The Blue Devils captured their biggest win of the season, a 2-1 upset victory over then-No. 3 Virginia Friday, and will hope to carry the momentum into tonight's matchup with Davidson.
With the scored tied 1-1 in the second half against the Cavaliers (11-2, 3-2 in the ACC), junior Joe Germanese took a pass from midfielder Michael Videira in the 57th minute and shot past Virginia goalkeeper Ryan Burke. The tie-breaking score held up to give Duke (8-2-1, 3-1-1) the victory.
"All I had to do was take a few steps in and just hit it," Germanese said. "It was a perfect lay off, and it was a good build up and fortunately it went in."
In the first half, Duke battled against the wind and a strong Virginia offense that outshot the Blue Devils, 7-3.
Junior Tim Jepson scored the first goal on an intended pass to forward Chris Loftus. Courtesy of a misstep by the Virginia defense, the ball bounced past Burke and into the net.
The Cavaliers answered back with a penalty kick by forward Yannick Reyering less than 10 minutes later to send the game into halftime tied at one.
The victory gave Duke head coach John Rennie his 389th win, pushing him past Clemson's I.M. Ibrahim as the ACC leader in all-time wins.
"I've had a lot of great players and great assistant coaches," Rennie said. "Over the years, that adds up to winning a lot of games."
The victory moved the Blue Devils up two spots to No. 4 in the national rankings and into a tie with Maryland atop the ACC standings. Germanese was named ACC Player of the Week following his game-winning shot.
The win over the Cavaliers also continued Duke's improved defensive effort. The Blue Devils have given up just 11 goals in their first 11 games of year, as opposed to 15 in the same stretch last season. They also held Virginia to just two shots in the second half Friday.
"Virginia is a great team and very well coached, so shutting them down with their plethora of stars was a great accomplishment for us," Papadakis said.
With the win behind them, the Blue Devils must now focus on defeating Davidson (5-9-0) tonight at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.
Although the Wildcats has lost five of its last six contests, Rennie said the team's losing record does not reflect the Wildcats' ability on the field.
"They play probably one of the toughest schedules in the country," Rennie said. "They're very hard to score on."
Davidson has experienced a number of close losses, including three overtime defeats. The Wildcats are also familiar with ACC competition, losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to Virginia earlier in the season by a penalty kick and tying North Carolina, 1-1, in a preseason exhibition.
"They've lost five games by one goal or less and play a very difficult schedule," Papadakis said. "We're going to need our best effort to beat them."
The Blue Devils hope part of that effort will be an improved offensive performance. Duke managed just four shots on goal against Virginia, but the team thinks the improved defense will open up more attacking opportunities.
"I think we're going to start getting a lot more chances, especially down the stretch when the field opens up a little bit," Germanese said. "I think the more we move the ball, the better we play the possession."
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