Virginia Men's Soccer Falls at No. 9 Duke 2-0
On Monday night, Virginia upset No. 20 Maryland 2-1, powered by the crowd of Klockner Stadium. Despite riding momentum, the Cavaliers struggled in their first road game of the season against offensive powerhouse Duke, falling 2-0 to the ninth-ranked Blue Devils on Friday night in Durham. Virginia possessed the ball well but struggled to create chances in the final third compared to the Blue Devils, who were clinical with their chances.
The first promising chance came from Ruben Mesalles, who ripped a shot toward goal, forcing Holden Brown to tip the ball over the net. Not a minute later, the Blue Devils had a golden opportunity after a brilliant cross found Kamran Acito in the box, whose header hit the crossbar.
Offensively, the Blue Devils have dominated this season as they are fourth in scoring offense and 3rd in shots on goal per game in the NCAA. It was clear in the opening stages that Duke would be calling the shots as the Cavaliers struggled to create enticing scoring opportunities.
Duke continued to apply pressure, but Virginia stood tall defensively as the center-back combination of Aidan O’Connor and Will Citron refused to break. The duo made multiple clearances to keep the Blue Devils out of the Virginia zone, but the offensive powerhouse eventually would capitalize.
With 19 minutes left in the first half, a long ball cross forced Holden Brown to come out of the net to catch the ball, but due to contact with Duke’s Ulfur Bjornsson, Brown dropped the ball. With the ball on the ground, Bjornsson quickly kicked the ball into an open net to give Duke a 1-0 lead.
The goal was an uncharacteristic mistake by Brown that allowed one of Virginia’s fiercest rivals to gain an early lead. The lone positive for Virginia was that heading into this game, the Cavaliers had conceded 3 of their 4 goals this season within the first 15 minutes of the game and have proven they know how to come back.
Virginia attempted to fire back but could only muster an off-target header from Stephen Annor-Gyamfi. Despite failing to tie the game, the Cavaliers dominated possession in the final ten minutes of the first half.
To open the second half, it was much of the same for the Hoos, effectively possessing the ball, but struggling to find decent shots. Then, five minutes into the half, Triton Beauvois went down with a non-contact leg injury that resulted in him being carted off the field.
After the injury, the Cavaliers continued to possess while the Blue Devils responded with a strong counter-attack that eventually succeeded. A pass to Bjornsson left Mesalles alone on the left side, who stuck his shot into the far side netting to give Duke a 2-0 lead.
After registering five shots in the first half, Virginia failed to register a shot in the second half. The Cavaliers could not find an answer against the Blue Devils defense, leaving Durham, North Carolina, with zero goals.
Virginia (3-2, 0-1 ACC) will internalize the loss and look to get back on track on Tuesday, September 12th, against James Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
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