Blue Devils Edged By Tar Heels, 1-0, In Quarterfinals Of ACC Tournament

Wednesday, November 14

Cary, N.C.

5:30 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Blue Devils Edged By Tar Heels, 1-0, In Quarterfinals Of ACC Tournament

11/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

CARY, N.C. --- An early goal provided the difference on Wednesday night in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals as No. 20 Duke was downed by North Carolina, 1-0. With the loss, the Blue Devils are now 9-8-1 in ACC quarterfinal action and 18-16-3 overall in the ACC Tournament.

Just 12:16 into the contest, UNC's Michael Callahan took a short cross from the right side and one-timed it into the left side of the net. Scott Campbell and Bill Dworsky were credited with assists.

The first half would be very limited offensively after that, with Duke managing only two shots and North Carolina just one.

In the second frame, the offensive pressure would increase, but with no results for either squad. The Blue Devils got four shots in the second period, although none of those were on goal. In the game's final minutes, Duke had several chances to tie, but were unable to convert. A free kick taken by Mike Grella with less than three minutes remaining produced a shot that sailed left of the goal. Then, with less than 15 seconds remaining in the match, a header by Paul Dudley went just wide of the left post.

Duke's defense looked strong, holding their opponent to one goal or less for the 15th game this season. It limited the North Carolina attack to seven shots and only two on goal. Junior goalkeeper Brendan Fitzgerald made one save to improve his goals against average to 1.09.

Senior midfielder and Hermann Trophy candidate Michael Videira returned to action in the second half, seeing his first playing time since going down with an injury early in Duke's 2-0 victory over Davidson on Oct. 31.

The Blue Devils were outshot by their opponent for only the fourth time in 19 games this season, with UNC holding a 7-6 advantage. Duke has outshot the opposition this season 343-163, and holds a shots on goal advantage of 145-77. In two matches versus the Tar Heels this year, Duke has averaged 5.5 shots per game, while in its other 17 contests the Blue Devils have averaged 19.52 shots per game.

With the loss, Duke falls to 11-7-1 on this year while the Tar Heels improve to 7-7-5 this season.

Duke leads the all-time series with North Carolina, 40-37-9. The Blue Devils have played the Tar Heels more than any other opponent in the program's history, with 86 meetings. Callahan's goal marked the first regulation time offensive score in the series since their 2004 match, a span that included four games and just over 435 minutes. Duke has now gone 513:49 in just over five matches without an offensive goal against North Carolina.

The Tar Heels held on to the Carlyle Cup point that they won on Oct. 11 in the regular season meeting with the Blue Devils. North Carolina leads 6.0-1.5 over Duke in this year's Carlyle Cup, which is a year-long all-sports competition between the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels, sponsored by Carlyle & Co. of Greensboro, N.C. In seven seasons, Duke and North Carolina have won three Carlyle Cups apiece and tied once, in 2006-07.

John Rennie's record as a collegiate coach is now 454-205-50 in 35 years. Rennie is in fifth place all-time among NCAA Division I coaches for wins and in third place among active coaches for career wins. With his 410 victories at Duke and 95 in ACC play, Rennie has the most wins of any coach in ACC history. He won Duke's first national championship in any sport in 1986. This will be Rennie's final season as Duke's head coach, a decision made prior to the 2007 season.

Senior defender Tim Jepson was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually in eight NCAA Division I sports to a senior student-athlete who excels both on and off the field. Fans can vote once a day per computer online until Nov. 21 at http://soccer.seniorclassaward.com/public/men/vote.aspx. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award. Winners will be announced during the NCAA Championships, scheduled December 14-16 in Cary, N.C.

The NCAA Tournament selection show will be held on Monday, Nov. 19 from 5:30-6:00 p.m., and will be televised live on ESPNews. The tournament begins Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24 with first round action at campus sites and continues through the College Cup on Dec. 14 and 16 in Cary, N.C.

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