No. 10 Duke Hosts ACC Match With No. 11 N.C. State on Friday

Durham, N.C. - No. 10 Duke will face another tough test in the ACC on Friday night at 7 p.m. when No. 11 N.C. State visits Durham. The Blue Devils are coming off a tough loss at Virginia on Sunday. After a red card was issued in the 66th minute, they played a man down the rest of the way and gave up the game's only goal with three minutes left for a 1-0 loss. The loss dropped them to 8-3-1 on the year and 2-2-1 in the conference. N.C. State had a five-game losing streak come to an end on Saturday when they suffered a 4-0 setback at Virginia Tech. However, they bounced back with a 2-0 win at home against Longwood on Wednesday.

Adidas Giveaway
The first 300 fans to attend Friday's game against N.C. State will receive a free Adidas beanie. The game starts at 7 p.m. and the giveaway will begin at 6:15 p.m.

Series History
Duke holds a commanding 44-19-5 lead in the overall series with North Carolina State. They had won eight straight games against the Wolfpack heading in to last year's meeting when N.C. State won 1-0 at home for their first win against the Blue Devils since 1995. Head Coach John Rennie is 21-10-1 against N.C. State in his 26 years at the helm of the Duke program.

Last Year's Meeting
(10/17) - Duke and N.C. State had a defensive battle with the game decided at the end of regulation. The Wolfpack broke a scoreless tie with 1:57 left when Aaron King took a long pass and beat the Blue Devil's goalkeeper Justin Trowbridge for his seventh goal of the season. Trowbridge had four saves while Jorge Gonzalez stopped five shots for N.C. State. Both teams had ten shots, six shots on goal and five corner kicks. The loss was only the second of the season for Duke, who was ranked No. 6 at the time and fell to 12-2 on the season.

The Opponent
N.C. State has had a strong season thus far with an 9-4-1 record. After opening the season with two straight losses they went on to go unbeaten in nine of their next ten games with an 8-1-1 mark during that span. They had a five-game winning streak come to a close last Saturday when they traveled to Virginia Tech and came away with a 4-0 loss. They came back to win their ninth contest of the season with a 2-0 shutout win against Longwood on Wednesday. A large part of their success has come from the play of Aaron King. He is sixth in the nation in points per game (2.07) and third in the nation with an average of 0.93 goals per game. His 13 goals lead the ACC and he accounts for 48-percent of his team's scoring.Bryant Salter and John Queeley are tied for the team lead with five assists each.

History vs. ACC opponents
Against the other eight schools currently in the ACC, Duke holds a 177-164-30 all-time mark. They have been most successful against Wake Forest and North Carolina State with a .559 winning percentage against the Demon Deacons and a .647 winning percentage against the Wolfpack. The ACC has won ten National Championships, including four straight from 1991-94 and eight-of-11 from 1984-94. Duke won the 1986 National Championship, Virginia has five titles, Clemson has two and both Maryland and North Carolina each have one crown.

Last Time Out
Duke traveled to Charlottesville, Va. for a match against No. 4 Virginia on Sunday. The game was still scoreless at halftime and remained that way until just under three minutes left when Yannick Reyering tallied his tenth goal of the year to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 shutout victory. The Blue Devils played a man down for the final 24 minutes of the game after Spencer Wadsworth was issued a red card at the 65:59 mark. Justin Papadakis made three saves in the game for Duke while Ryan Burke earned the shutout with three stops for Virginia.

Duke vs. Ranked Teams
So far this season Duke has a 2-3 mark against ranked teams, including a 1-2 record against ranked ACC squads. They went on the road and defeated No. 25 Saint Louis University, 3-1, in their second game of the year. They suffered a 4-1 loss at home against No. 7 St. John's on Sept. 11 but came back the next week to defeat No. 13 Wake Forest, 3-2 in overtime. In the last two weeks they lost on national television to Maryland, 3-1, and then fell at Virginia, 1-0. N.C. State will be the sixth team Duke has faced this year that has been ranked in the top-25 at the time of the game. Four of the Blue Devils' other opponents have also been ranked in the top-25 at one point in the season.

