Men's Soccer: The ACC Tournament

ACC Tournament

#1 Duke (13-0-3, 4-0-2 ACC) vs. #5 North Carolina (12-5-1, 2-3-1)
Friday, November 12, 1999 - 5:30 p.m.
Winston-Salem, N.C. - Spry Soccer Stadium

Duke Heads into ACC Tournament as #1 Seed...
For the seventh straight year the Duke University men's soccer team heads into the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. This time the Blue Devils are ranked #1 and hungry for their first ever tournament title. Duke's all-time record in the ACC Tournament is 10-11-1 and come off a 1-0 loss to Clemson University in the finals of last year's tournament.

The last time Duke was the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament they fell in the semifinals to Maryland in 1997 (2-4 L).

Clemson/North Carolina Result...
The #5 seed North Carolina upset the #4 seed Clemson University on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament by a score of 1-0 in double overtime. Duke will now play North Carolina on Friday at 5:30 PM.

Last Time Out vs. North Carolina...
On October 2 the Blue Devils traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C. and came away with a 1-0 victory over the Tarheels. Scoring the only goal for Duke was junior Ali Curtis. Duke outshot UNC 13-9 in the victory. Jeff Haywood recorded the shutout for the Blue Devils. Duke leads the all-time record against North Carolina as they have posted a 36-32-7 record and have won the past three meetings in a row. In the ACC Tournament Duke owns a 1-1 record with Carolina.

ALL-ACC Blue Devils...
The No. 1 ranked Duke University men's soccer team received five players on the All-ACC squad announced on Wednesday. Junior Ali Curtis was selected ACC Player of the Year and head coach John Rennie was named Coach of the Year. Other selections include Jeff Haywood, Robert Russell, and Curtis were named to the All-ACC First Team and Nii-Amar Amamoo and Troy Garner were named to the second team.

Curtis becomes Duke's third ever men's soccer player to be selected ACC Player of the Year after leading the ACC in points per game (36), goals (15), scoring (2.25/g), and goals per game (0.94/g). The junior from Milan, Mich. was selected ACC Player of the Week two different times during the season. Curtis was named to the All-ACC First Team as a freshman also. He has posted six game-winning goals.

Haywood, a junior goalkeeper from Cape Elizabeth, Maine , was selected to the first team as he leads the ACC with a 0.49 goals against average and .883 save percentage. For the season he has totaled six shutouts, four of which came against ACC opponents.

Russell, a junior midfielder from Amherst, Mass., has collected two goals and two assists for six points this season. He has started all 11 matches played. The past two years in a row he was selected to the All-ACC second team.

Amamoo, a junior defenseman from Birmingham, Ala., has been a key defensive player for the Blue Devils in 1999 starting 15-of-16 matches. He has tallied three assists on the season.

Garner, a senior forward from Stone Mountain, Ga., ranks fourth in the ACC in points (22), fifth in goals (9), fourth in scoring (1.38/g), and fifth in goals per game (0.56/g). For the season he has 22 points and recorded the game-winning goal this past Saturday in a 3-2 overtime win over N.C. State. It marks the third time Garner has been selected to the All-ACC second team.

For the fifth time in his 21 years at Duke, Rennie has been named ACC Coach of the Year. He has guided the Blue Devils to an undefeated 13-0-3 season and for his career now has a 306-103-26 overall record at Duke.

The News...

Curtis & Garner Climbing Charts...
Junior Ali Curtis and senior Troy Garner are climbing the Duke record charts this season. For his career Curtis has now totaled 91 points, which ties him for 10th on the career points list at Duke. With his 36 goals for his career he now ranks 10th on Duke's career goals scored list. Curtis is two goals away from equaling the Blue Devil single season record for most goals in a season (17). In his three-year career Curtis has accumulated 36 goals and 19 assists. Garner is right behind Curtis as he has posted 89 points for his career. With two more assists Garner will move into a tied for 9th position on Duke's career assist list (25). For Garner's career he has totaled 33 goals and 23 assists.

Haywood a Stone Wall...
Junior Jeff Haywood has been a stone wall in goal for the Blue Devils this season. In six conference matches this season he has only allowed three goals, while posting four shutouts. For the season Haywood has racked up six shutouts and showcases an outstanding 0.49 goals against average. In 1282.17 minutes he has allowed only seven goals. For Haywood's career he has eight shutouts and a 0.55 goals against average in 1816.17 minutes. The Duke individual record for most shutouts in a season is 13 by Pat Johnson in 1983 & 1985.

Garner Lifts Duke over N.C. State...
Senior Troy Garner made his senior day on Nov. 6 a little extra special as he scored the game-winning goal in overtime to propel Duke over the Wolfpack 3-2. It marked the third time this season he has notched the game-winning goal for Duke. The other matches were Charleston Southern and Elon. In his four-year career Garner has played in 72 matches, while starting 69.

The Shutout...
So far this season the Duke men's soccer team has held opponents to zero goals scored in 9-of-16 matches. The Blue Devils went on a streak earlier this season as they didn't allow a goal in 604.69 minutes in a row. The most shutouts in a season for a Duke squad is 13, which happened in 1983 & 1985. The Duke record for most consecutive shutouts is seven, which also took place in 1983. Senior goalkeeper Jeff Haywood has totaled six shutouts on the season and now has eight for his career.

Rennie Most Successful Coach in Duke History...
During Rennie's reign as Head Coach, Duke has won the school's first national championship, had four players earn the Hermann Trophy, two win the Missouri Athletic Club Award and two players named the national collegiate player of the year. Duke's defense has been a solid trademark since Rennie arrived in 1979 as the Blue Devils have posted 189 shutouts.

