Completed Event: Men's Soccer at #14 Akron on November 30, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2
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Men's Soccer Set To Take On Virginia In ACC Tournament
11/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.?The 23rd-ranked Duke University men's soccer team starts postseason play on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the ACC Tournament at WakeMed Park in Cary, N.C. The Blue Devils earned the fifth seed and will take on fourth-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals at 8 p.m., at WakeMed Soccer Park's Koka Booth Stadium
Tickets can be bought online by going to www.theacc.com. Single session passes are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens, youth 18-and-under, and all students with valid student identification. All-Tournament packages also are available for $30 for adults and $20 for seniors, youth, and students.
Fans unable to make it to Cary can watch the action online through ACC Select. The webcast is available free of charge throughout the entire tournament. Live statistics also will be available. Links to both will be available at www.GoDuke.com.
The Blue Devils and Cavaliers will be playing each other for the 79th time overall and for the 11th time in the ACC Tournament. Virginia holds a very narrow 35-36-7 in overall games and is 7-3 versus the Blue Devils in ACC Tournament action. Virginia and Duke met in the quarterfinals as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively, in both 2002 and 2004. The Cavaliers captured wins in both contests, winning 4-1 and 3-1, in the respective years. Duke's last win over Virginia in the ACC Tournament was a 2-1 overtime triumph in the 1999 championship match. The Blue Devils won the regular season match this season, 1-0, on a Mike Grella penalty kick in overtime.
Duke heads into the 22nd ACC Tournament as the No. 5 seed after putting together a 3-3-2 conference record. Ranked 23rd in the most recent Soccer America poll, the Blue Devils are 10-6-2 overall and are in search of their fourth ACC Tournament title. They last captured the trophy in 2006 with a 1-0 overtime win over Wake Forest. Duke is 18-7-2 overall in ACC Tournament play.
Senior Mike Grella headlines the offense with 13 goals and seven assists for 33 points. His 33 points leads the ACC, while his 13 goals are second. Sophomore Cole Grossman has four goals and three assists in support, while Nick Sih has three tallies and one helper to his name. Defensively, the Blue Devils are anchored by a trio of seniors in Darrius Barnes, Pavelid Castaneda, and Brendan Fitzgerald. In goal, Fitzgerald sports 0.80 goals against average and .806 save percentage. He has seven shutouts on the year, including against then No. 19 Virginia in the regular season.
Virginia comes into the tournament as the No. 4 seed after posting a 4-4-0 record in conference play. The Cavaliers are 9-7-1 overall on the year and are coming off a pair of losses to Maryland and Wake Forest. Tony Tchani leads all scorers with nine goals and three assists for 21 points. Jimmy Simpson is behind him with six tallies and two assists for 14 points, while Matt Mitchell has 12 points. Jonathan Villanueva leads the team with five assists and nine points overall. Michael Giallombardo has seen the majority of minutes in the past 12 games and sports a 0.89 goals against average and a .738 save percentage. He is 7-4-1 on the year.
The winner of the game will take on the winner of the No. 1 Wake Forest vs. either No. 8 N.C. State or No. 9 Virginia Tech at 8 p.m., on Nov. 14. The semifinal games and championship match will be played on the main field at WakeMed Soccer Stadium.
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