DURHAM, N.C. – Leonardo D'Ambrosio and Peter Thomas scored second half goals to give College of Charleston the lead, but a pair of late Duke tallies in a span of three minutes handed the Cougars a 3-2 defeat on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.

The loss was the first for the Cougars (2-1-5) and it came in heartbreaking fashion. Charleston appeared poised for its first win over an ACC opponent in 13 years when Thomas took a free kick, dribbled along the baseline and snuck a shot into the lower left portion in the 72nd minute for a 2-1 lead.

The Cougars trailed 1-0 at halftime but evened the match in the 52nd minute when a foul in the box gave D'Ambrosio a penalty kick which he converted for his seventh career goal. D'Ambrosio and Thomas remain tied for the team lead with both scoring their third goal of the season against the Blue Devils.

"We started the game slow and they dominated the first half. We challenged ourselves at halftime to come out in the second half and put forth a better effort," said head coach Keith Wiggans. "Our guys did that, and I am proud of their performance in the second half. However, no matter who your opponent is, you have to play for 90 minutes. We will recover quickly and get ready for a tough opponent in Monmouth."

The Cougars were seeking a result against an ACC opponent for the second straight year after playing to an 0-0 draw with NC State last season at Ralph Lundy Field. But a pair of goals by Forster Ajago, the latter with just over five minutes remaining, doomed Charleston's chances at the upset.

Thomas finished with three of the Cougars' seven shots while Duke produced 35 shots but only nine on target.

Charleston resumes CAA play on Saturday when its wraps up a three-game road stretch at Monmouth. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.