Virginia Suffers 1-0 Defeat to Duke in ACC Opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia men’s soccer team (2-2-1) opened its ACC slate of competition with a 1-0 loss to Duke (3-1-1) on Friday night (Sept. 6) at Klöckner Stadium in a match that featured just two combined shots on target. 

Goals (Assist)
50’ Duke — Nick Dang (OG) 

How it Happened:  

• Following the opening kickoff, Duke established an advantage in the possession game looking the more likely to score in the first 25 minutes of play. 

• In the 18th minute, a high arching ball played into Duke’s Luke Thomas created the first dangerous chance of the game. Thomas’ attempt from inside the penalty area was punched over the bar by Joey Batrouni in the Virginia goal.  

• With less than five minutes to go in the first half, it looked like Duke had its breakthrough goal as Adam Luckhurst seemingly scored on a header from close range. The goal was disallowed a handball violation and the teams would go into the halftime break locked in a 0-0 tie.  

• Just over five minutes into the second half Duke had its opening goal when a cross from Luckhurst took a deflection off Nick Dang ending up in the back of the Virginia net. 

• In the final 25 minutes, the momentum swung in the favor of Virginia as the Cavaliers began to take a stranglehold on possession and created the better of the chances. 

• The best of Virginia’s opportunities came from a free kick when Danny Mangrov lifted the ball into the center of the penalty area where it was met by the foot of a sliding Luc Mikula. His shot on target was smothered by the Duke goalkeeper.  

From Head Coach George Gelnovatch: 
“Duke came out hard. They played aggressive; they pressed us in a man-for-man mode especially in the first half. It took us out of our rhythm, and they did a really good job of doing that, but they only had one shot on goal. This was another game, like the Colgate game, where [opponents] had one shot on goal and they scored. For me, early on in the season, games look like this where in an end-of-the world scenario, you get a point from this game and you don’t lose it. I give Duke a lot of credit. We will look at the film, learn from it, and get ready for the next one.”  

Additional Notes:  

• The game featured just two shots on goal, one for either team 

• The Cavaliers were outshot by the Blue Devils by a margin of 7-2 

• Both teams managed just two shot attempts in the second half 

• Through five games in 2024, Virginia opponents have managed just five shots on goal 

• Cavalier opponents have managed just two goals from open play this season on just 28 total attempts 

• Luc Mikula logged 26 minutes-his highest total as a Cavalier after coming on in the 64th minute. 

• With the loss, Virginia’s winless streak against Duke extends to five games 

• Virginia falls to 43-41-11 all-time against the Blue Devils and 17-16-4 under George Gelnovatch 

Up Next:
Virginia continues its ACC slate when the Cavaliers travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. for a match with Wake Forest on Friday (Sept. 13). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ACCNX.