Sophomore Ryan Finley wanted revenge. He had been knocked down by the Cavaliers, kicked in the face with a cleat and now stood watching the minutes tick away on a sure Virginia win.
But with 2:24 left in the match, he and the rest of the Blue Devils weren’t prepared to roll over that easily. Finley took advantage of a loose ball in the box, tapped it past the Cavalier keeper and gave Duke a draw against the defending national champions.
“Luckily it just fell [to me] and I just tapped it in,” Finley said. “The goal is great, but people don’t really see how much work the defense and midfield put in that leads up to the goal.”
Before Finley knotted the game up at 2-2, the No. 8 Blue Devils (1-0-2) entered the game knowing that a strong start was imperative if they wanted to stick with No. 2 Virginia (2-0-1). They did just that, taking a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when freshman Rob Dolot slotted home his first career goal off a rebound from a shot by fellow freshman Jonathan Aguirre.
“Rob Dolot’s goal was big for us,” head coach John Kerr said. “He’s such a composed player for such a young player.... Jonathan Aguirre was awesome tonight. He controlled the middle. He’s very poised for such a young player as well.”
Kerr said that another freshman, Will Donovan, provided an important spark off the bench and showed confidence on the ball.
But the star of the night was Finley, who carried the attack as the lone striker to the tune of eight shots.
“He’s great,” Kerr said. “He’s a threat for us every time he gets the ball going forward. Running at people, he is dangerous, and people have to defend him. He played great tonight.”
Duke was unable to extend its strong start in the second half, and the defending champs took advantage. After a couple of close chances for the Cavaliers, Jimmy Simpson finally struck for his second goal of the season in the 71st minute, and Sean Hiller put Virginia ahead 15 minutes later.
“They took the game to us in a big part of the second half,” Kerr said. “[When] they tied it up and got that late goal, I was looking for what kind of personality our team is going to have.”
With just five minutes remaining and a devastating loss looming, the Blue Devils turned to Finley, who erupted in celebration after his ball crossed the line, Taking off down the sideline, he sprinted past the Duke and Virginia benches to the corner flag, so fast even his teammates couldn’t catch him.
“I don’t know where he got the energy for that one,” Kerr said laughing. “Wish he’d used that energy in the game.”
Duke pushed for a winner in the final two minutes, but when none came the game headed to overtime. The slight rain that had been falling throughout much of the match picked up as the game moved along, but the 1,200-plus fans that showed up stuck around for the ending.
The first extra time saw each team earn a couple of chances, but neither mustered a shot on target so the game continued on to a second overtime.
Duke dominated the final 10-minute period, testing Virginia goalkeeper Diego Restrepo, but was unable to come up with a game-winner as the team exited the field satisfied, but disappointed with the draw.
“I thought for sure we were the better team in the overtime and took the game to them and just weren’t able to finish it off,” Kerr said. “I thought our guys showed a lot of character and poise.”
The Blue Devils’ early season schedule doesn’t get any easier this week as they host George Washington on Tuesday and North Carolina on Friday. But, saturday night’s game showed that this team has the skill and confidence to compete with the best in the country.
“Our character tonight showed in many, many ways.” Kerr said. “I’m very proud of the team, and if we can get two good results this week, we’ll be in good shape as we keep moving forward.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.