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No. 4 Duke Will Open ACC Tournament Against N.C. State
10/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BOYDS, Md. - The fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils (13-3-1) will take on the N.C. State Wolfpack (6-9-1), on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. This game is one of four being played tomorrow in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The tournament is being played in Boyds, Md., located just outside of Washington, D.C., with the University of Maryland as the host school.
Series History: Duke leads the all-time series 46-19-5. The 46 wins versus the Wolfpack is the highest total against any single opponent in Duke men's soccer history, and the 70 matches played thus far between the two squads is the third highest versus any team, behind North Carolina and Virginia. The Blue Devils have won ten of the last eleven against N.C. State, with the lone loss coming in 2004, 1-0 in Raleigh. Duke defeated N.C. State by a score of 4-1 on Oct. 15 of this year, with four different Blue Devils notching goals in the victory.
The Opponent: N.C State had won only one ACC match prior to their victory over Virginia Tech, and just five overall. The Wolfpack are led by freshman midfielder Alan Sanchez with eight goals and one assist, junior forward El Hadj Cisse with four goals, and freshman midfielder Jorge More with one goal and six assists. Goalkeeping duties are shared by red shirt freshman Christopher Widman (.590 save percentage) and junior Tom DeStefano (.786 save percentage).
Last Time Out: Duke, who was ranked second at the time, dropped a 1-0 decision at then No. 8 Clemson last Saturday afternoon. The game had been postponed from the night before after heavy rains. N.C. State defeated Virginia Tech 4-3 today, in the play-in game of the ACC Tournament.
Rankings: The Blue Devils are ranked fourth in NCAA Division I, after falling two places this week following the loss to Clemson. N.C. State is unranked.
Around the ACC: Duke won the regular season ACC title and claimed the top seed in the tournament. The Blue Devils were tied with Wake Forest atop the ACC, but Duke defeated Wake Forest during the regular season to win the tiebreaker. N.C. State finished in last place with a 1-6-1 record.
All-ACC Teams Announced: Five Blue Devils were named to the three All-ACC teams, which tied Duke with Virginia for most players honored this year. Announced Monday to the first team were junior midfielder Michael Videira and sophomore forward Mike Grella. Senior defender/captain Kyle Helton and junior forward Spencer Wadsworth were selected to the second team, while freshman midfielder Joshua Bienenfeld was named to the All-ACC Freshmen Team. It was the highest number of Blue Devils selected to All-ACC teams since 2000, and was the third year in a row that Videira has been named All-ACC.
Devil Defense: Duke's defense has allowed only eight goals in its last 12 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 15 goals in 17 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 .764 save percentage, 42 saves, and four shutouts. Junior captain Tim Jepson has anchored the defense with his leadership, strong work ethic, and team best 1429 minutes played. Helton has logged 1261 minutes on a defensive unit that has also added to Duke's scoring totals with three goals and four assists. Sophomores Darrius Barnes and Graham Dugoni have also seen increased playing time, combining for over 2100 minutes, and have 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 Hermann Trophy candidate 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 1301 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 seven games. Their very balanced attack has resulted in 14 different players scoring this year. Grella is Duke's number one goal scorer, and is tied for third in the ACC with 10 goals. 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 is now the winningest coach in ACC history. He holds the records for most wins at an ACC school with 394, and for most wins in the conference with 91. Rennie overtook former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim in both categories. For Division I Men's Soccer coaches, Rennie is in fifth place with 438 overall wins.
A Look Ahead: The ACC Men's Soccer Tournament continues all week in Boyds, Md. If Duke should win on Wednesday, they would play the winner of the Maryland-Boston College match on Friday at 8:00 p.m. in the semifinals. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 5 at 1:00 p.m., and will be televised by Fox Sports Net.
2006 ACC Men's Soccer Championship
Quarterfinal Round - Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Match 2: #2 Wake Forest vs. #7 North Carolina- 12 noon
Match 3: #1 Duke vs. #9 N.C. State- 2:30 p.m.
Match 4: #3 Virginia vs. #6 Clemson- 5:30 p.m.
Match 5: #4 Maryland vs. #5 Boston College- 8:00 p.m.
Semifinal Round - Friday, November 3, 2006
Match 6: Match 2 winner vs. Match 4 winner- 5:30 p.m.
Match 7: Match 3 winner vs. Match 5 winner- 8:00 p.m.
Championship Final - Sunday, November 5, 2006
Match 8: Championship Match- 1:00 pm (Time subject to change due to television)
-d-u-k-e-
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