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Friesinger's first college goal gives UNCW 1-0 upset of No. 5 Duke.

On a scenic night at home, Duke (in white) was upset by North Carolina-Wilmington. -- Duke University web site photo --

DURHAM, N.C. (Tuesday, September 19, 2006) -- Sophomore midfielder Will Friesinger's first collegiate goal came in the 60th minute and proved to be the difference for North Carolina-Wilmington which went on the road and shocked No. 5 Duke 1-0 in a non-conference match before 412 at Koskinen Stadium tonight.

UNCW (5-1-1) last beat the Blue Devils (6-1-1) in 1980. Duke had won its last 27 against unranked opponents.

"It's a huge win for us over a nationally ranked team," said Seahawks coach Aidan Heaney whose club is undefeated in its last six outings. "Our bench did a great job tonight giving us the spark we needed."

Freshman defender Cameron Turney initiated the decisive sequence, gathering a ball on the right flank and carrying into the corner before crossing into the penalty area. The ball skipped past diving Duke junior keeper Justin Papadakis, leaving Friesinger an open target. His blast scraped the underside of the crossbar before going in to make it 1-0 with 59:02 elapsed.

"You can't win if you don't score goals," Duke coach John Rennie said. "It's as simple as that. We had our chances. We had a great chance just before they scored. Mike Grella had a great chance right in front of goal and hit it over. They then came down, we made a mistake on that play and they punished us and got a goal."

With five saves, UNCW senior goalkeeper Brad Knighton posted his third straight shutout and became the Seahawks all-time leader with 21.

"Brad gave us his usual steady performance tonight," Heaney said. "It takes pressure off us knowing he has the experience and the knowledge of how to play in these type games."

A minute earlier, the Blue Devils had a great opportunity when junior midfielder Joe Germanese carried around a defender at the top of the box and dealt the ball to sophomore striker Mike Grella's feet. Grella turned and shot over the bar.

Duke also was denied on a fine opportunity in the closing moments. With three seconds left on the clock, senior midfielder Chris Loftus sent a corner kick into the box to junior defender Tim Jepson, whose shot was blocked by a defender as time expired.

Duke held a commanding 22-10 advantage in shots, but each team managed just five on goal. Grella, Duke's leading scorer with six goals, triggered a game-high seven shots.

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