No. 8 Tar Heels Rally to Beat Duke 2-1

Friday, October 14

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

4-6-2. 1-4-1

North Carolina

10-2-1, 4-1-1

North Carolina

Duke

No. 8 Tar Heels Rally to Beat Duke 2-1

10/14/2016 10:55:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.—Eighth-ranked North Carolina scored a pair of late goals in the second half to stage a 2-1 comeback victory over the Blue Devils in a thrilling ACC men's soccer rivalry battle at Koskinen Stadium. The one-goal victory for the Tar Heels marked the 17th time in the past 18 games between the rivals that has been decided by a single score or ended in a tie.

Cameron Moseley netted the lone goal for Duke, which falls to 4-6-2 overall and 1-4-1 in ACC play. The score was his second in as many games and fourth of the season. Robert Moewes was outstanding in goal for the Blue Devils, making six saves.

“I was gutted for the group because they worked their tails off,” said head coach John Kerr. “We played some good soccer tonight against a really good team. It just seems we have no luck. We have opportunities and we create good chances and we just can't convert. [North Carolina] did well and they're a great team and they made the most of their opportunities.”

North Carolina (10-2-1, 4-1-1) came out strong to start the game, moving the ball well and controlling the run of play. Despite Duke's struggles to maintain possession and build and attack, the Blue Devils were outstanding on the defensive end in not allowing the Tar Heels quality looks.

As the half progressed, Duke gained momentum and possession and put pressure on the talented North Carolina defense that had allowed just six goals this season. Suniel Veerakone, with open space in the middle of the field, found Brian White with a through ball, but good defense from the Tar Heels kept Duke off the board.

That trend continued as both teams tried to press forward, but were unable to get on the board to go into halftime scoreless.

Duke carried the energy from the end of the first half into the second half and was outstanding in the early minutes. The Blue Devils nearly took a 1-0 lead after a great pass from freshman Max Moser to Cameron Moseley into the penalty area. The junior turned on his defender and got to the endline and slotted the ball to the back post where the Blue Devil runner was unable to finish.

Despite the heartbreaking miss from close range, Duke kept its foot on the gas and 10 minutes later it was Moseley finding the back of the net from a Moser corner kick service. Moser swung the ball in from the left side and Moseley headed it to the back post for his fourth goal of the year and the 1-0 lead.

North Carolina, possessing a talented offense, tied the game just six minutes later on a header from Nils Bruiening. The Tar Heel forward got loose at the back post and finished the cross from the Jeremy Kelly.

The Tar Heels added a second score off the foot of Zach Wright in the 82nd minute to ultimately seal the win. Wright, using an opening, took a half chance from distance and a slight deflection allowed the ball to hit the underside of the crossbar and beat Moewes.

North Carolina held a 10-5 advantage in shots, but were held to just three corner kicks to Duke's five. James Pyle was strong in goal despite not having to make a save in the 90 minutes.

Duke returns to action against Campbell Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. The game will be aired on ACC Network Extra.

#GoDuke