Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at Clemson on October 17, 2025 at 8 p.m.
/
8 p.m.
Men's Soccer
at Clemson
No. 1 Duke Kicks Off NCAA Tournament Against Brown
11/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke (16-3-1) will face Brown (11-4-3) in the second round of the 2006 Division I NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils are the top seed in the tournament, and received a bye through the first round. Brown defeated Adelphi 4-1 last Saturday to advance to the second round.
Series History: Duke is 0-1-1 against Brown, with both matches coming during Coach John Rennie's 27 year tenure. The most recent contest was in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, when Duke lost 1-0 at Brown. The Blue Devils also tied the Bears 1-1 in the 1980 regular season. The two squads have never met in Durham.
The Opponent: Brown holds an 11-4-3 record this season, and went 3-2-2 in Ivy League play. Duke and Brown had two common opponents this season: Harvard and Boston College. Brown defeated Boston College 2-1 on Oct. 3, and lost to Harvard 6-2 on Oct. 15. Duke defeated the Crimson 2-1 on Sept. 16, and beat the Eagles 1-0 on Sept. 24. The Bears are led on the offensive end by senior forward Andrew Daniels (eight goals and four assists), sophomore defender Rhett Bernstein (eight goals), and sophomore forward Dylan Sheehan (four goals and two assists). In the goal for Brown is sophomore Jarrett Leech, with a .809 save percentage and three shutouts. Duke could also see senior David Semenza at goalkeeper, who has a .667 save percentage and one shutout.
Last Time Out: Duke last played on Sunday, Nov. 5, when they won the ACC Tournament with a 1-0 overtime victory over then number one-ranked Wake Forest. Sophomore forward Mike Grella netted the game winner in the 97th minute of play. The last time the Blue Devils won both the ACC regular season and tournament crowns was in 1999. Brown won a first round NCAA tournament match on Saturday against Adelphi by a score of 4-1. Daniels recorded a hat trick to lead the Bears to victory.
Awards, Awards, and More Awards: The Blue Devils have claimed numerous awards as the regular season and conference tournament portions of the year have come to an end. Five Blue Devils were named to the three All-ACC teams, and four to the top two teams, which tied Duke with Virginia for most players honored this year on the first and second teams. Named to the first team were Grella and junior midfielder Michael Videira. Senior defender/captain Kyle Helton and junior forward Spencer Wadsworth were selected to the second team, while freshman midfielder Joshua Bienenfeld was named to the All-ACC Freshmen Team. It was the highest number of Blue Devils selected to All-ACC teams since 2000, and was the third year in a row that Videira has been named All-ACC.
Junior midfielder Joe Germanese, junior defender/captain Tim Jepson, Videira, and Wadsworth were all named to the All-ACC Tournament Team, with Videira taking home Most Valuable Player honors. For Wadsworth, 2006 marks the second straight year in which he was named to the All-Tournament Team. The four Blue Devils were accompanied on the ACC All-Tournament Team by Ronnie Bouemboue (N.C. State), El Hadj Cisse (N.C. State), Sam Cronin (Wake Forest), Brian Edwards (Wake Forest), Patrick Nyarko (Virginia Tech), Yannick Reyering (Virginia) and Graham Zusi (Maryland).
Jepson and Videira were also named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District Teams for their performances on the field and in the classroom. Academic qualifications include having a 3.2 GPA or better. Duke is in District 3, which includes the Southern Atlantic states. Jepson was named to the second team, and Videira made the first team, which qualifies him for national Academic All-America honors.
Five Blue Devils were named to Top Drawer Soccer's national end of the season teams. Videira and Grella were awarded first team honors, while Helton was placed on the third team and Wadsworth on the fourth. Five teams were named, encompassing college players from around the country. Bienenfeld was named to the All-Rookie second team, with only two rookie teams being named.
Devil Defense: Duke's defense has allowed only nine goals in its last 15 games, recording six shutouts in that time and not allowing more than one goal in any of those games. The Blue Devils have only allowed 16 goals in 20 games the entire season, and only twice has more than one goal been scored against them. Junior goalkeeper Justin Papadakis has been a major reason behind this success, with a .774 save percentage, 48 saves, and six shutouts. Jepson has anchored the defense with his leadership, strong work ethic, and team best 1706 minutes played. Helton has logged 1538 minutes on a defensive unit that has also added to Duke's scoring totals with three goals and seven assists. Sophomores Darrius Barnes and Graham Dugoni have also seen increased playing time, combining for over 2650 minutes.
Middle of the Field: One of the strongest and deepest assets for the Blue Devils is their midfield. They are led by Videira with six goals and six assists. Senior captain Chris Loftus has played a combination of forward and midfield while recording four goals and three assists in his last campaign. Others contributing in the middle include juniors Tomek Charowski (two goals and three assists), Germanese (four goals and five assists) and Zach Pope (1 goal and nine assists). Sophomore Pavelid Castaneda has been the workhorse for the Blue Devil midfield, recording 1578 minutes at the most physically taxing position on the field. Bienenfeld has become a key contributor as well, with a goal and an assist in 725 minutes played.
Up Front and Personal: While Germanese and Loftus have spent time playing forward this season, the Blue Devils only play two true strikers. This has not resulted in a lack of scoring, as Duke has tallied 43 goals on the season, including 23 in their last ten games. Their very balanced attack has resulted in 14 different players scoring this year. Duke's number one goal scorer is Grella, with 11 goals and four assists. Wadsworth is the other true forward, and has accumulated six goals and an ACC best 13 assists. Wadsworth is also third in NCAA Division I for total assists.
Rennie Sets Records: Coach John Rennie is now the winningest coach in ACC history. Rennie has 397 career victories at Duke, and 91 wins in ACC play. Rennie overtook former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim in both categories. He also is in fifth place for Division I coaches with 441 overall wins. Rennie has taken Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 19 of his 28 years as head coach.
A Look Ahead: The NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament runs through Dec. 3. If Duke should win on Wednesday, they would play at home in the third round on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. That match would be against either No. 16 Lehigh (15-1-2) or Rhode Island (12-5-5). Lehigh had the bye in that part of the bracket, while Rhode Island defeated Rutgers 4-2 in a shootout after playing to a 1-1 tie. The 2006 Men's College Cup Final Four takes place in St. Louis on Dec. 1 and 3, with the final game being televised on ESPN2 at 3:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
-d-u-k-e-
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerM
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerM
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerM
/ Men's SoccerGK
/ Men's SoccerM
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerCinematic Recap vs Notre Dame
Tuesday, November 12
A DOMINANT WIN OVER NOTRE DAME - MEN'S SOCCER
Tuesday, November 05
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
Welcome to Duke
Saturday, October 19
