White?s Golden Goal Sends Duke Past Elon, 1-0

Tuesday, October 25

Elon, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

7-6-2

Elon

7-4-3

OT 2

Duke

Elon

White?s Golden Goal Sends Duke Past Elon, 1-0

10/25/2016 10:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.—Duke junior striker Brian White used a brilliant individual effort in the final minutes of the first overtime to lead the Blue Devils to the 1-0 victory at Elon Tuesday night. The goal was the fifth of the year for White and was started by a Brandon Williamson ball out of the midfield.

“I'm so happy for [Brian] because he's been so close for such a long time,” said head coach John Kerr. “He needed that confidence builder and he did a fabulous job keeping his composure in front of the goal. I'm very proud of him.”

Duke (7-6-2) extends its win streak to three games with a second straight overtime victory. Elon falls to 7-4-3 overall on the year. Robert Moewes was excellent again in goal, making four saves and posting his second shutout of the season and 10th of his career.

After a back-and-forth affair in the 90 minutes of regulation, the Blue Devils and Elon headed to overtime for the fifth time in the previous seven meetings.

“I just said make good decisions,” said Kerr. “You want to understand that they're tied, we're tired and if you make your angles right and you make good decisions on the ball we're going to get opportunities and certain enough we did.”

An easy save by Moewes on a header from an Elon corner kick allowed the Blue Devils to quickly build the counterattack. Williamson got the ball at his feet just past midfield and found White with his back to goal near the top of the penalty box. A great turn by the junior striker put him in behind the defense where he calmly dribbled around Elon goalie Matthew Jegier and slid the ball into the goal from a tough angle for this third game-winning goal of the year.

Jegier finished with three saves in the 98 minutes of action for the Phoenix.

Duke was outstanding in possession in the early going of the game, displaying great patience in looking for holes in the Phoenix backline. The Blue Devils best chance of the first half came in the 13th minute as Williamson's strike from 18 yards sailed just over the bar. The shot looked as if it was going into the right upper 90 for Williamson's third goal in two games, but momentum carried it over.

The Phoenix picked up momentum as the half progressed and nearly took a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute, but was denied by the diving Moewes. The veteran keeper came up with another big stop with five minutes left, getting down quickly for the save, sending the Blue Devils into halftime tied 0-0 with Elon.

The Blue Devils came out strong in the second half as Max Moser sent a ball that went untouched through the penalty area. White also had a cross that Jegier had to parry over the crossbar to keep Duke off the scoreboard.

Equally dangerous on the offense end were the Phoenix with Elijah Agu having a go from18 yards that sailed over the crossbar. Elon continued to get its fair share of possession as the second half continued, but solid defense from the Blue Devils never allowed the Phoenix close range shots.

Moser got in the mix again in the 59th minute, beating an Elon defender to the ball inside the penalty area, but found the woodwork with a curling left-footed strike.

With Duke defending well under heavy pressure from Elon, the Blue Devils continued to fit for that go-ahead goal. Jegier and the woodwork saved the day again for the Phoenix in the 74th minute as Suniel Veerakone's rifle of a shot from 18 yards was tipped off the crossbar by Jegier.

Both teams pressed relentlessly in the final 10 minutes. Moewes made a fantastic save on a Tuki Tayali shot from 12 yards and then Jegier responded with a point-blank save of his own against White to keep the game scoreless after 90 minutes of action.

Duke closes out the regular season Oct. 28 at Virginia. The Blue Devils and Cavaliers kick off at 7 p.m., on ACC Network Extra. The game will decide the seeding for the upcoming ACC Championship.

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