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Cary, N.C. - The #4 seeded University of Virginia men's soccer team recorded a 4-1 victory over the #5 seeded Duke Blue Devils in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference at the SAS Soccer Complex. The Cavaliers broke open a 1-1 halftime tie and scored three goals in the second period, including a pair by UVa forward Alecko Eskandarian (Montvale, N.J./Bergen Catholic) who set a new school-record at Virginia for most goals in a single season after posting his 23rd and 24th goals of the year. UVa will now advance to face #1 seeded Wake Forest in the ACC Semifinals on Friday, November 15th at 5:30 PM. 

Virginia jumped out to an early 1-0 lead at the 22:28 mark when Ryan Kelly (Marlton, N.J/Cherokee) gathered a cross from teammate Jacob LeBlanc (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) in the midfield area just outside of the top of the box and connected on a one-timer. However, Duke tied the score at 1-1 at the 35:18 mark when Danny Kramer sent a pass upfield to a streaking Owoicho Adogwa that he put away for a goal. The Cavaliers and Blue Devils went into the locker rooms at halftime tied at 1-1. 

Virginia's Ryan Gibbs (West Chester, Pa./East) scored the eventual game-winning goal just 1:52 into the second period when LeBlanc sent a corner kick into the box that Gibbs chipped-in for a score at 46:52. Gibbs' goal was his eighth of the year and it was his third game-winner this season. UVa extended its lead to 3-1 at the 52:24 mark when Gibbs assisted Eskandarian on the first of his two goals in the contest. Gibbs threw a ball into play to Eskandarian when the Cavaliers gained possession on a ball that went out of bounds, and Eskandarian made a quick spin-move and fired a one-timer into the back of the goal. Virginia added an insurance goal at the 63:45 when Eskandarian scored the UVa single-season school record 24th goal of the year when a Blue Devils defender misplayed in the a ball near midfield that Eskandarian turned into a breakaway goal to give the Cavaliers a 4-1 lead. 

UVa goalkeeper David Comfort (Richmond, Va./Monacan) made a game-high five saves in the win, while Duke's Justin Trowbridge pulled in four saves in the loss. 

With the victory, Virginia's record improves to 14-5-0 overall, while the loss drops Duke's record to 11-7-1 on the season. UVa also improves to 24-8-3 all-time in the ACC Championship. The Blue Devils have been eliminated from the tournament with the defeat. 

UVa will return to action on Friday, November 15th when Virginia takes on the #1 seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the semifinals of the 2002 ACC Championship. The contest is scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM and will be played at the SAS Soccer Complex. 


Scoring 1 2 F
#5 Duke (11-7-1) 1 0 1
#4 Virginia (14-5-0) 1 3 4

Goals: Virginia 4 - Kelly (LeBlanc) @ 22:28, Gibbs (LeBlanc) @ 46:52, Eskandarian (Gibbs) @ 52:24, Eskandarian (unassisted). Duke 1 - Adogwa (Kramer).
Shots: Virginia 14, Duke 10.
Corner Kicks: Virginia 4, Duke 3.
Saves: Virginia 5, Duke 4.
Fouls: Virginia 23, Duke 13.
Cautions: Virginia 5 - Arena (yellow), Dinnall (yellow), Oliver (yellow), Kelly (yellow), Feeney (red). Duke 1 - Ahumada (yellow).
Offsides: Virginia 6, Duke 5.
Attendance: N/A

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