of the second half was a flurry of action that featured three goals, including two penalty kicks, two yellow cards and a red card.

Wake Forest got on board first in the 48th minute as Luca Gimenez finished a penalty kick to the right corner. Kyle Emerson got loose in the box behind the Duke backline and headed the ball onto goal, where Belshaw made the first save. As the ball bounced back out a Wake Forest player was tripped up resulting in the penalty kick.

Less than four minutes later, Tweed-Kent had a highlight reel goal to make it a 1-1 game. Grossman lined up to take a corner kick from the right side. He saw Tweed-Kent open at the top of the box and sent the ball in his direction. As the ball skipped to Tweed-Kent, the native of Pittsfield, Mass., perfectly one-timed a shot that slipped just under the crossbar and into the top of the goal.

Grossman came up with the game winner two minutes later, calmly slipping a penalty kick past the outstretched arms of Fitzgerald. The penalty kick was a result of a handball in the box by Wake Forest.

Playing one man down after a red card in the 51st minute, the Demon Deacons gave Duke everything it could handle. Blue Devils goalkeeper James Belshaw came up with a few crucial saves in the final 25 minutes to help Duke grab the 2-1 win.

Belshaw also nearly had an assist late in the game after he served a ball to Finley and the sophomore striker played his way to a one-on-one with the Wake goalkeeper, but slipped at the last minute before shooting.

Overall, Duke held a 22-6 advantage in shots and won the corner kick battle 8-3. Belshaw finished with three saves, while Wake Forest goalie Akira Fitzgerald had seven stops.

The Blue Devils head to the ACC Tournament next on Nov. 9 in Cary, N.C. The complete bracket will be announced on Sunday night after the conclusion off all of the regular season contests.

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