Completed Event: Men's Soccer versus California on November 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2
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No. 1 Seed Duke Will Take On No. 8 Seed UCLA In NCAA Quarterfinals
11/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke (18-3-1) will face a big test when UCLA (12-5-4) comes to Koskinen Stadium this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The match is one of four being played this weekend in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round. Duke last hosted a quarterfinal round game in 1995, when they defeated James Madison 3-2. The Blue Devils' last Elite Eight appearance was in 2004 when they knocked off Virginia 3-0 in Charlottesville, Va.
Series History: The Blue Devils are 2-3 against the Bruins, with the last meeting being a 4-2 victory for UCLA in 1997. All five contests have been in regular season tournaments, with two matches in Durham, two in Los Angeles, Calif., and one in Garden City, N.Y. The two teams have never met in the postseason, but Duke did make it to the NCAA College Cup in both of the years that they beat UCLA: 1982 and 1995.
The Opponent: UCLA holds a 12-5-4 record on the season, and went 4-3-3 in Pac-10 Conference play. The Bruins have won their last three games by a combined score of 9-1. UCLA has had four common opponents with Duke: Maryland, Virginia, Harvard, and Clemson. UCLA lost to Maryland 4-1, lost to Virginia 1-0, defeated Harvard 3-0, and beat Clemson 3-0. Duke split two 1-0 matches with Maryland, defeated Virginia 2-1, edged Harvard 2-1, and lost to Clemson 1-0. UCLA has outscored their opponents 38-25, and are led by four offensive stars: freshman forward David Estrada has tallied 10 goals and three assists, sophomore midfielder Sal Zizzo has notched five and nine, sophomore midfielder/forward Jason Leopoldo has six goals and three assists, and freshman midfielder Kyle Nakazawa has scored four and five. The Bruins have two goalkeepers who have seen significant playing time in senior Eric Reed (47 saves and a .758 save percentage in 14 games) and freshman Brian Perk (29 saves and a .744 save percentage in 7 games).
Last Time Out: Duke knocked No. 16 seed Lehigh out of the tournament with a 3-0 victory at home this past Sunday. Junior midfielder Michael Videira, junior forward Spencer Wadsworth, and sophomore forward Mike Grella scored goals, and junior goalkeeper Justin Papadakis recorded two saves on the way to his eighth shutout of the season. UCLA's last game was also Sunday, when they trounced No. 9 seed Clemson 3-0 in Los Angeles. The Bruins got two goals from Estrada and one from Zizzo, and Reed notched two saves and earned his fifth shutout this year.
Rankings: Duke is ranked number one in the country, a feat they accomplished in the last poll of the regular season, after defeating then number one Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament final on Nov. 5. The Blue Devils began the season ranked 12th, and have stayed in the rankings all year. UCLA was ranked 14th in the last poll of the season, and earned the eighth seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins were ranked as high as 5th in the nation, which was their ranking in the preseason and the weeks of Oct. 9 and 16.
Awards, Awards, and More Awards: The Blue Devils have claimed numerous awards as the regular season and conference tournament portions of the year have come to an end. Five Blue Devils were named to the three All-ACC teams, and four to the top two teams, which tied Duke with Virginia for most players honored this year on the first and second teams. Named to the first team were Grella and Videira. Senior defender/captain Kyle Helton and 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.
After Duke won the ACC Tournament for the second year in a row, junior midfielder Joe Germanese, junior defender/captain Tim Jepson, Videira, and Wadsworth were all named to the All-ACC Tournament Team. Videira took home Most Valuable Player of the Tournament honors. For Wadsworth, 2006 marked the second straight year in which he was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Videira was named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-America Third Team earlier this week for his performance on the field and in the classroom. Academic qualifications include having a 3.2 GPA or better. This came after Videira and Jepson were named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District Teams earlier in the month. Duke is in District 3, which includes the Southern Atlantic states. Jepson was named to the second team, and Videira made the first team.
Five Blue Devils were named to Top Drawer Soccer's national end of the season teams. Videira and Grella were awarded first team honors, while Helton was placed on the third team and Wadsworth on the fourth. Five teams were named, encompassing college players from around the country. Bienenfeld was named to the All-Rookie second team, with only two rookie teams being named.
Videira was named as one of the 15 semifinalists for the 2006 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy. The Hermann Trophy is awarded each year to the nation's top collegiate soccer player. The Milton, Mass., native was a semifinalist last year as well. The winner will be announced at a banquet in St. Louis, Mo., on Dec. 2, which is the night before the NCAA Division I men's championship game.
Devil Defense: Duke's defense has shutout its opponents in four straight games, and has allowed only two goals in its last eight games and nine in its last 17. The Blue Devils have recorded eight total shutouts in those 17 games, and have not allowed more than one goal in any of those games. The Blue Devils have only allowed 16 goals in 22 games the entire season. Only twice has more than one goal been scored against them, and that has not happened since Sept. 8. Papadakis has been a major reason behind this success, with a .788 save percentage, 52 saves, and eight shutouts. Jepson has anchored the defense with his leadership, strong work ethic, and team best 1886 minutes played. Helton has logged 1718 minutes on a defensive unit that has also added to Duke's scoring totals with three goals and nine assists. Sophomores Darrius Barnes (1600 minutes) and Graham Dugoni (1433 minutes) have also seen increased playing time.
Middle of the Field: One of the strongest and deepest assets for the Blue Devils is their midfield. They are led by Videira with eight goals and six assists. Others contributing in the middle include juniors Tomek Charowski (two goals and four assists), Germanese (four goals and six assists) and Zach Pope (1 goal and nine assists). Sophomore Pavelid Castaneda has been the workhorse for the Blue Devil midfield, recording 1758 minutes at the most physically taxing position on the field, while tallying one goal and one assist. Bienenfeld has become a key contributor as well, with a goal and an assist in 788 minutes played.
Up Front and Personal: Senior captain Chris Loftus has played a combination of forward and midfield while recording four goals and three assists in his last campaign, and is questionable for Sunday due to injury. Junior forward Paul Dudley (one goal) will play if Loftus is unavailable. While Loftus has 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 48 goals on the season, including 28 in their last twelve games. Their very balanced attack has resulted in 14 different players scoring this year. Duke's number one goal scorer is Grella, with 13 goals and five assists. Wadsworth is the other true forward, and has accumulated seven goals and an ACC best 13 assists. Wadsworth is also tied for second in NCAA Division I for total assists. Duke's ability to score has been the key to victory this season. In the four games the Blue Devils have tied or lost, they were unable to score even one goal. At least one goal was scored by Duke in all of their 18 victories.
The Rennie File: Coach Rennie is now the winningest coach in ACC history. Rennie has 399 career victories at Duke, and 91 wins in ACC play. Rennie overtook former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim in both categories. He also is in fifth place for Division I coaches with 443 overall wins. Rennie has taken Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 19 of his 28 years as head coach. The Blue Devils had only been to the tournament once before Rennie took over. This is the third year in a row and seventh time in nine years that Duke has been in the tournament.
A Look Ahead: The 2006 Men's College Cup Final Four takes place in St. Louis, Mo., on Dec. 1 and 3, with all three games being televised on ESPN2. If Duke should win on Sunday, they would play Friday night, Dec. 1, in the NCAA semifinals against No. 4 seed Virginia. The Cavaliers knocked off No. 12 seed Notre Dame 3-2 on Friday night. The national championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 3, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
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