Racaj Posts Brace in First Half; Duke Falls to Virginia Tech, 4-2

Friday, September 18

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

3-5-0, 0-3-0

Virginia Tech

4-2-1, 2-0-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Virginia Tech	2	2	4
Duke	2	0	2

Racaj Posts Brace in First Half; Duke Falls to Virginia Tech, 4-2

9/18/2026 10:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke men's soccer scored just 69 seconds into the contest and Ari Racaj recorded a brace in the opening 20 minutes, but the Blue Devils eventually fell to Virginia Tech, 4-2.

Duke (3-5, 0-2 ACC) held the lead twice in the first half but a strong second stanza by Virginia Tech allowed the visitors to eventually secure the three points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke immediately opened the scoring, finding the back of the net after just over a minute of play. Ari Racaj was on the receiving end of a cross by Logan Moniz, as Racaj directed the service past the Virginia Tech goalkeeper. Emmanuel Frimpong also earned an assist on the play, setting up the final ball by Moniz.
The visitors leveled the score in the 17th minute but Racaj put Duke right back in front, 2-1, less than three minutes later. The Blue Devils' striker found the ball at his feet with nobody in front of him for more than 60 yards and he eventually tucked in the right-footed shot from just inside the 18-yard box.
The Hokies took advantage of a scramble late in the opening half, flicking a header into the far corner with less than 30 seconds remaining before halftime.
Neither team could build momentum in the early going of the second half, as the score remained 2-2 through the first 15 minutes of the second frame.
The visitors seized control with two quick goals, grabbing the 3-2 lead with a goal in the 68th minute following a corner kick and then went up by two goals, 4-2, with a penalty in the 70th.
Duke used pressure to create late scoring opportunities but were unable to pull a goal back, as the match finished 4-2 in favor of the visitors.

NOTES

Ari Racaj scored the first goal of the match at the 1:09 mark, the fastest goal scored by a Duke player since Brian White converted a penalty kick just 26 seconds into a match against Pittsburgh on Sept. 23, 2016.
It was the fastest Duke goal scored in the run of play since Christopher Tweed-Kent found the back of the net 48 seconds into a contest against UCSB on Sept. 2, 2011.
Racaj posted the first brace of his Duke career and now has three goals this season, matching his freshman scoring output.

UP NEXT

Duke returns to play at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium against Howard on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Blue Devils and Bison kick off at 7 p.m., with streaming available on ACC Network Extra.

#GoDuke