Scoring Offense
Duke is 12th in the nation in scoring offense heading into their conference clash with No. 11 N.C. State on Friday. They are now averaging 2.33 goals per game and have scored at least two goals in nine of their 12 games this season. The three times they have failed to score twice was in a 4-1 loss to St. John's, in their 3-1 loss to Maryland and in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Virginia. They have scored three goals against Saint Louis, the College of Charleston, Wake Forest, Longwood and Boston College. They also tallied a season-high five in a win over Temple. The shutout loss to Virginia was the first time this season Duke failed to score a goal in a game.

Red Cards
Spencer Wadsworth became the third Duke player to receive a red card this season when he was thrown from the game at the 65:59 mark of the Virginia game, forcing the Blue Devils to play a man down. Wadsworth will be forced to sit out of Friday's game against N.C. State. He leads the team with seven assists and three game-winning goals. He is also second with 15 points and four goals. Mike Grella and Paul Dudley received red cards earlier this season. Grella was issued one against Maryland and Dudley received one at Virginia Tech.

Man Down
The three red cards issued to Duke this season have forced them to play a man down for 52 minutes. During that 52 minutes they have only allowed one goal on six shots. They have an advantage of 9-6 in total shots while also putting a goal in the net. In 24 minutes against Virginia Tech, they came back from a 2-1 defecit to tie the game at 2-2 with 1:31 left in regulation and force overtime. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. The Blue Devils played 24 minutes against Virginia with one less player and gave up the game-winning goal with three minutes left in the game.

NCAA Leaders as of 10/17
Spencer Wadsworth is ranked among the top-20 in the country in assists per game. He is ranked 17th with an average of 0.58 per contest. As a team Duke is ranked 12th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 2.33 goals per game.

ACC Leaders as of 10/17
Duke leads the ACC in several statistical categories. They are first with 17.67 shots per game, 8.5 points per game, and 3.83 assists per game. They also have several individuals among the leaders in the conference. Blake Camp is eighth in shots per game (2.83). Michael Videira is tenth with 2.67 shots per game and is tied for fifth with 0.50 assists per game. Chris Loftus is tied for fifth with 1.5 points per game and fifth with 0.67 goals per game. Spencer Wadsworth is tied for ninth with 1.25 points per contest and is third with 0.58 assists per game. He is also tied for fourth with three game-winning goals.

National Rankings
The Blue Devils were ranked No. 10 in three different polls this week after defeating Western Illinois and falling short to No. 4 Virginia last week. Soccer America, Soccer Times and College Soccer News all listed Duke in the tenth slot while Top Drawer Soccer has them ranked third.

ACC in the National Rankings
The ACC currently has seven teams ranked in the Soccer America Top-25. All nine teams in the conference have been ranked in the Top-25 at some point this season. The only team in the conference that does not have a winning record is Boston College who is 4-5-2 on the year. Virginia, Maryland, Duke and North Carolina have all appeared in the top-five this season as well.

Tale of Two Halfs
The Blue Devils have been the first team to put a goal on the board in nine of their 12 games this season. So far this year, the Blue Devils have outscored their opponents 15-1 in the first half. The only goal they have allowed in the first half came against Wake Forest. Duke also holds a 90-30 advantage in total shots in the opening stanza. However, in the second half they have been outscored 15-11 despite holding an advantage in total shots, 95-70. Duke has outscored their opponents 2-0 in overtime games with wins against Charleston and Wake Forest in extra periods.

No. 10 Duke Hosts ACC Match With No. 11 N.C. State on Friday

Players Mentioned

Blake Camp

Paul Dudley

Mike Grella

Chris Loftus

Justin Papadakis

Justin Trowbridge

Michael Videira

Spencer Wadsworth

Duke information

No. 10 Duke Hosts ACC Match With No. 11 N.C. State on Friday

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Players Mentioned

Blake Camp

Paul Dudley

Mike Grella

Chris Loftus

Justin Papadakis

Justin Trowbridge

Michael Videira

Spencer Wadsworth

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Duke information