DURHAM, N.C.—Duke sophomore Brian White scored with 3:27 left in the second overtime to lift the Blue Devils to a thrilling 3-2 double overtime victory over No. 23 Hofstra tonight at Koskinen Stadium. Duke rallied from two goals down to come away with the win.
After scoring the equalizer in the 86th minute to force overtime, Duke needed 16:33 more to garner the victory. With the ball at midfield, Zach Mathers touched the ball to Brody Huitema. The junior forward quickly found Mathers again. The senior captain, with one goal to his name already, pushed the ball to the left side of the penalty area where White hit it far post for the win.
The win stops a six-game winless stretch for Duke and pushes the Blue Devils to 5-4-2 overall on the year. Hofstra, ranked 14th in the latest RPI, falls to 8-3-0 on the year.
“We went down 2-0 and it seems like every time we go down we end up fighting back,” said White. “We're a very resilient team and we never give up on a game. We just keep going and I think our resilience showed tonight.”
All three of Duke's tallies came from different players with senior captain Zach Mathers leading the charge with a goal and an assist, including the game-winning helper.
The Blue Devils dominated possession in the early going of the game, moving the ball quickly all over the field. White nearly made it 1-0 in the 16th minute, but his shot hit the post perfectly and came out of the box.
Despite outshooting the Pride 9-4, including 4-1 on goal, Duke went into the locker room deadlocked at zero.
Hofstra came out in the second half with a bit more intensity, but the Blue Devils absorbed the pressure well. However, a good tackle by the Pride in its defensive third sparked a counter on the Blue Devils. Duke goalkeeper Mitch Kupstas, in his first career start, made a great initial kick save, but couldn't corral the rebound as Danny Elliott put it in for the 1-0 Hofstra lead in the 55th minute.
Less than 10 minutes later the Pride made it 2-0 with a finish on the doorstep from a set piece service from 30 yards out.
Duke, unfazed by the 2-0 deficit, remained composed and demonstrated its resilience. After a Hofstra defender was shown his second caution of the night to put the Pride down a man, the Blue Devils sensed a great opportunity to get back into the game.
“Our guys bounced back,” said head coach John Kerr. “They knew they were playing well so the frustration set in, but the calmness was also there. We kept playing soccer, which was important. I'm very happy with the performance because they fought back. I'm very pleased with the outcome and very pleased with the performance.”
Less than four minutes after the red card, Mathers sent a spectacular free kick from 25 yards into the left side-netting to cut the deficit in half. Duke, like it had done all night, continued to press in search of the equalizer.
With Hofstra putting all 10 men behind the ball, the Blue Devils were finally able to break through with the tying goal. Jeremy Ebobisse collected the ball just inside the 18-yard box after a slight misplay by Hofstra. Seeing a wide-open Huitema to his left, he tapped it to the junior striker who took a touch before calmly putting it in the empty net to force overtime and set up the thrilling finish.
Kupstas finished with four saves, including a big one in the first minutes of the second overtime, in his first career start as a Blue Devil. Patric Pray made eight saves for the Pride.
Duke resumes ACC play Saturday, Oct. 10 at Notre Dame. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
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