Men's Soccer Opens Season in John Rennie Invitational

Thursday, August 20

Durham, N.C.

8 p.m.

Duke University

Seton Hall

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Men's Soccer Opens Season in John Rennie Invitational

8/19/2026 6:49:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Buy Tickets Match Notes (PDF)Live Stats (vs. Seton Hall)Live Stats (vs. Cal Baptist)Watch (vs. Seton Hall)Watch (vs. Cal Baptist)

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke opens the regular season with two games in the annual John Rennie Invitational, against Seton Hall (Aug. 20) and Cal Baptist (Aug. 23). The John Rennie Invitational includes matches between Campbell and Cal Baptist on Aug. 20 and Seton Hall versus Campbell on Aug. 23. Tickets for Duke's games will also be good for those matches. Fans can buy tickets here and for walk-up ticket purchases at either the Scott Family Athletics Performance Center ticket windows or gameday ticket booths, a $5 printing fee will be added to each order. The Duke ticket office will be cashless when accepting payment for tickets, including on gameday. The ticket office accepts American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa.

The Blue Devils and Pirates will meet for just the third time and for the first time since Sept. 11, 1988. Duke won that matchup, 4-0, and are 1-0-1 in the all-time series against Seton Hall after a 2-2 draw on Nov. 17, 1939. Sunday will mark the first meeting between Duke and Cal Baptist.

Fans can watch Duke's matches live on ACC Network Extra, with Dean Linke calling both contests.

FRESH FACES
Duke will look to feature several freshmen in the starting XI this year. During preseason action, the Blue Devils had up to five different freshmen earn the start -- GK Max Deisenhofer, M Logan Moniz, F Max Steelman, F Jack Ottley and F Ethan Congleton.

Duke is looking to replace seven starters from the final XI of the 2025 season, with transfers Jonah Wolf (Saint Francis) and Emmanuel Frimpong (Pacific) also serving as newcomers to the first potential starting group of the regular season.

SOPHOMORES SET TO STEP UP
Duke has several sophomores on the roster looking to build on an impactful freshman campaign or step into a larger role. Maxwell Simpson, Ari Racaj and Preston Zabinko all logged key contributions in 2025 as freshmen, while Ian Hecker factored in as a key player for the Blue Devils during the preseason exhibitions.

PRESEASON RECOGNITIONS
Senior Ulfur Bjornsson was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List, while freshman Logan Moniz earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI All-Freshman Team.

As a team, Duke was picked to finish seventh in the ACC this season, determined with a poll by the head coaches across the league.

RETURNING ALL-ACC HONOREES
Out of the five Blue Devils that picked up All-ACC accolades following the 2025 season, two return to Durham and are slated to feature heavily in Duke's identity this season. Ulfur Bjornsson was a Second Team All-ACC pick, while Maxwell Simpson represented Duke on the All-Freshman Team.

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