Sportswrap: Duke football downed by Georgia Tech, men's soccer loses nail-biter to Pitt

Sophomore Thorleifur Ulfarsson is leading the ACC in goals with nine.
Sophomore Thorleifur Ulfarsson is leading the ACC in goals with nine.

Sportswrap is your one-stop shop for everything Duke athletics, where we’ll recap how each of Duke’s sports currently in competition performed over the last week and give a brief look ahead. Here’s our recap for the week of Oct.4-10.

Football 

The Blue Devils' struggles continued for the second week in a row Saturday, losing 31-27 to Georgia Tech in 60 minutes of hard-fought football. Running back Mataeo Durant carried the ball 43 times, setting a program record for single-game carries, en route to 162 yards on the ground. Quarterback Gunnar Holmberg quietly had one of his best career performances with 292 passing yards and a 76% completion mark, but it was not enough to overcome the team's many mistakes as the Yellow Jackets scored on a last-minute drive to hold off Duke (3-3, 0-2). -Jake Piazza

Women’s soccer 

Despite superstar Michelle Cooper and Olivia Migli returning to the starting lineup, No. 4 Duke dropped a last-second decision to N.C. State—a game where the Blue Devils (9-2-1, 3-2-1) put up four expected goals to the Wolfpack’s 1.23. Duke rallied for a 5-0 win against Pitt Sunday, but after the conference-wide results that day, the Blue Devils now sit unlikely to make the ACC tournament. -Em Adler

Men’s soccer 

While No.3 Duke (9-2, 4-1) was finally bested in conference play 3-2 by No. 13 Pittsburgh Saturday after a dominating 3-1 win against Elon the Tuesday before, the story of the week was the one written by sophomore forward Thorleifur Ulfarsson. After scoring five goals in two games the week prior, the Iceland native swept last week’s awards, including National Player of the Week honors from three different outlets and ACC Offensive Player of the Week. After, he didn’t slow down, scoring another against Elon and, despite the loss, a goal and an assist against Pittsburgh. He now leads the ACC with nine goals despite missing four games early in the season and will look to continue his five-game scoring streak next Friday against Clemson. -Sasha Richie 

Field hockey 

The 22nd-ranked Blue Devils are wrapping up a disappointing season and this week’s lineup proved to be as challenging as it was on paper. On Friday, the Blue Devils (5-8, 0-4) drove down the road to take on the ninth-ranked Tar Heels and, despite putting up a fight, fell 1-4. They redeemed themselves with an upset against No. 17 Old Dominion, winning 5-1 Sunday afternoon. Duke will take on Syracuse Saturday for Senior Day. -Campbell Lawson 

Volleyball 

Duke continued ACC play this weekend, falling to its competition in both matches. The team lost in straight sets to Miami Friday despite an outstanding performance in the front row by senior Ade Owokoniran with 15 kills. Sunday’s contest against Florida State was a closer match, the Blue Devils taking the second set to lose 1-3. Junior Moorea Wood caught fire this weekend, tallying seven kills Friday and setting a new personal record of 14 Sunday. Duke (11-6, 2-4) travels to face off against Clemson and Georgia Tech this weekend. -Elena Karas

Women’s tennis

The Blue Devils were back in action this week, competing in the ITA All-American Championship in Charleston, S.C., and the Wildcat Invitational in Evanston, Ill. Georgia Drummy made it to the quarterfinals of the All-American Championships before being retired in her final match, while Kelly Chen and Chloe Beck lost in the consolation quarterfinals of singles play. Meanwhile, Beck and Karolina Berankova also fell in the consolation quarterfinals of the doubles tournament. At the Wildcat Invitational, the Blue Devils finished with a 14-4 record over the three day event, including an undefeated 6-0 doubles slate. The team plays next in the ITA Fall Regionals from Oct. 21-25. -Matthew Hawkins 

Men’s tennis

Duke competed in the ITA All-American Championships over the past week. Sean Sculley, Garrett Johns and Andrew Zhang all competed as singles,while Zhang and Michael Heller paired up for doubles. Zhang and Heller paced the team, winning their first three doubles matches before falling on Day Four. -Piazza

Softball 

Back on the field for the first time since getting knocked out of the NCAA tournament in May, the reigning ACC Champion Blue Devils began their fall season with three straight dominant wins. After wins against South Carolina and N.C. State this past week, Duke has outscored its opponents 24-2 thanks to dominant pitching alongside the hot bat of sophomore Kelly Torres. Duke will see East Carolina and UNC-Greensboro as the fall season continues next weekend. -Micah Hurewitz 

Women’s golf

The fall swing rolls on. In the Windy City College Classic, the Blue Devils finished in ninth place at +48. In a 15-team field, that finish would be concerning on its own, but the fact that Stanford—arguably the most talented team in the country—finished 34 shots ahead of Duke indicates that the Blue Devils still have room to improve. Next on tap for Duke is the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, which gets going this Friday. -Max Rego

Men’s golf 

Over in the Hamptons, sophomores Ian Siebers and Jimmy Zheng led Duke to a fifth-place finish with +2 and +3 individual totals, respectively. The Blue Devils ended up 12 shots back of conference foes Georgia Tech and Virginia, and 15 shots ahead of sixth-place Yale. Duke gets a week off before the GC of Georgia Collegiate Oct. 22. -Rego

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