No. 11 Duke Beats No. 9 Clemson, 1-0, Advances to ACC Final

Wednesday, November 10

Clemson, S.C.

7 P.M.

Duke University

Clemson

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 11 Duke Beats No. 9 Clemson, 1-0, Advances to ACC Final

11/10/2021 11:08:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)JOHN KERR POSTGAME

CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 11 Duke men's soccer program (13-3-1, 5-2-1 ACC) advanced to its first ACC Tournament final since 2006, defeating No. 9 Clemson (13-5-0, 5-3 ACC), 1-0 on Wednesday night at Historic Riggs Field in Clemson, S.C.

The third-seeded Blue Devils moved on to their seventh ACC Tournament final in program history, downing the second-seeded Tigers.

"I'm exhausted to be honest with you, because I felt like I played every kick and header and tackle, but delighted for the boys," said head coach John Kerr. "They deserved it and we defended so stoutly in the second half especially and Clemson threw the kitchen sink at us. They are a very talented team. We got lucky in some avenues, but we also defended well, and Eliot played out of his mind and the back four was really sturdy back there. It was great."

Sophomore Thorleifur Ulfarsson scored the lone goal of the contest, burying a penalty kick in the 28th minute. Ulfarsson notched his 14th goal of the season, tying Mike Grella (2008), Jason Kreis (1994) and Tom Kain (1985) for 11th on the single season goal list. Senior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill tallied his sixth shutout of the season, making six key saves, while facing 27 shots from the Tigers offense.

Clemson generated several early chances, including a strong one from Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador in the 8th minute. Fernandez-Salvador fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the net that Hamill had to be sharp on to make the early save.

Duke made the most of its first shot on goal, as Ulfarsson drew a foul in the box on Clemson's Hamady Diop, following a Duke throw in. Stepping up for his penalty kick, Ulfarsson made no mistake, burying his shot into the bottom left corner to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.

The back line of senior Ian Murphy, sophomores Lewis McGarvey and Antino Lopez and freshman Ruben Mesalles matched the Tigers offense from start to finish and took a 1-0 lead into halftime, despite the Blue Devils trailing 13-2 in shots.

The Tigers' offense would only increase the pressure in the second half. Hamill was forced to make another key save early in the frame, stopping Fernandez-Salvador off a free kick in the 53rd minute. The shots continued to pour in, but the Blue Devils hounded the Tigers into several wild misses, with only six of 27 shots on goal.

Clemson's best chance of the day came in the 70th minute, when Ousmane Sylla ripped a shot off the crossbar. The ball came back out to Fernandez-Salvador, but his golden chance was stopped by a sliding block from sophomore Amir Daley. Fernandez-Salvador got one more shot off, but Hamill was up to the task and denied him once again.

The end of the game proved to be a wild finish for the two teams, with Clemson taking seven corner kicks in the final 20 minutes of play. Despite the numerous chances, the Blue Devils defense held firm, not allowing a shot on goal in that span. Fernandez-Salvador put the final chance wide right with 40 seconds remaining, sealing the Blue Devils' victory.

The Blue Devils will clash with No. 20 Notre Dame for the second time this season, with the ACC Tournament final set for Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m., at WakeMed Park in Cary, N.C. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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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