Game Day! Duke vs. No. 1 Syracuse | 1 p.m.

Game 19

Duke (9-8-1) at No. 1 Syracuse (14-2-1)

ACC Tournament Quarterfinal

November 9, 2014 | 1 p.m.

Syracuse, N.Y. | SU Soccer Stadium

Setting the Scene

• Duke rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the final 30 seconds to scratch out a 3-2 double overtime win over NC State in first round action

• Three different Blue Devils scored in the victory with seniors Nick Palodichuk and Nat Eggleston tallying the tying and winning goals, respectively

• Duke has won four straight after battling through a tough five-game losing streak

• Syracuse enters the game as the No. 1 team in the NSCAA poll and the No. 2 overall seed in the ACC Tournament

The Series History

• Duke and Syracuse are meeting for just the third time in the programs' histories and for the second time as ACC foes

• Both teams own one win apiece ... Syracuse captured the 2-1 victory in Durham last season

Tale of the Tape
Category	Duke	SU
Goals-shot attempts	32-228	31-242
Goals per game	1.78	1.82
GAA	1.73	0.4
Shot pct.	0.14	0.128
Shots/game	12.67	14.2
Assists	33	25
Shots on goal-attempts	112-228	111-242
SOG pct.	0.491	0.459
Corner Kicks	91	155
Penalty Kicks	2-4	4-5
Yellow cards	23	18
Red cards	0	2

Duke – Syracuse by the Numbers

1-0 – Against teams ranked No. 1 in 2014 - a 2-1 victory over North Carolina September 19

3 – ACC Tournament titles for the Blue Devils –1999, 2005, 2006

15 – Different goal scorers for the Blue Devils in 2014 – the most of any team in the ACC

10 – Assists for senior Sean Davis in 2014, three more than he had his previous three season combined

7 – Goals allowed by Syracuse in 2014, tied for the fewest of any Division I program

11 – Shutouts for Orange goalkeeper Alex Bono

2 – Times Duke has been shut out this season - at Louisville and at Virginia

8-1-0 – Syracuse's home record in 2014

1-6-0 – Duke's road record in 2014

5 – Points – two goals and one assist – for freshman Brian White in the past two games after having just two assists in previous 14 games

6 – Saves for Wilson Fisher against NC State, a career high, in his fifth career start

About the Orange

• Syracuse climbed to the top of the NSCAA poll this past week following its 2-1 double overtime win over Boston College ... This marks the first time the program has sat atop the poll

• With a 14-2-1 overall record, Syracuse leads the nation in win percentage ... The Orange has allowed just seven goals and is tied for the fewest among Division I programs

• Syracuse's two losses came against ACC foes Louisville and Notre Dame, both one-goal setbacks

• Emil Ekblom headlines the offense with seven goals and three assists for 17 points, while Chris Nanco has 12 off of five goals and two assists ... Jordan Murrell is the Orange's playmaker with six assists

• Defensively, the Orange is outstanding with junior goalkeeper anchoring the talented backline with 11 shutouts ... Syracuse has allowed more than one goal in a game one time - a 2-1 setback to Louisville

• The Orange is 8-1-0 at home this season

Scouting the Blue Devils

• Duke is riding a four-game win streak after capturing a heart-stopping 3-2 double overtime victory over NC State in first round action

• The Blue Devils are 9-8-1 overall and looking for their second win over a No. 1 squad – Duke defeated North Carolina 2-1 when the Tar Heels topped the charts

• Senior captain Sean Davis is the Blue Devils' playmaker with a career-best 10 assists ... He tops the ACC in both total assists (10) and assists per game (0.67) and is third and fourth nationally, respectively

• Sophomore Brody Huitema and Cameron Moseley both have five goals apiece, while Huitema is the team's top point scorer with 15 ... 10 of Huitema's 15 points have come in the the past six games after he tallied both game winners versus Georgia State and at Virginia Tech

• In goal, senior Wilson Fisher has been outstanding in the absence of Joe Ohaus ... In his five starts, Wilson is 4-1-0 with 21 saves, a 1.16 goals against average and a .778 save percentage ... He recently made a career-high six saves to help Duke advance to the ACC Quarterfinal

• Duke is 1-6-0 on the road this season and has scored just six goals in those contests compared to the 26 scored in the Blue Devils' 11 home contests

Duke in the ACC Tournament

• Duke is 19-22-4 all-time in the ACC Tournament since it started in 1987 ... The Blue Devils own titles in 1999, 2005 and 2006

• The Blue Devils' win over NC State Wednesday night was their first ACC Tournament win since the title victory in 2006 ... Duke tied Clemson in 2011 and advanced with a shootout victory

• Duke is 2-6-0 in quarterfinal games and last advanced to the semifinal in 2006

• Duke is now 1-3-0 as the No. 7 seed

• A win over Syracuse would send Duke to its 13th semifinal and first under head coach John Kerr

Miller Returns to Familiar Territory

Assistant coach Mike Miller will be returning to familiar territory this weekend when Duke heads to Syracuse ... The first year assistant for the Blue Devils spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Orange .. Prior to his departure from Syracuse, Miller was recognized by College Soccer News as one of the top 15 assistant coaches in Division I soccer after brining in top talent to Syracuse that has now led them to the No. 1 spot in the polls.

