Louisville Knocks Off Duke in ACC Championship Opener

Wednesday, November 4

Durham, NC

7:00 PM

University of Louisville

7-8-3

Duke

10-7-2

Louisville

Duke

The Cardinals celebrate during Wednesday's win at Duke (Photo: Reagan Lunn).

November 04, 2015 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Kubel, Schmitt score goals for the Cardinals, who face No. 1 Wake Forest in Sunday’s ACC quarterfinal

By: Garett Wall

DURHAM, N.C. - Behind goals from Tim Kubel and Tate Schmitt, the Louisville men's soccer team earned a 2-1 road win over Duke in the first round of the 2015 ACC Championship Wednesday night at Koskinen Stadium.

With the victory, the Cardinals (7-8-3) advance to an ACC Championship quarterfinal match at top-seeded and No.1 ranked Wake Forest on Sunday at 1 p.m. The postseason contest will be the second meeting in 10 days between the two teams after the Demon Deacons won a 4-2 decision in Louisville last Friday in the regular season finale for each side.

The Cardinals connected for both of their goals in Wednesday's triumph during a span of 47 seconds in the first half to gain command for good against the Blue Devils (10-7-2), who saw their five-match winning streak halted with the loss. Kubel started things with his fifth goal of the season and the 12th of his career in the 17th minute of action, while Schmitt delivered his seventh goal of the year in the 18th minute for the two-goal cushion.

Louisville withstood a furious second half attack by the Blue Devils, who had a 15-2 advantage in shots during the final 45 minutes and had a 19-9 edge for the match. Zach Mathers scored his eighth goal of the season in the 57th minute to cut the Cardinals' lead in half, but Duke would get no closer as junior Theo Jamilloux turned away five shots, including four in the second half to clinch the win.

"This was a great result on the road," said Louisville head coach Ken Lolla. "I'm proud of the team as it was a tremendous team effort."

The scoring started Wednesday at the 16:36 mark when Kubel fired a free kick inside the lower left corner from 30 yards away for the 1-0 lead. It marked the second straight match Kubel has scored a goal, while his 12 career goals lead the way for this year's Louisville squad.

Schmitt extended the advantage to 2-0 at the 17:23 mark when he scored from just inside the 18-yard box following a through ball from senior Ben Strong. It was the first goal for Schmitt since Sept. 25 against NC State, a stretch of eight matches between tallies. The assist for Strong was his team-leading fifth of the season.

After Louisville finished the first half with a 7-4 edge in shots and carried the two-goal lead into the halftime break, Duke found its offensive attack in the second half breaking through for its only goal of the night at the 56:36 mark when Mathers connected from 18 yards away. The goal followed a cross into the box that was punched out by Jamilloux, who was unable to recover and retreat on the strike by Mathers.

The Blue Devils continued their strong pursuit of the potential equalizer firing nine shots during the final 30 minutes of the match. However, Louisville survived the flurry while improving to 3-1 overall in its two appearances in the ACC Championship, including 2-0 in road matches.

Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.