No. 21 Duke Races Past No. 7 Syracuse, 5-3, on Friday Night

Friday, September 29

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

6-2-1, 2-2-0

Syracuse

4-2-3, 1-1-2

Syracuse

Duke

No. 21 Duke Races Past No. 7 Syracuse, 5-3, on Friday Night

9/29/2023 10:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM – The 21st-ranked Duke men's soccer team defeated seventh-ranked, and reigning national champions, Syracuse, 5-3, at Koskinen Stadium on Friday night. The Blue Devils (6-2-1, 2-2-0) secured their fourth consecutive regular-season victory over a top-10 team with the win and were led by Nick Pariano, who logged the first multi-goal game of his career.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The visitors quickly opened the scoring, heading in a corner kick in the fourth minute.
The two teams settled into the run of play through the next 15 minutes, before Bull Jorgensen drew a foul in the box and earned a penalty kick in the 22nd minute.
Nick Pariano stepped to the spot and slotted home the goal, his third penalty-kick goal of the season.
The two teams continued the back-and-forth nature of the match, with both teams taking two shots apiece across the next 10 minutes of action.
Duke took the lead in the 36th minute, courtesy of Forster Ajago, who forced a turnover in Syracuse's defensive third and calmly deposited the ball into the back of the net, his ninth goal of the season.
Ulfur Bjornsson got in on the scoring frenzy just over six minutes later, soaring to head in a goal in the 42^nd minute.
The Blue Devils and Orange remained offensive-minded following the halftime break, as the two teams took multiple attempts in the opening minutes of the second half.
Syracuse drew back within one, 3-2, with a goal off a corner kick in the 59th minute.
Pariano finished off the first brace of his career just eight minutes later, as he finessed a free-kick under the Syracuse defensive wall and past the diving goalkeeper in the 67th minute.
Syracuse was forced to play with 10 men after a second yellow was shown to an Orange player in the 74th minute, but the visitors were undeterred, scoring their third of the night with 15 minutes remaining.
Ruben Mesalles capped off the scoring, taking advantage of a Syracuse turnover and dribbling into the penalty box by himself before blasting a left-footed shot into the net.

NOTES

The win marked Duke's 17th consecutive regular-season game at Koskinen Stadium without a loss.
The Blue Devils have won four straight matches against the Orange.
Duke scored five goals in a game for the first time since 2016, a 5-1 win over UNC Asheville on Aug. 28, 2016.
Nick Pariano had a multi-goal game for the first time in his career and remained perfect from the penalty spot, moving to 3-for-3 so far in 2023.
Forster Ajago scored his ninth goal of the season on Friday night and has found the back of the net four times over Duke's last three matches.
Duke's third goal of the night was assisted by Amir Daley and Miguel Ramirez. Daley now has two assists in as many games, while Ramirez picked up his first assist of the season.

QUOTES

"We actually even got off to a good start in the first couple of minutes before we gave up that goal. So, I was really pleased with that approach. The way they kind of gathered themselves together, making sure we weren't going to sulk and feel sorry for ourselves was awesome to see as a coach. We knew that they wanted to fight back, and they wanted to get back in the game quickly. And they did. They really decided that we're not going to let that bother us. We're going to jump back in the game and see what we can do. And going up 3-1 at halftime was awesome." – head coach John Kerr on how the Blue Devils responded after going down a goal early.
"You have to take your chances. That's what separates winning teams from non-winning teams. We knew that Syracuse could finish their chances but we could as well. We used that to our advantage and every chance that we get, we want to finish. I know we created a lot the last two games, it was nice today to put in five. Because we've created a lot in the past and not always made it pay off in the way we deserve. It felt good to put in five tonight." – senior Nick Pariano on the offense scoring five goals on Friday night.

UP NEXT

Duke hits the road for its next match, an ACC Coastal tilt at Notre Dame on Friday, Oct. 7. The Fighting Irish (5-1-3, 2-0-1) are currently ranked 15th in the nation and are tied for first in the Coastal with seven points.

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

#GoDuke