DURHAM, North Carolina – After earning its first national ranking of the season earlier in the day, No. 24 UNCW used a three-goal second half to extend its win streak to five consecutive games with a 3-0 victory over No. 16 Duke at Koskinen Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Seahawks, who earned their fourth consecutive victory over the Blue Devils, improved to 5-0-1 on the season. Duke dropped to 4-1-1 on the season and had its five-game unbeaten streak snapped.
"This was an important road win against Duke," Coach
Aidan Heaney said. "I felt we were the stronger side in the first half without creating too much, but the second half was more even and we had to battle."
Following a scoreless first half, UNCW took a 1-0 lead in the 79th minute when
Daniel Escobar took a pass from
Jordan Cordero and scored his third goal of the season.
"Getting the first goal was critical and came at a good time in the game for us," Heaney said. "
Jordan Cordero and
Daniel Escobar provided a spark off the bench to combine for the goal. I think we were able to ramp up our determination from there and add two more goals."
Just over nine minutes later, freshman midfielder
Ben Fisher (Chapel Hill H.S./Chapel Hill, N.C.) upped the advantage to 2-0 when he blasted a 25-yard shot into the lower left corner on a free kick. It was Fisher's fourth goal of the season.
Senior forward
Colin Bonner (Reservoir H.S./Fulton, Md.) added an insurance goal with 1:19 left with his sixth goal of the season after a long punt by junior goalkeeper
Sean Melvin (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) bounced over a Duke defender, creating a one-on-one opportunity with Duke goalkeeper
Wilson Fisher.
Led by Melvin, who made one save while posting his second shutout of the season, the Seahawks limited Duke to a season-low four shots.
"We had some outstanding performances tonight and it takes a team performance to win at a place like Duke," Heaney said. "
Sean Melvin made a key save at 0-0 to maintain status quo and we always feel like we have some goals in our side, and so it proved again tonight.
"All in all, I am really happy with the start and how we are playing, but we will now turn our attention and focus towards Hofstra on Saturday night in our CAA opener," Heaney added. "Points are very hard to come by in this league so we must be ready."
#SeahawkStats: Tuesday's game was the 25th all-time meeting between the two teams … The Blue Devils hold a 15-9-1 lead … Duke and UNCW entered Tuesday's match in a group of 22 teams in NCAA Division I without a loss this season … Three of Fisher's four goals have been scored in the last two games … Bonner has a five-game point-scoring streak … He also scored the 22nd goal of his career, moving him into a tie for 10th place on UNCW's all-time list with
Ahmed El Rafi (1996-99) … The Seahawks have not allowed in the last 198 minutes, 52 seconds, dating back to the second half against Campbell on Sept. 6 … Escobar has scored all three of his goals in the last four games and has a four-game point-scoring streak … Melvin's assist was the first point of his college career … The Seahawks are now 8-0-1 in their last nine regular season matches, dating back to last year … UNCW has won 16 consecutive matches when scoring at least two goals … Coach
Aidan Heaney earned his 129th victory at UNCW, tying the school record held by
Calvin Lane … Duke averaged 19.0 shots per game entering Tuesday night's contest … The Seahawks are now 13-19-5 against ranked opponents since 2003, but have won five of their last seven outings.
What's Ahead for the Seahawks: UNCW begins its Colonial Athletic Association schedule on Saturday, Sept. 19 by traveling to Hofstra for a 7 p.m. game against the Pride.
Men's College Soccer: No. 24 UNCW 3, No. 16 Duke 0UNCW 0-3 / 3
Duke 0-0 / 0
Goals: UNCW –
Daniel Escobar (78:04),
Ben Fisher (87:17),
Colin Bonner (88:41); Duke – n/a.
Assists: UNCW –
Jordan Cordero,
Sean Melvin; Duke – n/a.
Saves: UNCW –
Sean Melvin 1 (90:00, 0 goals allowed); Duke – Wilson Fisher 2 (90:00, 3 goals allowed).
Shots: UNCW – 8; Duke – 4.
Corner Kicks: UNCW – 8; Duke – 3.
Attendance: 478.
