With just over 30 minutes left to play in No. 8 Duke's final regular season home game, Clemson converted one of its rare second-half opportunities and arrested the game's momentum from the Blue Devils.
The Tigers spoiled Senior Day with a 3-1 victory that knocked Duke down to the fifth seed in the ACC Championship.
Although Clemson led 2-1, the Blue Devils (10-4-2, 3-3-2) held the momentum following a goal from sophomore Spencer Wadsworth in the 58th minute.
But less than two minutes later, Clemson midfielder Randy Albright found Bryson Moore in front of the net. Moore beat Duke goalkeeper Justin Papadakis to give the Tigers (10-4-3, 2-4-2 in the ACC) a two-goal cushion and squash the Blue Devils' hopes.
With the win, the Tigers avoid the ACC Championship play-in game, while the Duke's loss means it will face fourth-seeded Virginia Tech in the first round Wednesday.
"For them, this game was incredibly important," Duke head coach John Rennie said.
Clemson came out firing to begin the game, as Albright converted a Blue Devil turnover into a goal. Gaining control of the ball inside the box, Albright beat Papadakis for the score in the seventh minute.
The goal marked only the second time this season that Duke has allowed a goal in the first half. The Blue Devils finished the regular season winless when scoring less than two goals.
Three minutes into the second half, the Tigers increased their lead to 2-0 when junior forward Dane Richards blocked Papadakis' attempted clear in front of the net and put it past Duke's diving goalkeeper.
"It was not a real good defensive effort tonight," Rennie said. "The goals that we gave up came off of defensive mistakes, a bad clearance and two unmarked players."
Wadsworth brought the Blue Devils back to within one goal, firing a 12-yard shot through the congested Clemson defense and past Tiger goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi. The goal, Wadsworth's fifth of the season, seemed to shift the momentum to the Blue Devils, as they continued to pound away at the net, outshooting the Tigers 12-2 in the second half.
"I feel like it gave us more hope than we had," Wadsworth said of his goal. "We came into this game, and Coach Rennie kept telling us we needed to be prepared mentally, and I don't think we all did that."
The Blue Devils were not able to capitalize on their many second-half scoring opportunities, while the Tigers netted goals on their only two shots of the period.
The two teams combined for a total of 36 fouls. Although more fouls were called on Clemson, the Blue Devils seemed more affected by the numerous whistles. The Tigers turned two Duke penalties into goals.
"I think [the referees] just played into our frustrations as the game went on," senior midfielder Blake Camp said. "We realized we weren't playing well, and every time a call went against us it just led to our aggravation."
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