No. 3 Blue Devils Drop 3-2 Thriller at No. 13 Pittsburgh

Saturday, October 9

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 P.M.

Duke University

Pitt

Photo by: Matt Hawley, Pittsburgh Athletics

No. 3 Blue Devils Drop 3-2 Thriller at No. 13 Pittsburgh

10/9/2021 11:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The No. 3 Duke men's soccer team (9-2-0, 4-1-0 ACC) dropped a back-and-forth matchup against No. 13 Pittsburgh (8-3-0, 4-1-0), falling 3-2 on Saturday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The loss ends a six-match winning streak for the Blue Devils.

Sophomores Thorleifur Ulfarsson and Peter Stroud scored for the Blue Devils, with Ulfarsson notching his ACC-leading ninth tally, while Stroud picked up his first collegiate goal. Ulfarsson also added an assist, while sophomore Lewis McGarvey and freshman Ruben Mesalles each picked up points. Pittsburgh was led by two goals from Filip Mirkovic and one from Bertin Jacquesson.

For much of the first half, the Panthers controlled possession and outshot the Blue Devils 13-3. However, senior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill made several outstanding saves, with his first coming off a 15th minute shot by Jacquesson, that Hamill had to leap up and poke over the cross bar.

The Blue Devils were able to capitalize on the first chance of the half, as Mesalles lined up for a corner kick in the 23rd minute. The freshman from Longboat, Fla., sent a ball into the far-left side of the box to the head of McGarvey. McGarvey sent his header back in the opposite direction to Ulfarsson, who buried a header into the top right corner for a 1-0 lead.

Hamill would make another save just one minute later, this time denying Valentin Noel. However, Pitt's next shot on goal would find the back of the net, as Mirkovic found a seam in the 40th minute and put a shot near post to tie the game at 1-1.

The stats would reverse in the second half, with the Blue Devils outshooting the Panthers 9-4. McGarvey was able to get another shot on goal early in the half, the Panthers were able to take the lead for the first time in the 53rd minute. Mirkovic got another shot off and had some fortune, clipping the leg of a Duke defender and changing directions past Hamill.

Possession would change hands often throughout the second half, with a more physical game brewing as both sides combined for 15 fouls. The run of play would culminate in an 80th minute yellow card by Pitt's Jasper Loeffelsand, followed by second less than four minutes later, giving the Blue Devils six and a half minutes up a man.

The Panthers would respond well to adversity, as Jacquesson found space in transition and struck a low liner into the bottom left corner of the net to take a 3-1 lead with just over three minutes to play.

However, the Blue Devils did not give up and made a quick run into the Panthers box. A chance from Ulfarsson was denied in the 89th minute, but the next chance was not, as Ulfarsson fed the ball back outside the box to Stroud, who found a lane through several defenders and fired it into the back of the net. However, the Blue Devils could not complete the comeback, running out of time with only one minute left to find another chance.

Duke will return home to prepare for another ranked ACC opponent, as the Blue Devils will welcome No. 21 Clemson to Koskinen Stadium on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMSOC".

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