Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at Wake Forest on September 5, 2026 at 7 p.m.
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7 p.m.
Men's Soccer
at Wake Forest
Saturday, September 5
Winston-Salem, NC
7 p.m.
Duke University
at
Wake Forest
Men's Soccer Travels to Wake Forest for ACC Opener
9/4/2026 2:37:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke men's soccer team opens conference play on the road, traveling to take on Wake Forest on Saturday, Sept. 5, at Spry Stadium. The Blue Devils (2-2) and Demon Deacons (2-1-1) square off at Spry Stadium at 7 p.m., with the match streaming live on ACC Network Extra.
MATCHUP NOTES
MATCHUP NOTES
- The Blue Devils and Demon Deacons meet for the 51st time in the series, with Duke holding a slight edge, 24-17-9.
- The most recent meeting was a 0-0 draw in Durham during the 2024 season.
- Saturday marks the first time the two teams have battled at Spry Stadium since a fourth-ranked Duke side knocked off the top-ranked Demon Deacons, 3-2, Duke's first win over a team ranked No. 1 since 2014. The Blue Devils' goal scorers were Shakur Mohammed, Jai Bean and Axel Gudbjornsson, while goalie Eliot Hamill made a key last-minute stop to cinch the win.
- Duke is looking to reverse recent results, after dropping its last two matches to Furman and No. 6 Georgetown. The Blue Devils and Paladins engaged in a high-scoring match, with the visitors taking the 4-3 win. Duke and Georgetown were scoreless at halftime, before the Hoyas scored three second-half goals, including twice after Duke went down a man.
- The Blue Devils have been bit by the injury bug in the early going, with multiple players playing significant minutes in new spots on the pitch. Duke's backline has been hit the hardest, with multiple anticipated returning starters missing from the XI to start the season.
- Preston Zabinko and Jamie Kabuusu, two of Duke's expected returning defenders, have been sidelined all season, while Maxwell Simpson and Josh Poulson both picked up knocks during the preseason and Thomas Vold has sat the previous two matches. Ian Hecker, who subsequently embraced a starting role on defense, missed the Georgetown match and key substitute Ari Racaj also sat against the Hoyas.
- In total, Duke has been looking to work through injuries to seven players that were anticipated to play significant minutes.
- In their places, several freshmen and returners have stepped up. Julius Suber has moved from the midfield to the back line, while defender Tucker Smith earned his first career start against Georgetown and forward Adrian Byasiima made the move to defense against the Hoyas. To help fill the spots left in the midfield and attack, freshmen Ethan Congleton, Logan Moniz, Jack Ottley, and Max Steelman have been consistent starters for Duke. Those four join freshman goalkeeper Max Deisenhofer to give Duke up to five freshman starters for the first time since the 2020-21 COVID season.
- Ottley is pacing the freshmen on offense, with a goal alongside a team-leading three assists for five points. Both Congleton and Moniz both have a goal and assist for three points each.
- In the five seasons since the adjusted, two-semester, schedule in 2020-21 due to COVID-19, Duke is 4-0-1 in conference openers.
- With the 2026 ACC lid-lifter on the road, Duke will have played four of the six matches in that span away from home.
- The Blue Devils drew, 1-1, at Cal last season, snapping a run of four consecutive wins in ACC openers - 1-0 at Virginia (2024), 2-0 vs. Virginia (2023), 2-1 at Louisville (2022) and 1-0 vs. Virginia Tech (2021).
- Duke travels away from Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium for the first time this season, after playing the first four matches of the season at home.
- The Blue Devils are making a rare road trip, with 13 of their 17 regular-season matches scheduled to be played at home.
- Duke remains on the road next week, traveling to NC State.
- Following the back-to-back road matches, the Blue Devils won't play away from home until Oct. 10, when they make the trip to SMU.
- The Duke men's and women's soccer programs have partnered with Duke Children's to launch the Kicks for Kids initiative in support of Pets at Duke, an impactful service of the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.
- Pets at Duke brings specially trained therapy dogs to patients receiving care in the hospital and clinics, providing comfort and companionship during their treatment.
- Kicks for Kids pledges are made based on the combined goals, assists, shots, corner kicks and saves recorded by both the Duke men's and women's programs.
Players Mentioned
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