Duke men's soccer own goal in double overtime gives Georgia State Tuesday upset

After a disappointing tie Friday with Pittsburgh, the Blue Devils looked to build momentum heading into a series of ACC games. 

Instead, they were handed their third loss in their last five games.

Georgia State stunned Duke 2-1 in double overtime at Koskinen Stadium Tuesday night after coming back from a 1-0 halftime deficit. The Blue Devils had a number of scoring chances but could not finish off the Panthers, who scored in the 75th minute and held off the Blue Devils to force overtime before scoring the game-winner in the 106th minute on an own goal off the head of Duke freshman defender CC Uche.

“We didn’t execute. And it’s a shame, because it’s not for lack of effort, the boys are giving everything they got, just not executing in the final third,” Blue Devil head coach John Kerr said.

Duke (3-3-2) opened the scoring in the 39th minute on a header from junior Cameron Moseley, his second goal of the year. After the Blue Devils played a corner kick short, freshman Suniel Veerakone’s cross was deflected toward the front of the goal. Moseley then rose above the Georgia State defense to guide the ball into the back of the net past goalkeeper Yannic Horn.

Following a few more close calls, Duke maintained command for the rest of the first half, allowing only five total shots and no shots on goal. The stingy defense continued into the second half, with the Blue Devils allowing no shots on goal for the first 20 minutes of the period.

The offense, meanwhile, put on the pressure as the second half began, as Duke fired five shots in the opening 10 minutes of the period. However, despite several chances to put the Panthers (6-4) away, the Blue Devils could not capitalize. In the 52nd minute, Ryan Thompson crossed the ball to freshman Max Moser at the top of the box, who had his first shot blocked before firing a second one off the post in the upper right corner. 

Three minutes later, a header from junior Markus Fjortoft off a cross from Veerakone was saved by a diving Horn, who had six saves on the day.

“We had several chances in the first five minutes of the second half…. we’re not capitalizing on our good play,” Kerr said. “I felt if we got the second goal we would put the game away.”

In the 75th minute, Duke paid the price for letting the Panthers hang around. 

Georgia State finally broke through the Blue Devil defense when junior Nick Hague found sophomore midfielder Max Hemmings cutting through the Duke defense. Hemmings took the through ball from Hague and beat graduate transfer Robert Moewes—who finished with four saves—with a quick shot to the left side of the goal for the equalizer and his fourth goal of the season.

“We let them hang around,” Kerr said “We had a lapse on their goal for sure.”

For Duke, a scary moment came in the 78th minute when Hague lifted a cross to a cutting Rashid Alarape in front of the goal, only to have it broken up by Duke defenders Kevon Black and Fjortoft. During the play, however, the two Blue Devils collided, leaving Black injured and unable to get to his feet. The junior from Brampton, Ontario, was taken off the field in a stretcher with an apparent back injury.

Following a scoreless first overtime period, the two teams headed to double overtime with the Blue Devils determined to avoid another frustrating result after a disappointing tie on Friday. 

With four minutes left in the second overtime period, however, they lost their chance at redemption.

Georgia State senior Casey Shultis crossed the ball from the right corner in front of the goal toward Alarape. Before it arrived, the ball deflected off Uche’s head as he tried to clear it and into the net for an own goal. The scene was unhappily familiar for the Blue Devils, who gave up a similar own goal on a header by Moseley in their 2-1 win against Georgia Southern last week.

With a showdown against N.C. State Friday up next for the Blue Devils, Kerr and company will look to bounce back quickly and keep their hopes of a first NCAA tournament bid since 2011 alive. 

“I’m not despondent. We just got to get through this little period and get back to winning ways,” Kerr said.