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Duke University
6
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2
NC State
Duke Erupts for 6 in Victory over No. 23 NC State
10/16/2015 10:33:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.—Duke erupted for six goals tonight, including a hat trick from senior Zach Mathers, to capture a crucial 6-2 ACC men's soccer victory over No. 23 NC State tonight at Koskinen Stadium. Four different Blue Devils overall landed on the scoresheet with tallies.
The Blue Devils' six goals against an ACC opponent are the most since they defeated Virginia Teach 6-1 in 2010. Mathers' hat trick was the first by a Blue Devil since Andrew Wenger had three in the 5-2 victory over, oddly enough, NC State in 2011. The senior captain finished with seven points on the night, assisting on the Blue Devils' fourth goal, to match Wenger's output against the Wolfpack four years ago.
“It's been coming,” said head coach John Kerr. “We've been playing well in a lot of games recently and just haven't finished. Tonight it fell for us. Our determination was there tonight. We were going to score. There was no question about that. I'm very happy for the players.”
NC State was the aggressor in the opening few minutes, but steady with defending and tireless work Duke started to take control. The Blue Devils were able to expose the Wolfpack's backline with through balls into the final third.
After a couple early chances, Mathers hit another perfectly weight pass to Jeremy Ebobisse in behind the defense. Ebobisse ran onto the ball and was headed for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper before he was dragged down in the 18-yard box for the penalty kick.
Mathers stepped up and put it away for his fifth goal of the year to put Duke up 1-0 in the 24th minute. A red card also was issued to the Wolfpack for the foul on a goal-scoring opportunity, leaving NC State with just 10 men for the next 65 minutes.
“We started a little bit higher and they didn't like to follow us into the midfield,” said Mathers. “It gave me some space to turn and run at them and I think that's what caused them a lot of problems. I think that's where we had a lot of success tonight.”
Knowing they were up a man, the Blue Devils kept their foot on the gas and added two more goals for a 3-0 lead at the break. Tyler Hilliard was next to get in on the action less than two minutes later, finishing a Jared Rist corner kick. Mathers notched his second of the evening in the 34th minute with a rocket off of his right foot from 20 yards.
Duke's three goals in the first half were just four shy of its total in the first halves of the previous 13 games combined.
Senior Ryan Thompson notched his first career goal just four minutes into the second half after Mathers found him on the left wing. Thompson beat a recovering defender and slid it past NC State keeper Alex McCauley for the 4-0 lead.
Mathers completed the hat trick in the 52nd minute, finishing his own rebound and a 5-1 advantage. Six of Mathers' seven goals have come in the past seven games for Duke.
Sophomore Macario Hing-Glover rounded out the scoring for the Blue Devils in the 90th minute on assists from Cameron Moseley and Jared Golestani.
NC State got two back, netting a penalty kick in the 51st minute on a handball and again in the 68th minute on a through ball into the box.
McCauley finished with seven saves for the Wolfpack, while Duke graduate student Mitch Kupstas had four stops in nearly 90 minutes of action. Duke fired 14 shots on goal and held a 19-17 edge in shots.
The Blue Devils return to action with a big non-conference game against No. 11 Elon. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
#GoDuke
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