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No. 2 Duke Looks To Clinch ACC Regular Season Title At No. 8 Clemson
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (13-2-1, 5-1-1) travel south on Interstate 85 on Friday to face off against No. 8 Clemson (11-3-2, 2-3-2). The game will kick off at 7:00 p.m., and the Blue Devils will clinch the ACC regular season title with a victory. A loss or tie by Virginia against Wake Forest would also allow Duke to win the conference.
Series History: Duke and Clemson are knotted 21-21-3 in 45 meetings between the two schools. Clemson won last year, 3-1 at Koskinen Stadium. The 45 meetings between the two clubs is the sixth most against any opponent for the Blue Devil program. Coach John Rennie is 15-13-3 versus Clemson since taking the helm at Duke in 1979. From 1988 through 1993, Duke was winless against Clemson, but the Blue Devils returned that favor against the Tigers from 1994 to 1998. In the last seven meetings, Duke and Clemson are 3-3-1 against each other.
The Opponent: Clemson began the season by winning its first eight matches, and became the highest ranked team in the nation. Since then, it has been up and down for the Tigers, as they have gone 3-3-2 in their last seven contests, including a 0-3-2 mark in the ACC. They are led up front by senior forwards Dane Richards (10 goals and seven assists), and Frederico Moojen (nine goals and two assists). At the midfield position, Clemson is led by a trio of midfielders: senior Hector Quintanar (six assists), and juniors Mark Buchholz (four goals and five assists), and Danny Poe (four goals and two assists). The goalkeeper position is manned by senior Phil Marfuggi, who has a .733 save percentage and two shutouts this season, but freshman Joseph Bendik has seen considerable time as well, and holds a .776 save percentage and two shutouts.
Last Time Out: Duke beat North Florida 5-0, which was its largest margin of victory this year. The Blue Devils have now won six in a row, a high for this season. Clemson tied its last match 1-1, in an ACC road contest at Boston College.
Rankings: Duke is ranked second in the nation, with Southern Methodist University (14-1-3) the only team above them. That could change with a win for the Blue Devils, as SMU suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the University at Alabama at Birmingham on Wednesday night. Clemson is ranked eighth in the most recent poll, but have been as high as number one this year.
Around the ACC: The Blue Devils are in first place in the ACC with a 5-1-1 conference record and 16 points. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a tie. Virginia sits right behind Duke with a 5-2-0 record and 15 points. Clemson is in sixth place in the close ACC race, with a 2-3-2 record. They are two points behind Maryland for fifth place.
Devil Defense: Duke's defense has allowed only seven goals in its last 11 games, recording four shutouts in that time and not allowing more than one goal in any of those games. The Blue Devils have only allowed 14 goals in 16 games the entire season, and only twice has more than one goal been scored against them. Junior goalkeeper Justin Papadakis has been a major reason behind this success, with a .774 save percentage, 41 saves, and four shutouts. Junior captain Tim Jepson has anchored the defense with his leadership, strong work ethic, and team best 1359 minutes played. Senior captain Kyle Helton and sophomore Darrius Barnes have logged over 1050 minutes each on a defensive unit that has also added on to Duke's scoring totals with three goals and four assists. Sophomore Graham Dugoni has also seen increased playing time and has contributed greatly as the season has progressed.
Middle of the Field: One of the strongest and deepest assets for the Blue Devils is their midfield. They are led by junior and Hermann Trophy candidate Michael Videira with five goals and six assists. Senior captain Chris Loftus has become more-offensive minded this season, playing a mixture of forward and midfield while recording three goals and three assists in his last campaign. Others contributing in the middle include juniors Tomek Charowski (two goals and three assists), Joe Germanese (three goals and five assists) and Zach Pope (1 goal and nine assists). Sophomore Pavelid Castaneda has been the workhorse for the Blue Devil midfield, recording 1211 minutes at the most physically taxing position on the field.
Up Front and Personal: While Germanese and Loftus have spent time playing forward this season, the Blue Devils only play two true strikers. This has not resulted in a lack of scoring, as Duke has tallied 38 goals on the season, including 19 in their last six games. Their very balanced attack has resulted in 14 different players scoring this year. Duke's number one goal scorer is sophomore Mike Grella, who is tied for third in the ACC with 10 goals. Junior Spencer Wadsworth is the other true forward, and has accumulated six goals and an ACC best 11 assists. Wadsworth is also tied for fifth in NCAA Division I for assists per game.
Rennie Sets Records: Duke's Coach John Rennie now is the all-time wins leader for a coach at an Atlantic Coast Conference school, and with the win against North Carolina last Friday night he became the leader for most wins by a coach in ACC matches as well. Rennie has 394 career victories at Duke, and 91 Atlantic Coast Conference wins. Rennie overtook former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim in both categories. Rennie also is in fifth place for Division I coaches with 437 overall wins.
A Look Ahead: The ACC Men's Soccer Tournament will be held at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md., which is located right outside of Washington, D.C. The University of Maryland is the host school for the tournament, which runs from Tuesday, Oct. 31 though Sunday, Nov. 5. Duke will play its first match on Wednesday, Nov. 1, either at 12:00 p.m. or at 2:30 p.m., depending on the results of tomorrow night.
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