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Men's Soccer
vs Pitt
Saturday, March 6
Blacksburg, Va.
1 P.M.
Duke University
4
at
2
Virginia Tech
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Erupts for 4 Goals to Beat Hokies
3/6/2021 4:09:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BLACKSBURG, Va. –After 341 scoreless minutes, the Duke men's soccer team exploded for four goals en route to a 4-2 victory at No. 18 Virginia Tech. Four different Blue Devils scored in the game as Duke captured a crucial ACC road victory.
The Blue Devils, playing their first road game of the spring season, scored twice in the opening half and tacked on two more early on in the second period to earn their third ACC victory of the 2020-21 campaign. Virginia Tech scored with just over five minutes remaining to make it a 4-2 final.
The Blue Devils started the game on the front foot, pressing the Hokies all over the field. Duke registered the first shot of the game as Stephen O'Connell was denied by Virginia Tech keeper Mathijs Swaneveld in the ninth minute.
Midway through the half, rookie Nick Pariano came off the bench to spell rookie Lewis McGarvey. A playmaker in the midfield, Pariano made an immediate impact, scoring his second career goal to put Duke up 1-0. It all started with rookie Peter Stroud intercepting a pass at midfield.
Graduate student Nicolas Marci collected Stroud's touch and fed Pariano, running down the right flank. In behind the Hokie defense, Pariano took a few dribbles and fired a shot to the far post past Swaneveld for his second career goal.
The Blue Devils again turned defensive pressure into offensive production just over a minute later when pressure from rookie Thorleifur Ulfarsson and Macri forced a turnover by Virginia Tech in its defensive third. The ball popped out to Pariano, who fired a shot off the crossbar. Senior Daniel Wright was the lucky recipient of the rebound and he calmly put it in the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
Virginia Tech (4-3-2, 3-2-2) got on the board two minutes later on a Jacob Labovitz goal to cut Duke's lead in half at the break. The Blue Devils outshot the Hokies, 6-5, in the opening 45 minutes and junior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill made three stops in the stanza.
Not content to rest on their laurels from the first half, the Blue Devils continued to push the pace in the second half. Macri, after providing key plays in Duke's first-half tallies, got on the board himself in the 54th minute for a 3-1 Duke advantage.
The play started with a pass from O'Connell out to the left side to Ulfarsson. The Icelandic rookie cut it back to his right foot and served it across the box where Macri headed it back towards the near post for the goal.
Firing on all cylinders, Duke scored again 90 seconds later as Stroud beat his man one-on-one down the right side and slotted a ball across the middle of the penalty box where a wide-open O'Connell touched it home from 12 yards.
The goal is his third of the year, tying for the most on the team.
Virginia Tech, in an effort to find a way back into the game, played with urgency in the final 30 minutes, but a solid defensive effort from Duke handed the Hokies just their second ACC loss of the 2020-21 season.
The Hokies had a 15-11 advantage in shots, including 10-5 in the second half. Hamill finished the game with five saves, matching his career best. He has 15 in his four career outings.
Duke (3-7-2, 3-4-0) returns home to host Notre Dame Friday, March 12 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX.
#Go Duke
The Blue Devils, playing their first road game of the spring season, scored twice in the opening half and tacked on two more early on in the second period to earn their third ACC victory of the 2020-21 campaign. Virginia Tech scored with just over five minutes remaining to make it a 4-2 final.
The Blue Devils started the game on the front foot, pressing the Hokies all over the field. Duke registered the first shot of the game as Stephen O'Connell was denied by Virginia Tech keeper Mathijs Swaneveld in the ninth minute.
Midway through the half, rookie Nick Pariano came off the bench to spell rookie Lewis McGarvey. A playmaker in the midfield, Pariano made an immediate impact, scoring his second career goal to put Duke up 1-0. It all started with rookie Peter Stroud intercepting a pass at midfield.
Graduate student Nicolas Marci collected Stroud's touch and fed Pariano, running down the right flank. In behind the Hokie defense, Pariano took a few dribbles and fired a shot to the far post past Swaneveld for his second career goal.
The Blue Devils again turned defensive pressure into offensive production just over a minute later when pressure from rookie Thorleifur Ulfarsson and Macri forced a turnover by Virginia Tech in its defensive third. The ball popped out to Pariano, who fired a shot off the crossbar. Senior Daniel Wright was the lucky recipient of the rebound and he calmly put it in the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
Virginia Tech (4-3-2, 3-2-2) got on the board two minutes later on a Jacob Labovitz goal to cut Duke's lead in half at the break. The Blue Devils outshot the Hokies, 6-5, in the opening 45 minutes and junior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill made three stops in the stanza.
Not content to rest on their laurels from the first half, the Blue Devils continued to push the pace in the second half. Macri, after providing key plays in Duke's first-half tallies, got on the board himself in the 54th minute for a 3-1 Duke advantage.
The play started with a pass from O'Connell out to the left side to Ulfarsson. The Icelandic rookie cut it back to his right foot and served it across the box where Macri headed it back towards the near post for the goal.
Firing on all cylinders, Duke scored again 90 seconds later as Stroud beat his man one-on-one down the right side and slotted a ball across the middle of the penalty box where a wide-open O'Connell touched it home from 12 yards.
The goal is his third of the year, tying for the most on the team.
Virginia Tech, in an effort to find a way back into the game, played with urgency in the final 30 minutes, but a solid defensive effort from Duke handed the Hokies just their second ACC loss of the 2020-21 season.
The Hokies had a 15-11 advantage in shots, including 10-5 in the second half. Hamill finished the game with five saves, matching his career best. He has 15 in his four career outings.
Duke (3-7-2, 3-4-0) returns home to host Notre Dame Friday, March 12 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX.
#Go Duke
Players Mentioned
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