For the first time since the '80s, the men's soccer team went into a game against Virginia as the clear-cut favorite. But when two fierce rivals clash, anything can happen.
Despite UVa's early-season struggles, the sixth-ranked Cavaliers (10-2-3, 3-1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) staged a 2-0 upset over the No. 3 Blue Devils (13-3, 4-2 ACC) Saturday night at Duke Soccer Stadium.
"We hadn't been playing up to our potential up till now," Virginia goalkeeper Brock Yetso said. "I think tonight we were running on all cylinders. We were finishing and we were defending well, and I think this could be a great turning point for us."
UVa outshot Duke 16-12, and Yetso recorded seven saves to Duke keeper Atli Knutsson's five. The Blue Devils' shut-out loss was their first of the season, and it ended their six-game winning streak.
Duke's shoddy play in the first half contributed to its own demise. By allowing breakaways and giving the Wahoos room to maneuver around the field, the Blue Devils enabled Virginia to dominate early in the match.
"We weren't tight enough on their players, so they were slipping through," junior midfielder Jay Heaps said. "It was our defense, not our offense. Our offense was doing all right, and so was the midfield. It was just a matter of our team defending."
The Cavaliers were quick to take advantage of Duke's sloppiness on the field. After freshman defender Robert Russell fouled UVa defender Scott Vermillion, midfielder Andriy Shapowal converted on the free kick at 15:09 into the contest. From that point on, the Wahoos never looked back.
The Blue Devils cleaned up their act in the second stanza, correcting their mistakes and maintaining possession of the ball. Junior Evan Whitfield's relocation from the midfield to his usual position in back shored up their defense. The substitution of rookies Stephen Pate and Matt Mayock into the midfield improved their offensive flow.
"In the second half we played the best we've played in a long time against Virginia," Duke coach John Rennie said. "I'm very, very happy. We learned in the first half, made some changes at halftime. We had no problems with possession; we were much more on the ball in the second half. I don't ever remember being happier with a loss-seriously."
The shift in momentum notwithstanding, Duke still couldn't put the ball in the net-and UVa still did. After Vermillion fired a long bomb up the middle, forward Chris Albright tried to one-time it in. Albright missed, but the shot drew Knutsson out of the box. Forward Ben Olsen needled his way through the Blue Devil defense and booted the ball into the right side of the empty net.
Olsen was able to notch the insurance goal largely because of a recent shift in position. Forward Matt Leonard, a 1996 second-team all-ACC pick, had not been producing offensively of late. To boost its attack, Virginia coach George Gelnovatch pulled Leonard out of the starting lineup, moving Olsen, a midfielder, up front and inserting Sam Franklin into the midfield. The change paid off, as Olsen now leads the Cavaliers in scoring with nine goals and nine assists for 27 points.
"Ben gives us a little bit more mobility," Gelnovatch said. "He's quick; he's excellent at holding the ball; he's tricky. I know that [Duke's] backs are very athletic, so we need two forwards who can match up with them, and by pushing up Olsen, he did that for us."
The intense rivalry between the two teams showed in their physical play. In what Gelnovatch called, "a hard-fought game," Duke and UVa committed 23 and 27 fouls, respectively. They also received a combined total of seven yellow cards, two of which went to Blue Devil defender Dwayne Harris.
Heading into the matchup, Duke was poised to clinch first place in the conference. A win would have meant a top seed-and a first-round bye-in the ACC Tournament. Now, first place is out of reach as the Blue Devils stand tied for third with N.C. State, behind Maryland and Virginia. The final standings will be determined when the Terrapins take on North Carolina on Nov. 4, but until then, the Blue Devils will just have to wait.
"Well, it just throws everything out in the open, obviously," Rennie said. "Who knows who's going to get first, second, third or fourth?"
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