Cavs Fall to Duke in ACC Semfinals
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November 13, 1998
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 3 seeded Duke picked up two goals in the second overtime to defeat No. 2 seeded Virginia 3-1 in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament at W. Dennie Spry Stadium in Winston- Salem, N.C.
Blue Devil forward Peter Gail put Duke on the board in the first half with a 15-yard shot into the far corner of the net at the 25:00 mark. Virginia’s Curtis Bush tied the score with just over 13 minutes remaining in regulation drilling a 10-yarder into the near corner. Four-time All-ACC midfielder Jay Heaps of Duke delivered the ball to Curtis for the game-winning goal at the 113:59 mark. Troy Garner provided the insurance goal for the Blue Devils as he dribbled around Virginia goalkeeper Brock Yetso and drilled the shot into the far corner of the goal at the 117:28 mark.
Duke advances to the championship match of the ACC Tournament to face the nation’s top-ranked Clemson Tigers on Sunday, November 15, at 3:30 PM. Both teams will be seeking their first conference tournament title as the Tigers have advanced to the championship match three times, while the Blue Devils have made two trips to the finals. The tournament series is split 1-1-0, but Duke posted a 2-0 victory over Clemson on its home field on September 20 during the 1998 regular season.
No. 3 Duke 1 0 0 2 -3 (record: 18-2-0)No. 2 Virginia 0 1 0 0 -1 (record: 14-3-3)
Scoring Summary:
25:00 – Duke – Gail (Curtis)
76:55 – Virginia – Bush (Totten)
113:59 – Duke – Curtis (Heaps)
117:28 – Duke – Garner (Curtis)
Shots: Duke 14, Virginia 10
Corner Kicks: Duke 9, Virginia 8
Goalie Saves: Duke 3 (Knutsson 3), Virginia 6 (Yetso 6)
Fouls: Duke 25, Virginia
QUOTES FROM DUKE HEAD COACH JOHN RENNIE:
“I THINK IT’S AMAZING HOW WELL BOTH TEAMS PLAYED CONSIDERING THE INTENSITY OF BOTH GAMES LAST NIGHT AND THE LENGTH OF THE GAME TODAY. I THINK IT’S A GREAT STATEMENT FOR BOTH TEAMS.”
“I THOUGHT WE PLAYED WELL THE WHOLE GAME, WE HAD A CHANCE IN THE SECOND HALF TO SCORE A COUPLE OF GOALS EARLY BUT WE DIDN’T GET THE SECOND GOAL AND WE PAID THE PRICE FOR IT.”
“WE WENT TO OVERTIME AND JUST GUTTED IT OUT AND ALI DID HIS USUAL NUMBER NOW WITH A GAME WINNING GOAL IN OVERTIME. IT WAS A GREAT EFFORT BY BOTH TEAMS AND WE’RE HAPPY TO COME OUT ON TOP.”
ON PLAYING CLEMSON: “THEY’RE OBVIOUSLY A GREAT TEAM, THEY’RE RANKED #1 IN THE COUNTRY. THEY WILL BE A LOT FRESHER THAN WE ARE BUT IT SHOULD BE A GREAT GAME.”
QUOTES FROM VIRGINIA HEAD COACH GEORGE GELNOVATCH:
“I GIVE DUKE A LOT OF CREDIT, THEY HAVE SOME DANGEROUS ATTACKING PLAYERS. WE RAN OUT OF GAS HAVING TO PLAY 30 MINUTES OF OVERTIME AND TRYING TO DEFEND AT THE END. GIVE THEM CREDIT THOUGH, THEY FINISHED THEIR CHANCES.”
ON BROCK YETSO’S PLAY: “I’VE ALWAYS TOLD BROCK THAT GOALKEEPERS AT VIRGINIA HAVE TO MAKE ONE BIG SAVE BECAUSE GENERALLY YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET A WHOLE LOT OF WORK BACK THERE. HE MADE THAT ONE BIG SAVE TONIGHT AND WHEN HE MADE THAT I ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT WAS THE ONE THAT WAS GOING TO DO IT FOR US.”
“WE PLAYED WELL TONIGHT. WE LOST TO A GOOD TEAM AND THE GAME COULD HAVE GONE EITHER WAY IN THE LAST SIX MINUTES OF OVERTIME. YOU HAVE TWO OF THE TOP TWO TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY GOING AT IT SO IN SOME WAYS THAT COULD EASILY BE A NATIONAL SEMI-FINAL AS OPPOSED TO AN ACC SEMI-FINAL.”