In a game that marked a turning point for the men's soccer program, the Blue Devils were nothing short of fantastic as they dismissed No. 13 North Carolina (6-3, 1-1 in the ACC) Saturday evening, sending the Tar Heels tromping home with a 1-0 setback in front of 4,800 raucous fans in Koskinen Stadium.
No. 25 Duke (5-2-1, 2-1) scored early in the second half off a Jordan Cila shot into the top left corner of the net before retreating to a preventive defense that made it nearly impossible for UNC to create goal opportunities.
The tactic, highlighted by the stellar play of goalie Justin Trowbridge, helped to shutout the Tar Heels for only the second time this season and gave Duke its first win against UNC since 1999.
"It's North Carolina-Duke: It doesn't get much better than that," defender Matt Ahumada said.
A spectacular ball fake from junior Jordan Cila led to the game-winning goal in the 52nd minute. Cila gathered a pass from freshman Ian Carey, juked a defender, and sent a left-footed rocket into the top left corner of the goal over an outstretched Tar Heel goalkeeper.
"I knew Ian was going to cut the ball back because we had been talking about it in practice," Cila said. "He found me back. I saw a defender coming at me, so I did a step over right, and he fell for the move. I had an [opening] left at the net, so I just took it. The coaches yelled at me at halftime and told me to shoot more, so I took it."
The game began as a slugfest in the first half, with possession oscillating between the national powers and each team accumulating six shots on goal. Duke's first strike came in the first minute on a shot from Carey that sailed just left of the goal. UNC's chances were instigated by speedy forwards Marcus Storey, David Testo and leading-scorer Ryan Kneipper, each of whom was assailed and denied by defenders Ahumada, Adam Guren, and Mark Mattern.
"We had our opportunities," UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "In the first half, Duke's defense seemed to be a little flat. We got behind them, Mike Gell got behind them, Matt Crawford got behind. We just couldn't pull the trigger fast enough."
UNC's attack was momentarily hindered when starting forward David Testo went down with an ankle injury after being slide tackled by Ahumada. Testo's ankle swelled considerably, and he was unable to return to action.
"It [effected us]," Bolowich said. "We are not very deep, Testo helps us out a lot in there."
The defending national champions persevered, however, when Mike Gell sneaked through the Blue Devil defense and collected a pass from Kneipper. A one-on-one ensued with sophomore goalkeeper Justin Trowbridge, who rushed the ball and slide tackled Gell in a collision that left both players dazed. The ball was cleared, but Trowbridge remained on the ground clutching his ankle. The game was paused as trainers treated his left ankle and leg.
Trowbridge refused to leave the game, however, and his mettle was tested immediately by two Tar Heel scoring attempts that would close out the half. As a UNC forward evaded Trowbridge, he sent in a roller that was stopped by Guren, who stymied the ball with his left foot before clearing it. The other shot was a rolling bullet from Matt Crawford towards the right side of the goal. Trowbridge sprawled out on the ground, slowing and misdirecting the ball with his left hand, before it was cleared by Ahumada. The dazzling save��one of four on the day��kept the game knotted at zero at halftime.
"Everyone played at the top of their game," head coach John Rennie said. "I thought it was a total team effort from both teams."
After gaining a 1-0 advantage, Duke fortified its defense by entrenching itself in front of Trowbridge goal, a strategy that endured several frenzied attacks from the frustrated Tar Heels. UNC controlled possession for the majority of the half, but had only one good scoring opportunity as Duke responded to every UNC advancement with a swarm of harassing defenders.
The Tar Heel's lone chance to score came from a shot by Jonathan Davis. The ball curved directly into the right goalpost and ricocheted out of play.
Even UNC's leading scorer was rendered ineffective. The 6-foot-3 Kneipper, usually indefensible in the air, was neutralized by Duke's 6-4 Mark Mattern.
"They have a lot of speed up front and they like to play a lot of long balls into the space behind the defense," Rennie said. "So we dropped back a little and controlled the tempo.... They had to resort to balls in the air, and Mark Mattern was unbelievable in the air against Ryan Kneipper."
Bolowich concurred, citing Duke's impeccable team defense as the main factor in the win.
"They did not panic.... The goalkeeper had a tremendous game, and made some great plays," he said.
With the victory, the Blue Devils improved to 2-1 in the ACC, equaling their conference win total from all of 2001.
"It's a sweet game," Trowbridge said. "It's why you wear the Duke jersey. But bottom line, it's just another game.... We've got another big one Tuesday against Davidson."
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