After losing to fourth-seeded Virginia twice this season, Duke shut out the Cavaliers 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.
The third time was the charm for the men’s soccer team. After losing to fourth-seeded Virginia twice this season, Duke shut out the Cavaliers 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.
“It was overwhelming,” defender Danny Miller said. “The fact that we beat them at home 3-0, that we finally did it, was the perfect ending.”
Advancing to the College Cup for the first time since 1995, the Blue Devils (18-5) continue an impressive season that began with an 11-game win streak.
After junior Danny Kramer—who leads the team in points and goals—scored first for Duke, the highly-touted freshman class produced offensively once again with goals from Tomek Charowski and Spencer Wadsworth.
The Blue Devils will travel to Carson, Calif., for the semifinal game against UC Santa Barbara Friday at 7:45 p.m. at the Home Depot Center. Duke will make its fifth appearance in the College Cup, all under head coach John Rennie. The team won the school’s first and only national soccer title in 1986.
The only unseeded team to advance to Carson, Duke had just one close call in its four NCAA Tournament wins and knocked off two seeded teams in the process, including ACC-rival Virginia.
The Blue Devils got on the board in the 11th minute when Virginia (18-5-1) committed a foul, giving Michael Videira a free kick just outside the box. He registered his 15th assist when he crossed to Kramer, who booted in the goal.
Even with the advantage, Duke knew it could not breathe easy when playing the Cavaliers, who had demonstrated their ability to come back and win during a thrilling overtime game Oct. 23.
The Blue Devils scored an insurance goal less than 10 minutes later. Wadsworth passed the ball wide to Zachary Pope, who crossed it into the box. Charowski then knocked it into the top corner past Virginia keeper Ryan Burke.
“After the first goal, we were so excited,” Miller said. “And after the second goal, we realized we were back in the same position as [the first meeting].”
In the second half, the Blue Devils concentrated on maintaining their lead and stifling the Cavaliers’ offense. Virginia left itself susceptible in the backfield by bringing forward an extra attacker, and Duke took advantage. Chris Loftus stole possession from the Cavaliers in the midfield, taking the ball into the offensive zone. In the box, Loftus found Wadsworth, who buried the shot for his eighth goal of the year.
“They sent numbers forward and put an extra forward on the field,” said Rennie of Virginia’s second-half strategy. “They played much more aggressive and took a risk by throwing guys forward. And we knew that. We knew they would put extra forward.... It’s just a matter of expecting and knowing that this is coming. Your job is to win the ball counter, and we were prepared for that.”
Although the Cavaliers outshot Duke 14-9, they only managed to put three on goal, the first of which did not come until the 33rd minute of the game. Keeper Justin Trowbridge captured his 13th shutout of the season and boosted his save percentage to 81.5.
Leading Virginia with five shots, Adam Christman broke away in the first minutes of the game. With Miller chasing after him, Christman took an open shot, but the ball sailed over the crossbar. Again in the second half, Christman had another open opportunity on a breakaway but could not capitalize.
“Overall, it was our best game of the year,” Rennie said. “We did a tremendous job defensively against a strong team. We played as hard as we can play, and we like our chances. We just want to continue to work and get better with every game.”
In the past weeks Duke has shown considerable improvement after a stretch when the team lost 5-of-8 games. Besides a second-round scare against Old Dominion, the Blue Devils have looked dominant, shutting out their opponents in all but one game and scoring at least two goals in each contest.
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