Louisville soccer tops Duke in ACC Tournament opener

The U of L men's soccer team began what they hope winds up being a memorable postseason run with a 2-1 victory over Duke in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.

The Cards struck early with a free kick goal from Tim Kubel and then tacked on another less than a minute later when Tate Schmitt struck. U of L then withstood a flurry of second half shots from the eighth-seeded Blue Devils to squeak out the one goal victory. Duke finished the match with a 19-9 edge in shots.

Entering the postseason with a disappointing record of 6-8-3, Louisville likely needs a deep run in the conference tournament to have a shot at advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The Cards, who are No. 25 in the country according to the RPI, have not missed the big dance since Ken Lolla's debut season 10 years ago.

Louisville will now look to keep its 2015 campaign alive by knocking off top-seeded Wake Forest Sunday at 1 p.m. in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons, who are the No. 1 team in both the ACC and the entire country, took care of U of L 4-2 last Friday at Lynn Stadium.

Here's how the league tournament stands after one round of play:

ACC Championship Schedule
First Round - Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.
No. 9 Louisville 2, No. 8 Duke 1
No. 7 Syracuse 2, No. 10 NC State 0

Quarterfinals - Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.
No. 9 Louisville at No. 1 Wake Forest
No. 5 Virginia at No. 4 Notre Dame
No. 6 Boston College at No. 3 Clemson
No. 7 Syracuse at No. 2 North Carolina