Men?s Soccer To Play First Non-Conference Match Of October

No. 8 Duke Will Hit The Road To Face UNC Wilmington

Men?s Soccer To Play First Non-Conference Match Of October

10/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 23 Duke Blue Devils (8-5-1, 3-3-1) continue a rigorous stretch on Sunday when they play Cleveland State (3-11-2, 0-6-1 Horizon League) at 7 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium. The match is the fifth of six in only 17 days for the Blue Devils, who are coming off of a big come-from-behind double-overtime victory over No. 10 Virginia on Friday night.

The Blue Devils: The Blue Devils are 8-5-1 in 2007 and 3-3-1 in ACC play, which puts them tied for third place in the conference with Virginia Tech. Duke is 3-3-1 versus ranked foes this year.

Goalkeeping: Senior Justin Papadakis is the starter in the cage for the third consecutive season. He has allowed 16 goals in 1315:02 of play and has recorded three shutouts. Papadakis has made 46 saves for a .742 save percentage and a 1.10 goals against average.

Defense: Juniors Darrius Barnes and Graham Dugoni have started all 14 contests this season for the Blue Devils. Barnes has played 1195 minutes and tallied three assists and Dugoni has logged a team-best 1,280 minutes and scored one goal. Sophomore Josh Bienenfeld has played in all 14 matches and recorded 1,259 minutes. He has also contributed two assists. Senior captain Tim Jepson returned to the lineup on Oct. 11 against North Carolina and has played 277 minutes in four matches after missing the first 10 games with a high hamstring pull. Freshman Christian Ibeagha (11 starts and 1,028 minutes) has stepped in nicely in his first season in Durham.

Midfield: The consistent starters in the midfield include senior captain and Hermann Trophy candidate Michael Videira (one goal and three assists), senior Joe Germanese (two goals and a team-best five assists) and junior Pavelid Castaneda (1,150 minutes and one assist). Senior Tomek Charowski (one goal and two assists) started nine games and has played in 12. Senior Zack Pope has also seen significant playing time this season with 657 minutes in 14 matches and four assists. Freshman Cole Grossman has stepped up since the Maryland game when he scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime. Grossman has played 343 minutes with two starts, two goals and two assists.

Forwards: The trio of junior Mike Grella, senior Paul Dudley and graduate Joshua Medcalf have provided the majority of Duke's goal-scoring in the first 14 games. Grella has eight goals and four assists, while Dudley has contributed seven goals and an assist of his own. Medcalf has tallied five goals and three assists in only 385 minutes. Medcalf averages 3.04 points-per-90 minutes played. Together they make up 71.4% of Duke's goal-scoring and 53.3% of its point-scoring. Senior Spencer Wadsworth (673 minutes over four starts with one assist) has increased his workload as the year has gone on after having surgery in the off-season.

The Opponent: The Vikings have posted a 3-11-2 record this season overall and a 0-6-1 mark in the Horizon League. Cleveland State is 3-4-1 on the road but has yet to play a ranked team this season.

Series History: Sunday will mark the first time that Duke and Cleveland State have met. The Blue Devils are 2-0 all-time against Horizon League foes, with wins coming over Butler in 2000 and on Sept. 2 this season against Valparaiso.

Last Time Out: Duke beat Virginia, 2-1, in a thrilling come-from-behind victory in double-overtime on Friday night in Charlottesville, Va. Medcalf tied the match with 1:52 remaining in regulation and Grella won the game with 1:58 left in the second overtime. Cleveland State dropped a 4-0 decision to Detroit Mercy, also on Friday night.

Rankings: Duke is ranked No. 23 in the Soccer America rankings this week, No. 24 in the NSCAA/adidas and Soccer Times polls, and No. 26 in College Soccer News' rankings. Cleveland State is unranked.

Jepson Up For Lowe's Seniors CLASS Award: Jepson was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually in eight NCAA Division I sports to a senior student athlete who excels both on and off the field. Fans can vote once a day per computer online at http://soccer.seniorclassaward.com/public/men/vote.aspx until Nov. 21. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award. Winners will be announced during the NCAA Championships, scheduled December 14-16 in Cary, N.C.

Duke Career Assists Assault: Videira and Wadsworth are both moving up the all-time career assists record at Duke. They both stand tied for sixth with former Blue Devil standout Clint Carnell at 34 career assists. The all-time Duke leader is Tom Kain, who accumulated 45 assists from 1982 through 1985, and claimed national player of the year honors in 1985.

The Rennie File: Coach John Rennie claimed his 400th career victory at Duke in his 29th season opener as a Blue Devil against Delaware. With his 407 victories at Duke and 94 in ACC play, Rennie has the most wins of any coach in ACC history. He is also in fifth place all-time for Division I coaches with 451 overall wins and third among active coaches in the same category. Rennie has taken Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 19 of his 28 years as head coach, a feat the Blue Devils had accomplished only once before Rennie took over. This will be Rennie's last season as head coach of Duke, a decision he made prior to this season.

A Look Ahead: The Blue Devils began a challenging run on Oct. 19 that involves six games in 17 days. Duke hits the road to face Davidson on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m., in Davidson, N.C. The Blue Devils then return home on Sunday, Nov. 4 to take on Alabama A&M in the final regular season home match of 2007.

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