Veteran Lineup Leads Duke Down Stretch

Head coach John Kerr has relied on a senior laden starting lineup in the past four games ... All eight seniors started against Pittsburgh and seven of eight started in the other three – Jack Coleman came off the bench due to injury ... Duke is 4-0-0 in those games, including posting its second come-from-behind of the season against the Wolfpack to keep the season rolling ... Six seniors have combined for 12 of Duke's 29 points in the four-game streak ... Senior Chase Keesling has gone the full 90 minutes in the past three games at right back after playing just 49 overall minutes in three of the first 15 games of the season.

Seniors	Avg. Min. in Past 4	Avg. Min. in 1st 14
Chase Keesling	75:15:00	1:15
Jake Butwin	38	8:12
Matt Slotnick	39:45:00	18:00
Nat Eggleston	85:45:00	79:25:00
Wilson Fisher	94	7:50
Sean Davis	94	82:30:00
Nick Palodichuk	53:45:00	53:40:00
Jack Coleman	43	66:30:00

Dynamite Davis

Senior Sean Davis is having a memorable senior season ... The Duke midfielder owns a career-best 10 assists, three more than he had in the previous three seasons combined, and scored a memorable tying goal in Duke's upset of then No. 1 North Carolina ... Duke's undisputed leader, Davis will graduate in December and pursue his dream of playing professional soccer.

Balanced Scoring

Duke has a balanced attack with seven different Blue Devils owning multiple goals this season and 15 overall have at least one score ... Three Blue Devils have at least three goals - Cameron Moseley (5), Nick Palodichuk (4), Brody Huitema (5).

ACC Balanced Scoring
School	Players w/ 1	Players w/ 2+
Duke	15	9
Clemson	14	9
Wake Forest	12	9
Louisville	12	4
North Carolina	12	8
Syracuse	11	7
Notre Dame	11	6
Virginia	11	4
Virginia Tech	10	5
NC State	11	7
Boston College	8	5
Pittsburgh	6	3

Last Time We Met

Syracuse scored a pair of goals 14 minutes apart in the second half to upend Duke 2-1 in the inaugural ACC men's soccer match between the two schools ... Brody Huitema netted the lone goal for the Blue Devils ... Syracuse had a 16-9 advantage in shots and Alex Long made two saves and Duke had two team saves off the line.

In Common

Duke and Syracuse share seven common ACC opponents from 2013 ... Both squads own wins over Virginia Tech and Boston College ... Overall, Duke went 3-4-0 in the seven games and the Orange posted a 4-2-1 overall record.

Opponent	Duke	SU
Notre Dame	L, 1-4	L, 0-1
Virginia	L, 0-1	W, 1-0
Virginia Tech	W, 2-0	W, 1-0 (2OT)
Wake Forest	L, 1-4	W, 3-1
Louisville	L, 0-5	L, 1-2
NC State	W, 3-2 (2OT)	T, 0-0 (2OT)
Boston College	W, 1-0	W, 2-1 (2OT)

Friendly Foes

Freshman goalkeeper Simen Omholt-Jensen will see a friendly face when the Blue Devils meet Syracuse Sunday ... Omholt-Jensen and Syracuse sophomore forward Emil Ekblom are both products of the Norwegian College of Elite Sports.

Last Time Out

Senior defender Nat Eggleston scored the biggest goal of his life with 3:59 remaining in the second overtime to lift seventh-seeded Duke to a heart-stopping 3-2 victory over No. 10 seed NC State in men's soccer ACC Tournament First Round action this evening ... The Blue Devils rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the final 90 seconds of regulation to keep their season alive ... Senior Nick Palodichuk scored the game-tying goal to force overtime, while Brian White had the team's first goal ... Sean Davis had two assists and Wilson Fisher made a career-high six stops in the win.

Two is the Magic Number

Duke fares well when it scores two goals in a game ... The Blue Devils are a perfect 5-0-0 when they score two goals in game this season ... Duke is 8-0-0 when the Blue Devils put at least two goals on the scoreboard ... On the flip side, Duke is 1-6-1 when scoring just one goal and Syracuse has allowed two goals just once this season.

Fisher Going Out With a Flourish

Senior Wilson Fisher stepped in for an injured Joe Ohaus and has flourished in net for the Blue Devils ... The senior goalkeeper is 4-1-0 with one shutout and most recently a career-high six saves in the 3-2 win over NC State ... He owns a 1.16 goals against average, a .778 save percentage and 21 saves in the five outings ... He had previously played in four games in his career for 21 minutes and had not recorded a save in that span.

Next Up

Should the Blue Devils win Sunday, Duke advances to the ACC Semifinal Friday Nov. 14 in Cary, N.C. ... The semifinal game will be broadcast by ESPN3 and the championship game will be televised on ESPNU Nov. 16.

#GoDuke

Game Day! Duke vs. No. 1 Syracuse | 1 p.m.

Players Mentioned

Jake Butwin

Jack Coleman

Sean Davis

Nat Eggleston

Wilson Fisher

Brody Huitema

Chase Keesling

Alex Long

Cameron Moseley

Joe Ohaus

Simen Omholt-Jensen

Nick Palodichuk

Matt Slotnick

Brian White

Duke information

Game Day! Duke vs. No. 1 Syracuse | 1 p.m.

Players Mentioned

Jake Butwin

Jack Coleman

Sean Davis

Nat Eggleston

Wilson Fisher

Brody Huitema

Chase Keesling

Alex Long

Cameron Moseley

Joe Ohaus

Simen Omholt-Jensen

Nick Palodichuk

Matt Slotnick

Brian White

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Duke information