The men's soccer team is two wins closer to its first undefeated regular season in school history. The No. 1-ranked team defeated Duke 2-0 Nov. 1 and Davidson 4-0 Nov. 5 in two road tests to push its record to 13-0-4 on the season.

The Deacs captured the first ACC regular season title in school history with the victory over Duke.

The team was in second place behind Maryland prior to the match and needed to not only win, but to also have Maryland lose.

Fate proved to side with the Deacs as Terps fell 2-0 at Virginia. The Deacons' first place finish gives them an important bye, automatically putting them in the semifinals of the ACC tournament Nov. 14-17.

"To play one less game will be crucial," Head Coach Jay Vidovich said. "Especially since there are six teams, (including ourselves), that have been ranked in the Top 25 this year."

The game against Duke was a tight defensive battle. The first half saw only four shots, with the Deacs outshooting the Blue Devils 3-1.

The deciding goal came in the 61st minute of the game when freshman Justin Moose beat the keeper in the box and played junior Jeremiah White the ball in front of an open net on the six. Blue Devil defender Adam Guren tackled White from behind, and the Deacons were awarded a penalty kick. White finished the opportunity for his eighth goal of the season.

The foul by Guren earned a red card, and the Blue Devils played the final 28 minutes of the game down one man. The loss opened things up for the Deacs, and the team capitalized with two minutes remaining when White sent freshman Ryan Alexander's cross into the back of the net.

"To go on the road and get a shut-out and our second ACC road win was fantastic," Vidovich said. "Virginia's win sealed our top-placed finish in the conference, and gave us another step in our program's evolution."

The Deacs rose above the cold rain and swamp-like conditions at Richardson Stadium Nov. 5 to beat Davidson 4-0. The shut out gave the team three new records: their 17th consecutive game without a loss, the team's ninth shutout and the seventh straight road game without a loss.

"It was a concern that after Virginia, Davidson could do some damage to us," Vidovich said. "We went right out, even in the tough conditions, and took it to them."

The Deacs scored seven minutes into the game when sophomore Scott Sealy megged a Davidson defender at the right side of the box and beat Wildcat goalkeeper Soren Johnson for his fourth goal of the season.

Sealy capitalized again in the 32nd minute when, unassisted, he beat Johnson in the right side of the penalty area and then crossed the ball into the far side of the goal.

The Deacs added a third goal before halftime in the 39thminute when sophomore Amir Lowery tackled a Davidson defender 30 yards out and then broke forward on a breakaway that finished with him beating Johnson for a 3-0 lead at the half.

Senior Bobby Gehring finished the team's fourth and final goal in the 64th minute. "We took Moose and Vicente Bastidas out after 30 minutes and a lot of people got some quality minutes against a very good team," Vidovich said. "That will really help us as we move towards the postseason."

The Deacs outshot the Wildcats 13-6 in the game. Junior goalkeeper William Hesmer made only three saves before senior backup Brad McEachern came on to preserve the shutout.

The Deacons will finish out the regular season Nov. 9 at home at Spry Stadium against Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. The game is Senior Night.