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Nov. 15, 1999

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The University of Virginia men’s soccer teambegan play in the 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Tournamentseeded seventh in the tournament seedings. UVa had its sights set onclaiming the conference tournament title and was in position to do justthat after knocking off #2 Maryland (2-0) on Thursday and #3 Wake Forest(2-1) on Friday to advance to the ACC Championship game.

The Cavaliers met the number one seeded Duke Blue Devils at SprySoccer Stadium on the campus of Wake Forest University in front of 2,317spectators in one of the most exciting soccer games one could hope to see.After Duke scored a first half goal and Virginia added an equalizer in thesecond half of play, the two squads battled through two overtime periodsbefore the Blue Devils scored 128:53 into the match during the thirdovertime period to claim the title contest by a 2-1 score.

Duke jumped on the scoreboard early in the first half of the gameto stake a 1-0 lead when forward Ali Curtis gathered a cross set up fromteammates Trevor Perea and Donald McIntosh and beat UVa goalkeeper DavidComfort (Richmond, Va./Monacan). Curtis’ goal came shortly after Dukemissed on its first scoring attempt of the game, a shot that bounced offthe top of the crossbar of the goal. The Devils missed another scoringopportunity right before the final seconds of the first half expired whenRobert Russell fired a shot that hit the right post of the goal. Dukeoutshot Virginia 7-2 in the first period and took their 1-0 lead intohalftime.

Both of the Blue Devils near misses allowed the Cavaliers to stayright in the contest and UVa came out in the second half determined to tiethe game at one apiece. At the 47:51 mark of the game, Kyle Martino(Westport, Conn./Staples) did just that when he gathered a pass fromSheldon Barnes (Miramar, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and split the Dukedefense as he glided right down the middle of the field before sending ashot over the Blue Devils goalkeeper Jeff Haywood to knot the game at 1-1.Neither team could shake loose of the 1-1 tie and the game headed toovertime.

After playing through 15 minutes of scoreless soccer in the firstovertime period, Duke and Virginia headed into another overtime period -and then another. The two squads battled through two scoreless overtimeperiods and were halfway through the third overtime session before the BlueDevils window of opportunity opened. Duke’s Dwayne Harris sent a crossingpass from the right side of the UVa goal that connected with teammateSteven Pate. Pate put a foot on Harris’ pass and directed it away fromComfort’s outstretched arm to score the game-winning goal at 128:53. Thescore proved to be both the game-winner and title clincher for the BlueDevils.

With the loss, Virginia’s record falls to 12-8-1 overall, while thevictory kept Duke undefeated on the season at 15-0-3. The Cavaliersfinished the ACC Tournament with a mark of 2-1-0 as the runner-up, whilethe Blue Devils finished tournament play at 2-0-0 and as 1999 ACCTournament Champions. UVa’s championship appearance marked the ninth timein the last 10 seasons the Cavaliers had advanced to the finals of thetournament.

Virginia had three members of the squad named to the ACCAll-Tournament team. Ryan Trout (Media, Pa./Strath Haven), who scoredthree goals and added one assist in the tournament, joined teammatesBarnes and Martino on the ’99 All-Tournament team. Duke’s Troy Garner wasnamed the MVP of the tournament.

The Cavaliers will now await to see if they have qualified tocompete in the 1999 NCAA Division I Soccer Championship. The selectionwill be conducted on the evening of Monday, November 15. If UVa isselected to compete, Virginia will begin competition during the weekend ofNov. 20-21.


Scoring Summary 1 2 OT OT OT F#7 Virginia 0 1 0 0 0 1#1 Duke 1 0 0 0 1 2

Goals: Duke 2 – Curtis @ 8:55 (Perea, McIntosh), Pate @ 128:53 (Harris), UVa 1 – Martino @ 47:51 (Barnes).
Shots: Duke 17, UVa 11.
Saves: UVa 7 (Comfort 7), Duke 5 (Haywood 5).
Corner Kicks: Duke 9, UVa 3.
Fouls: UVa 29, Duke 25.
Offsides: Duke 5, UVa 2.
Cautions: UVa 2 – Leonard, Duke 1 – Gail.
Attendance: 2,317

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