For the third straight year, Duke was sent home in the opening round of the ACC tournament, this time falling 1-0 to Boston College in overtime. After 95 minutes of scoreless play through the heavy rain and wind of Tropical Storm Ida, the Eagles scored with a header to advance to play No. 20 N.C. State—which defeated No. 2 North Carolina—in the tournament semifinals.
After a 30-minute weather delay, the Blue Devils kicked off under a downpour with strong, blustery wind blowing around the pitch. From the beginning, it was clear the game was to be defined by the extreme conditions.
“There was heavy rain coming into your face,” head coach John Kerr said. “The wind was swirling and that made it difficult to get anywhere and get a clear sight of goal.”
Also, Duke played without junior defensive anchor Christian Ibeagha, who was suspended after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season against Wake Forest Friday. Ibeagha will return for Duke’s NCAA tournament games if the team is selected for the postseason.
But Wednesday, the first half was an even battle between the squads. Both the Blue Devils and Eagles experimented with different ways to move the ball around the field as they found their game plans rendered ineffective by the inclement weather.
In the second half, though, Duke found its rhythm. For the opening 25 minutes, the Blue Devils controlled possession and earned several opportunities, including three consecutive corner kicks. Boston College was able to generate few shots throughout the half, but simply weathered the Duke storm until the end of regulation. In the end, the Blue Devils’ inability to finish would come back to haunt them.
Early in the first golden goal overtime period, Duke dominated play, finding openings all over the field. However, momentum was lost when defender Matthew Thomas left the game with an injury, and the Eagles seized the opportunity. Within minutes, Edvin Worley headed a cross past Blue Devil goalkeeper James Belshaw for the win.
Boston College outshot Duke 12-7 on the afternoon, but the Blue Devils earned more corner kicks, 7-4.
“They ended up having one chance, and we didn’t defend well enough to prevent them from scoring,” Kerr said. “We paid the ultimate penalty for slack defending.”
Despite the loss, the Blue Devils will stay focused on their season’s last and most important test: the NCAA tournament.
“Right now, it really hurts. But tomorrow’s a new day,” senior defender Josh Bienenfeld said. “We’ve got to look forward. There’s nothing we can do about the result now.”
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