Thompson Nets Late Game Winner over Georgia Southern

Tuesday, September 20

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

3-2-1

Georgia Southern

3-4-1

Georgia Southern

Duke

Thompson Nets Late Game Winner over Georgia Southern

9/20/2016 10:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photos: Duke 2, Georgia Southern 1

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.—Duke fifth-year senior Ryan Thompson scored with 1:47 left in the second half to lift the Blue Devils to a 2-1 victory over Georgia Southern in non-conference men's soccer action Tuesday night. The goal was the seventh of Duke's nine this season that have come in the final 20 minutes and the third in the final five minutes.

Duke, ranked 23rd in the latest Soccer America poll, improves to 3-2-1 overall, while the Eagles fall to 3-4-1. Freshman Max Moser and junior Macario Hing-Glover provided the assists on Thompson's game winner.

“It was a great run by Max Moser,” said head coach John Kerr. “He made his first cross over the first defender and Ryan made a great run and finished off the play.”

Fellow fifth-year senior goalkeeper, Robert Moewes, was outstanding all game for the Blue Devils. The Dortmund, Germany native finished the night with five saves, including consecutive game-saving stops late in the second half. The five stops pushes his league-leading saves average to 4.5 per game.

“To be fair, [Robert] kept us in the game,” Kerr said. “He made two incredible saves after they had two or three chances off the counterattack. He was big for us because those saves kept us in the game and gave us a little bit of a lifeline.”

Junior defender Markus Fjørtoft tallied the game's first goal volleying in a flick off the head of Brian White in the 18th minute. Thompson provided the initial service off of a short corner kick from the right side.

Holding a 1-0 lead early, the Blue Devils remained patient in looking for a second goal headed into half. Duke dominated possession, but an unlucky own goal off of a free kick in the 39th minute sent the teams into the break knotted at one.

Duke got off to a slow start in the second half as Georgia Southern nearly grabbed the 2-1 lead. Eagles midfielder Andrew Deltac took advantage of a Blue Devil defensive miscue, but was denied by Moewes.

After a couple of bumpy moments for the Blue Devils, Duke settled into a rhythm and started to create more chances in its offensive third. Sparked by the play of sophomore Torbjørn Alseth in the middle of the field, Duke had better possession and looked more dangerous.

In the 79th minute against the run of play, the Eagles nearly netted what could have been the game winner as Christian Duncan got loose in the box after a through ball. Moewes came off of his line to make the one-on-one stop and then recovered quickly to block the rebound from point-blank range and keep the Blue Devils' hopes alive.

“We kept plugging away,” Kerr said. “The last 20 minutes they were tired and we had fresh legs. We had a bunch of guys we brought off the bench and they made a big difference. And [Robert] was huge for us today. Player of the match.”

Spirited by Moewes' play in goal, Duke pressed forward and finally broke through as Hing-Glover slid Moser the ball down the right flank. A great service from Moser, his third assist of the season, fell to Thompson who buried it in the back of the net for the win.

Duke outshot the Eagles 14-9 overall and had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. Torjeir Fjaer finished with three saves for Georgia Southern.

The Blue Devils resume ACC play at home Friday, Sept. 23 against Pittsburgh. Kickoff is at 7 p.m., on ACC Network Extra.

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