No. 13 Blue Devils Advance to ACC Semifinal in 3-2 Win Over Wake Forest

Sunday, November 7

Durham, N.C.

2 P.M.

Duke University

12-3-1, 5-2-1

Wake Forest

11-6-1, 4-3-1

Wake Forest

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 13 Blue Devils Advance to ACC Semifinal in 3-2 Win Over Wake Forest

11/7/2021 8:57:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)ACC TOURNAMENT BRACKET JOHN KERR POSTGAME Photo Gallery

DURHAM – The No. 13 Duke men's soccer program (12-3-1, 5-2-1 ACC) advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament with a 3-2 win over sixth-seeded Wake Forest (11-6-1, 4-3-1 ACC) Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.

The third-seeded Blue Devils were led on offense by sophomore Thorleifur Ulfarsson, who scored two goals in a span of 1:05, while freshman Jai Bean scored his first collegiate goal to break the 2-2 tie in the second half. Junior Cameron Kerr had a career day with two assists, while sophomore Antino Lopez and freshman Shakur Mohammed added additional assists. Senior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill made four saves and earned his 10th win of the season.

"It was a tough game," said head coach John Kerr. "They are a really good team; they have a lot of great quality and some great players. I thought we were ready today and stepped up. It was two unorthodox goals that we gave away, very strange and it's tough for me to see them from on the bench area, but lots of ups and downs in the game for both teams and overall, I thought we held strong in critical moments and were deserved winners."

Wake Forest was first on the board, setting up a scoring opportunity after a handball by Duke in the box set up a penalty kick for Jake Swallen in the 27th minute. Hamill made a terrific save on the attempt, but the ball dribbled out of his reach and Swallen put in the rebound for a 1-0 Wake Forest lead.

The lead would not last long, as the Blue Devils earned a free kick opportunity when Kerr drew a foul just outside the box. Ulfarsson would take the free kick and made no mistake, curving a shot over the Wake Forest wall into the top left corner to tie the game, 1-1.

Ulfarsson and the Blue Devils did not let up on the pressure, creating another scoring chance after Kerr found Mohammed in space. The Kumasi, Ghana native fed a streaking Ulfarsson, who beat his defender down the righthand side of the pitch and buried another goal past the Wake Forest goalkeeper Trace Alphin for a 2-1 lead. The Kopavogur, Iceland native recorded his third multi-goal game of the year, pushing his total to 13 goals through 12 games played.

Wake Forest was able to tie the game late in the first half, when a cross by Swallen found the head of Nico Benalcazar in the 45th minute.

Both teams tightened up play defensively in the second half, with Hamill and Alphin making a couple of early saves. However, it was the Blue Devils who were able to break the stalemate. After a passing play between Lopez and Kerr ended in a cross into the Wake Forest box by Kerr to the feet of Bean, the freshman volleyed the ball into the net for his first collegiate goal.

The Demon Deacons attempted a late comeback, but were hindered when Babacar Niang, who had the last great opportunity that Hamill stopped, was sent off with his second card of the day, forcing Wake Forest to play with 10 men for the final three minutes. The final three minutes of regulation was a wild scramble that featured four fouls and two cards, but Duke kept the Demon Deacons at bay and held on for the win.

The Blue Devils will now face the winner of No. 2 seeded Clemson and No. 7 North Carolina in the semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 10. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network at either 5 p.m. or 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".

#GoDuke