Men's Soccer ACCtion: Friday, October 26
Duke tops Virginia; two matches postponed.



Oct. 27, 2007

Blue Devils Pull Out Thrilling Victory Over Virginia In Double-Overtime

Forwards Joshua Medcalf and Mike Grella both scored critical goals on Friday night and No. 23 Duke pulled out a 2-1 come-from-behind win at No. 10 Virginia. The Blue Devils snapped a four-game winless streak with the victory, which marked the end of the Blue Devils' stretch of four matches against top-10 teams in 22 days. The game can be seen on-demand on ACCSelect.com.

Medcalf's goal came with just 1:52 remaining in the match, with Duke trailing, 1-0. After Virginia cleared a Blue Devil throw-in, freshman midfielder Cole Grossman passed the ball to junior defender Darrius Barnes on the left side of the field. Barnes switched over to his right-foot and played a ball into the box that Medcalf headed into the middle of the net. It was the third straight Duke goal scored by Medcalf and the fifth overall this season.

The game would go to overtime, where both squads frantically attempted to find paydirt and win the match. The answer came for Duke with just 1:58 left in the second extra period. Senior midfielder Zack Pope chased down a long ball on the right side of the field and played a long cross in to Grella, who brought the ball down and chipped it over Virginia goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo and into the net on the far post. The sudden-death goal was Grella's fifth game-winner and eighth goal overall on the year, both of which lead Duke.

The Cavaliers' score was tallied 6:38 into the second half when Chris Tierney took a free kick that Matt Mitchell one-timed past Duke goalkeeper and senior Justin Papadakis.

It marked the first comeback win of 2007 for the Blue Devils, who were previously 0-5 when giving up the first goal this season.

 

Two of Friday's matches were postponed due to recent rain and field conditions:

  • NC State @ Maryland in College Park, Md. will now be played Saturday, October 27 at 6 p.m.
  • Clemson @ North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. will now be played Sunday, October 28 at 2 p.m.