DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Davidson men's soccer team picked up their first Atlantic 10 postseason victory in a 2-1 decision over Duquesne at Alumni Stadium on Friday night. Wildcat forwards Denis Krioutchenkov and Vincent Bennage netted goals while Sai Tummala recorded both assists off the bench.
 
Like the first matchup, the Wildcats didn't wait long to strike first. In the 11^th minute, Sai Tummala, who entered the game for an injured Nicholas Cavallo early on, punched a ball from the midfield down into Duquesne's defensive zone. Milwaukee native, Denis Krioutchenkov, raced through two defenders and fired a shot while being pulled down in the box. His attempt rolled past the keeper to give the 'Cats an early lead.
 
Roughly 25 minutes later, the Dukes equalized. The Atlantic 10's second-leading scorer, Ask Ekeland, rifled a shot from the top of the box past Lou Liedtka to tie the score at 1-1.
 
As the game moved into the second half, the intensity and pressure grew. Duquesne had the momentum in the early portion of the final 45 as the Dukes sent out five shots in the first nine minutes of the half.
 
Davidson was able to weather the storm and turn the tides. The Wildcats countered with three straight attempts highlighted by a laser shot from Maddux Reece that was nudged over the cross bar by a leaping Zoltan Nagy of Duquesne.
 
Down the stretch, the Wildcats were able to find pay dirt once again, and it proved to be the difference maker. In the 77^th minute, Ben Minikel-Lacocque worked the ball down deep into Duquesne's defensive zone and had a cross deflected back towards the near corner of the box. Sai Tummala lofted the deflection on the first touch towards the center of the 18-yard square.
 
Waiting for the pass was a leaping Vincent Bennage who headed the ball perfectly past the keeper to put Davidson ahead for good.
 
The Wildcats were able to run out the rest of the clock and allowed just two shots in the remaining 23 minutes to secure the program's first postseason win since joining the A-10 in 2014.