Virginia Suffers 2-1 Double Overtime Loss to Duke

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CHARLOTTESVILLE The tenth ranked Virginia men’s soccer team had a disappointing end to its home conference schedule, falling to No. 23 Duke 2-1 in double overtime on a rainy Friday night at Klckner Stadium. The Cavaliers fall to 9-4-2 overall and 1-3-2 in the ACC, while the Blue Devils improve to 8-5-1, 3-3-1 ACC.

“When you are winning 1-0 with under two minutes to play, you need to be able to finish off the game,” said head coach George Gelnovatch. “Any loss hurts. We are just in a funk right now. It’s not about character or attitude, it is just one of those things you need to fight through during the course of a season.”

The game was scoreless until the 52nd minute of play. After a Blue Devil foul was called along the sideline in the attacking end, Chris Tierney’s (Wellesley, Mass.) free kick found Matt Mitchell (Tariffville, Conn.) on the back post, who one-timed in his first career goal. The Cavaliers held that advantage until the 89th minute when Duke tied the game on Joshua Medcalf’s header off of a cross.

Midway through the second overtime, Virginia nearly won the game as Jonathan Villanueva’s (Grand Prairie, Texas) 35-yard free kick beat the Duke keeper but hit squarely on the corner of the post and crossbar. In the 109th minute, Zach Pope delivered a ball to Mike Grella on the far post, who tucked a shot away just inside the far post to give Duke the win.

Duke outshot 18-11 Virginia 10-9 in the game as each team had six corner kicks. Michael Giallombardo (Manalapan, N.J.) made six saves for Virginia, while Justin Papadakis made six saves for Duke.

Virginia will close out their home schedule on Tuesday, October 30 as it hosts Mercer. Game time at Klckner Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

#23 Duke 2, #10 Virginia 1

#23 Duke (8-5-1, 3-3-1) 0 1 0 1 2
#10 Virginia (9-4-2, 1-3-2) 0 1 0 0 1

Scoring Summary
1. UVa. Mitchell, 1 (Tierney) 52’
2. Duke. Medcalf, 5 (Barnes, Grossman) 89’
3. Duke. Grella, 8 (Pope) 109’

UVa Duke
Shots: 11 18
Corners: 6 6
Saves: 6 6
Fouls: 16 27
YC/RC: 0/0 0/0

Weather: 55 degrees, rain
Attendance: 1468