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Blue Devils Set To Host Alabama A&M In Final Regular Season Home Match
11/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke plays its final regular season home contest of the season on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs. It marks the third of three straight non-conference matches for Duke. adidas hats will be distributed to the first 500 fans who attend the game on Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Devils: Duke is 10-5-1 in 2007 and 3-3-1 in ACC play, which puts them in a tie 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 1405:02 of play and has recorded four shutouts. Papadakis has made 48 saves for a .750 save percentage and a 1.02 goals against average.
Defense: Juniors Darrius Barnes and Graham Dugoni and sophomore Josh Bienenfeld have been the regular starters this season for the Blue Devils. Barnes has played 1,330 minutes and tallied three assists and Dugoni has logged a team-best 1,460 minutes and scored one goal and one assist. Bienenfeld has recorded 1,369 minutes and contributed two assists. Senior captain Tim Jepson returned to the lineup on Oct. 11 against North Carolina and has played 457 minutes in six matches with one assist after missing the first 10 games with a high hamstring pull. Freshman Christian Ibeagha (13 starts and 1,168 minutes) has stepped into a big role in his first season in Durham.
Midfield: The consistent starters in the midfield include senior captain and Hermann Trophy candidate Michael Videira (two goals and three assists), senior Joe Germanese (two goals and a team-best seven assists) and junior Pavelid Castaneda (1,366 minutes and one assist). Senior Zack Pope has seen significant playing time this season with 800 minutes in 16 matches and one goal and five assists. Senior Spencer Wadsworth (772 minutes over four starts with two goals and one assist) has increased his workload as the year has gone on after having surgery in the off-season. Wadsworth has made the transition to playing more midfield after being used primarily as a forward. Freshman Cole Grossman has stepped up since the Maryland game when he scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime. Grossman has played 451 minutes with two starts, two goals and two assists.
Forwards: The trio of junior Mike Grella, senior Paul Dudley and graduate Joshua Medcalf has provided the majority of Duke's goal-scoring in the first 16 games. Grella has eight goals and five assists, while Dudley has contributed seven goals and an assist of his own. Medcalf has tallied six goals and four assists in only 464 minutes. Medcalf averages 3.10 points-per-90 minutes played. Together the group makes up 63.6% of Duke's goal-scoring and 48.6% of its point-scoring.
The Opponent: The Bulldogs have posted a 6-7-1 record this season overall as an independent. Alabama A&M is 2-5 on the road and have played one ranked team in Santa Clara.
Series History: A&M leads the all-time series, 3-1. Last year in Durham, the Blue Devils won, 4-1, aided by goals by Grella, Castaneda, Wadsworth and midfielder Tomek Charowski.
Last Time Out: Duke defeated Davidson on the road on Oct. 31, 2-0. Pope and Wadsworth found the net to secure the victory. Alabama A&M lost a 1-0 decision at Memphis, also on Oct. 31.
Rankings: Duke is ranked No. 17 in Soccer America's poll this week, No. 19 in the NSCAA/adidas and the Soccer Times polls and No. 23 in College Soccer News' rankings. Alabama A&M 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 409 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 452 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 he 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: On Saturday, Nov. 10, Duke will head to Raleigh, N.C. for its final regular season game of the year against N.C. State at 2 p.m. The ACC Tournament will run from Nov. 13 through Nov. 18 in Cary, N.C., this year. The official bracket for the tournament will be released on Monday, Nov. 12.
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