Mesalles' Second Half Goal Helps No. 7 Duke Defeat Boston College

Saturday, September 24

Durham, N.C.

7 P.M.

Duke University

6-0-1, 2-0-1

Boston College

2-3-3, 0-2-1

Boston College

Duke

Mesalles' Second Half Goal Helps No. 7 Duke Defeat Boston College

9/24/2022 10:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score FINAL GAME BOOK

DURHAM – The seventh-ranked Duke men's soccer team picked up its second conference win of the 2022 season with a 1-0 victory over Boston College on Saturday night. The Blue Devils (6-0-1, 2-0-1) secured the win courtesy of Ruben Mesalles' first goal of the season and Duke's fifth shutout in 2022.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke and Boston College spent a majority of the first half searching for scoring opportunities but were met by strong defensive efforts.
The two teams attempted just four shots each in the first 45 minutes of play
The Eagles' defense held the Blue Devils to zero shots on goal in the first half.
The offensive pressure immediately picked up after the break with Shakur Mohammed taking the first shot of the second half in the 49th minute.
The Blue Devils broke the deadlock just a few minutes later when Ruben Mesalles fired his first goal of the season past the diving goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Duke continued to pepper the Eagles' back line, taking a total of nine shots and placing three on goal in the second half.
Both teams picked up the physicality after halftime, with five of the game's six yellow cards being shown after the 50th minute.

NOTES

Duke extends its unbeaten streak to start the season and has gone without a loss in its first seven games.
Ruben Mesalles scored his first goal in 2022 after putting two into the back of the net as a freshman in 2021.
Eliot Hamill recorded his fifth shutout of the year, nearly matching his shutout total in 2021 (6).

QUOTES

[Boston College is] a formidable team. And we get everyone's best game. And tonight, Boston College had their moments, and they really did well on the counterattack. We have to do better in those situations by getting ourselves behind the ball and not allowing them to get so many opportunities going forward. Overall, I thought we played well." – head coach John Kerr on Duke's efforts against Boston College.
"It was great. This is a tough team to beat. They have a lot of guys at the back and when we broke the deadlock, our chances come and it's an unbelievable feeling." – Ruben Mesalles on his game-winning goal.

UP NEXT

Duke remains at home for its next match, a non-conference matchup against Yale on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., with streaming available on ACC Network Extra.

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

#GoDuke