Completed Event: Men's Soccer at #14 Akron on November 30, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2
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Final
Men's Soccer
0
at #14 Akron
2
Duke Closes Regular Season at No. 17 Virginia
10/27/2016 4:13:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Game 16
Duke (7-6-2, 2-4-1) vs. No. 17 Virginia (8-2-5, 2-2-3)
October 28, 2016 | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra
Klӧckner Stadium | Charlottesville, Va.
Setting the Scene
● Duke is looking to extend its win streak to four games Friday after beating Elon 1-0 in overtime Tuesday.
● The Blue Devils are 7-6-2 overall and 2-4-1 on the road.
● Virginia is 8-2-5 overall and 2-3-3 in league play and is trying to solidify itself as a top-eight seed in the ACC Championship.
Series History
● Duke and Virginia are facing each other for the 87th time overall with the Cavaliers holding a 40-36-10 edge in the series.
● Six of the past 10 meetings have gone into overtime and all but one of the contests have been decided by a single goal or finished in a tie.
● Duke is 2-4-3 against the Cavaliers under head coach John Kerr and 16-19-3 in Charlottesville overall. The Blue Devils last won in Charlottesville in 2009, Duke's most recent win over the Cavaliers.
Duke vs. Virginia by the Numbers
6 – Assists for rookie Max Moser this season, tied for second among all freshmen nationally and second in the ACC overall
17 – Division I freshmen who have at least five assists in 2016, two of which are Duke's Suniel Veerakone and Max Moser
11 – Points for Suniel Veerakone through 15 games, tied for the most by a Duke freshman since Cameron Moseley had 11 points in 17 games in 2014
5 – Of the past nine games between Duke and Virginia since 2008 that have gone into overtime
15 – Different Blue Devils with at least one point this season
14 – Different Cavaliers who own at least one point in 2016
7 – Of Virginia's eight wins that have been shutouts
2 – Times Duke has been shut out in 2016
13 – Of the 1431 minutes Duke has played that Markus Fjørtoft has spent on the bench this season
3 – Of Brian White's five goals this season that are game winners
Williamson Earns Honors
● Freshman Brandon Williamson collected an array of awards on the heels of his performance against Notre Dame.
● Williamson was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week and was voted to the College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer National Teams of the Week for his two goals in the upset of the Irish.
About the Blue Devils
● The Blue Devils are riding a three-game win streak with the past two victories coming in overtime.
● Junior Brian White paces the offense with 14 points from five goals and four assists, while freshman Suniel Veerakone has 11 points from his three goals and five assists. Max Moser has a team-best six assists.
● Graduate student goalkeeper Robert Moewes anchors the defense with a 1.28 goals against average and a .756 save percentage. He recently posted his second shutout of the season and is averaging 4.13 saves per game, second overall in the ACC.
● The Blue Devils have struggled to get the second goal in games this season, being held to a single score in eight of the 15 games. Duke has scored multiple goals five times and had a season-high five in the win over UNC Asheville. Duke is riding its longest win streak of the year with three straight.
Scouting the Cavaliers
● Virginia heads into its regular season finale ranked 17th in the coaches poll with an 8-2-5 overall record and 2-2-1 mark in league play.
● The Cavaliers are coming off of a scoreless draw at Pittsburgh after posting consecutive ACC wins over North Carolina and Notre Dame.
● Virginia's offense resembles Duke's with a balanced scoring sheet. Edward Opoku leads the way with 14 points from six goals and two assists, while Wesley Wade has five tallies. Six different players have at least five points.
● Jeff Caldwell anchors the defense, playing every minute and posting a 0.93 goals against average, a .800 save percentage and registering seven shutouts. He is averaging four saves per game and has allowed 15 goals.
● The Cavaliers are unbeaten at home with a 6-0-4 record and have allowed just six goals in those 10 home contests.
Last Time Out
● Brian White used a brilliant individual effort in the final minutes of the first overtime to lead the Blue Devils to the 1-0 victory at Elon Tuesday. The goal was the fifth of the year for White and was started by a Brandon Williamson ball out of the midfield.
● Robert Moewes was excellent again in goal, making four saves and posting his second shutout of the season and 10th of his career.
Last Time We Met
● Duke University sophomore Jeremy Ebobisse scored a highlight-reel equalizer in the 67th minute as the Blue Devils fought fifth-ranked Virginia to a 2-2 draw last year.
● The Blue Devils took an early 1-0 lead when Markus Fjørtoft headed home a Ryan Thompson corner kick.
● Virginia regained all the momentum, netting two goals in the opening seven minutes of the second half for the 2-1 lead. Pablo Aguilar and Jake Rozhansky had the goals for the Cavaliers.
● Wilson Fisher finished with eight saves, while Jeff Caldwell had four for Virginia.
Close Calls
● Duke and Virginia has been a fierce rivalry since 2008 with eight of the nine meetings being decided by a single goal or ending in a tie.
● Five of the previous nine games have gone into overtime, including two of the past three.
● In addition to being close games, the contests between the Blue Devils and Cavaliers have been low scoring recently. Four of the past five outings have had either zero or just one goal scored in them.
ACC Championship Implications
● The final seeding for the upcoming 12-team ACC Championship will be determined this weekend. The top four teams will receive a bye, while the Nos. 4-8 seeds will host a midweek game on campus.
● Duke sits in 10th place with seven points behind Virginia Tech based on the head-to-head tiebreak. A Blue Devil victory Friday night coupled with a Boston College tie or loss will give Duke a home game as the No. 8 seed. A loss or tie will likely put a top eight seed out of reach and send the Blue Devils on the road.
On the Road
● Duke's three road wins this season surpasses its total from a year ago when it went 1-3-1.
● The Blue Devils are 1-2 in ACC play this season on the road and, in a testament to the difficulty of the league, have never won more than three ACC road games since 2008.
|
ACC on the Road |
||
|
Year |
Record |
Pct. |
|
2008 |
2-1-1 |
0.625 |
|
2009 |
1-3-0 |
0.250 |
|
2010 |
1-2-1 |
0.375 |
|
2011 |
1-2-1 |
0.375 |
|
2012 |
2-1-1 |
0.625 |
|
2013 |
3-2-1 |
0.583 |
|
2014 |
2-3-0 |
0.400 |
|
2015 |
1-3-0 |
0.250 |
|
2016 |
1-2-0 |
0.333 |
|
Total |
14-19-5 |
0.434 |
Duke vs Ranked Teams
● Duke will meet another top 10 opponent Friday night. The Blue Devils are 2-4-0 against ranked teams, defeating No. 9 UCLA and No. 4 Notre Dame and losing to No. 25 Boston College, No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 18 Virginia Tech and No. 8 North Carolina.
● Under John Kerr, Duke is 8-12-1 against ranked teams when unranked.
Under head coach John Kerr
vs. Ranked when Unranked: 8-12-1
vs. Ranked when Ranked: 4-10-2
vs. Unranked when Ranked: 18-16-8
Magic Number of Two
● The Blue Devils have struggled to get that elusive second goal this season, but are very successful when they do. Duke is 3-0-0 when scoring two goals and 5-0-0 when scoring two-plus goals.
Up Next
● The Blue Devils will await word of seeding for the ACC Championship. The seeds will be announced Saturday night.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's Soccer
M
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