Rennie and the Blue Devils stopped Akron, 1-0, to win the 1986 NCAA Championship, the first national title won by a Blue Devil athletic squad. All together, Duke has been to the NCAA Tournament 13 times under Rennie, also going undefeated and advancing to the 1982 Final Four, again reaching the Final Four in 1992, making its' fourth trip in 1995.

The Blue Devils played eight overtimes before losing to Indiana in the 1982 championship game. Under Rennie's reign in the 1980s, Duke ranked fifth among Division I soccer programs in winning percentage and 15th in all divisions for both wins and winning percentage.

As far as individual honors Rennie has been voted National Coach of the Year in 1982, ACC Coach of the Year in 1980, 1983, 1987, 1997 and 1999, and South Region Coach of the Year in 1982, 1983, and 1997. Duke has had 23 All-America selections during Rennie's tenure, with 1995 graduate Jason Kreis being honored after the 1992, 1993, and 1994 seasons. Jay Heaps, a 1998 Blue Devil graduate, earned All-America status as a junior and senior.

This season Rennie notched his 350 victory in Duke's 3-2 overtime victory over N.C. State and now ranks seventh on the Division I all-time career victories list.

The Iron Dukes..
On the season three Blue Devil players have started all 16 games. Ali Curtis, Peter Gail and Kevin Sakuda has been the "Iron Dukes" this season. Sakuda is one of Duke's key defensemen, while Gail and Curtis are two of the Blue Devils key offensive threats. Two other players on the Duke squad have started 15-of-16 games on the season, who include junior Nii-Amar Amamoo and senior Troy Garner.

In Garner's four years he has started 71 of the 74 matches played for Duke.

Last Year's ACC Tournament...
In 1998 the Blue Devils were the #3 seed in the ACC Tournament. In the quarterfinals Duke took on the #6 seed Wake Forest and won 1-0 in front of a crowd of 4,287 fans. Scoring the Blue Devils lone goal was Ali Curtis and picking up the shutout was .

The semifinals match with #2 seed Virginia was a tough match as the Blue Devils battled Virginia to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. Peter Gail scored Duke's goal with Curtis assisting in the first 25 minutes of the game. In the first overtime neither team was able to score but then in the second Duke scored two goals in a matter of four minutes to come away with the victory. Curtis and Troy Garner each connected on goals. Curtis finished the match with a goal and two assists.

In the championship match the Blue Devils went up against the #1 seed Clemson. The first half was all even at 0-0 and in the second half the Tigers came out and scored a goal in the first eight minutes of the half. The Blue Devils could only muster up five shots for the match to Clemson's 11 and couldn't find the back of the net.

Duke received four players on the All-Tournament team Jay Heaps, Atli Knutsson, Kevin Sakuda, and Evan Whitfield.

Season Honors

Ali Curtis
ACC Player of the Year
First Team All-ACC
ACC Player of the Week on 9/6 & 9/27
Soccer America Player of the Week
on 9/6 & 9/27
M.V.P. of Duke adidas Soccer Classic

Troy Garner
Second Team All-ACC
All-Tournament Team of Duke addias Classic

Jeff Haywood
First Team All-ACC

Nii-Amar Amamoo
Second Team All-ACC

Robert Russell
First Team All-ACC
All-Tournament Team of Duke addias Classic

Peter Gail
All-Tournament Team of Duke addias Classic

John Rennie
ACC Coach of the Year

Duke's ACC Tournament History
Appearances: 1
All-Time Record: 10-11 (.477)
Previous Best Finish: Finalist (1998)

1987
N.C. State L 3-0

1988
Wake Forest W 2-1
North Carolina L 2-1

1989
N.C. State W 2-1
Virginia W 1-0
Wake Forest T 2-2 (WF wins via pks)

1990
Wake Forest L 2-1 (OT)

1991
Wake Forest L 2-0

1992
Clemson L 3-2 (OT)

1993
Maryland W 3-2 (OT)
Virginia L 1-0

1994
North Carolina W 2-0
N.C. State 2-0 (OT)
Virginia L 1-0

1995
Wake Forest W 3-1
Virginia L 4-1

1996
Clemson W 3-1
Virginia L 3-2 (OT)

1997
Maryland L 4-2

1998
Wake Forest W 1-0
Virginia W 3-1 (OT)
Clemson L 1-0

The John Rennie File...
Head Coach John Rennie is in his 21st year at Duke and has totaled a 306-103-26 record with one NCAA Championship and two regular season ACC Championships. In 21 years at Duke he has taken the Blue Devils to 13 NCAA Tournaments.

He has been voted National Coach of the Year in 1982, ACC Coach of the Year in 1980, 1983, 1987, and 1997, and South Region Coach of the Year in 1982, 1983, and 1997.

Rennie's year-by-year records are listed below:

Rennie Year-by-Year

Season 	Record 	ACC
1979 	10-7-1 	1-4-0
1980 	15-4-3 	4-0-2
1981 	16-4-0 	4-2-0
1982 	22-1-2 	4-0-2
1983 	18-2-2 	4-1-1
1984 	12-5-3 	2-3-1
1985 	16-5-0 	4-2-0
1986 	18-5-1 	3-3-0
1987 	13-5-1 	4-1-1
1988 	15-6-0 	2-4-0
1989 	10-5-4 	2-2-2
1990 	12-6-1 	3-2-1
1991 	10-9-0 	2-4-0
1992 	15-4-3 	3-2-1
1993 	15-5-0 	4-2-0
1994 	15-7-1 	3-3-0
1995 	16-7-1 	3-2-1
1996 	12-7-0 	3-3-0
1997 	15-5-0 	4-2-0
1998 	18-4-0 	4-2-0
1999 	13-0-3 	4-0-2

Duke Record: 306-103-26
Career Record: 350-149-40
NCAA Championships: 1986
ACC Championships: 1980, 1982