Sept. 1, 2006

DURHAM, N.C. - The American University men's soccer team held an early lead over eighth-ranked Duke in the opening round of the Duke/adidas Classic on a Larry Mark (Beltsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) goal, but the Blue Devils' came back with three goals of their own to defeat the Eagles, 3-1, Friday at Koskinen Stadium.

The Eagles opened the scoring just 2:47 into the game when Mark scored his second goal of the season on a feed from Sal Caccavale (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip). However, Duke knotted the score at one goal a piece just 1:14 later, then scored two more first-half goals to go up 3-1.

American attempted a second-half comeback, but could only must four shots. AU goalkeeper Chris Sedlak (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale) kept the Eagles in the game with five second-half saves.

The loss drops American to 2-1 on the season, while the Blue Devils improve to 3-0. The Eagles return to action on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. against North Carolina State in the second round of the Duke/adidas Classic.