Speel Stands Strong, No. 2 Duke Marches Past Virginia Tech

Wednesday, November 6

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

11-2-4, 4-1-3

Virginia Tech

7-7-4, 1-6-2

Virginia Tech

Duke

Speel Stands Strong, No. 2 Duke Marches Past Virginia Tech

11/6/2024 10:21:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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DURHAM, N.C. – Graduate goalkeeper Wessel Speel stood strong in net for the Blue Devils, registering three saves including a huge penalty kick stop in the 66th minute to keep Duke (11-2-4) ahead 1-0, defeating Virginia Tech (7-7-4) 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.

Through the first half of play, both sides registered minimal chances, as the Blue Devils led the tally 5-4 at the half. In the 65th minute, Colton Pleasants received a pass from Drew Kerr and Trevor Burns, depositing a shot into the bottom right corner of the net, 1-0.

With just under 15 minutes to play, Ulfur Bjornsson earned a penalty kick and stepped to the spot before Cooper Wenzel made a sprawling save to keep the match 1-0. Minutes later, Bjornsson redeemed himself, smashing a ball past Wenzel to double Duke's lead to 2-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Through the first 20 minutes of action, Duke and Virginia Tech felt each other out, with the Hokies registering the only shot of the match.
At the half, the Blue Devils and Hokies remained scoreless, with Duke holding the advantage on shots 5-4.
In the 65th minute, Colton Pleasants received a pass from Drew Kerr and Trevor Burns to open the scoring for the Blue Devils, 1-0.
In the 67th minute, Wessel Speel played spoiler, stopping a penalty kick to keep Virginia Tech scoreless.
In the 81st minute, Ulfur Bjornsson redeemed his missed penalty kick, receiving a pass from Cameron Kerr and launching it into the top right corner, 2-0.

NOTES

Duke has now improved their scoring tally in the second half to 34-7, scoring two goals against Virginia Tech in the first round.
With the clean sheet in the first round, the Blue Devils have allowed no goals in the ACC Tournament for the 13th time.
Duke improved to 23-31-6 in the tournament and 6-7-2 as the third seed.
Graduate Colton Pleasants tallied his fifth goal this season, notching his third consecutive match with a tally.
Goalkeeper Wessel Speel registered three saves in the Blue Devils clean sheet, marking his seventh shutout of the season. He also tallied a massive penalty save in the second half to keep the Blue Devils in front.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils return home for the Quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, hosting California at Koskinen Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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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