Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at North Carolina on October 31, 2025 at 8 p.m.
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8 p.m.
Men's Soccer
at North Carolina
Final Regular Season Match Pits Duke Against N.C. State
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 21 Duke Blue Devils will head to Raleigh on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tilt with the N.C. State Wolfpack. The match will be played at the Method Road Soccer Stadium and admission is free of charge. It will mark the final regular season game for both squads.
The Blue Devils: Duke is 10-6-1 in 2007 and 3-3-1 in ACC play, which puts them in a tie for fourth place in the conference with Maryland. Duke is 4-1 on the road this year.
Goalkeeping: Senior Justin Papadakis is the starter in the cage for the third consecutive season. He has allowed 18 goals in 1450:02 of play and has recorded four shutouts. Papadakis has made 48 saves for a .727 save percentage and a 1.12 goals against average.
Defense: Juniors Darrius Barnes and Graham Dugoni and sophomore Josh Bienenfeld have been the regular starters this season for the Blue Devils. Barnes has played 1,375 minutes and tallied three assists and Dugoni has logged a team-best 1,550 minutes and scored two goals and one assist. Bienenfeld has recorded 1,400 minutes and contributed two assists. Senior captain Tim Jepson returned to the lineup on Oct. 11 against North Carolina and has played 539 minutes in seven starts with one assist after missing the first 10 games with a high hamstring pull. Freshman Christian Ibeagha (14 starts and 1,239 minutes) has stepped in nicely in his first season in Durham, but will be unavailable on Saturday as he serves a one-game suspension stemming from five yellow cards accumulated throughout the season.
Midfield: The consistent starters in the midfield include senior captain and Hermann Trophy candidate Michael Videira (two goals and three assists), senior Joe Germanese (three goals and a team-best seven assists) and junior Pavelid Castaneda (1,456 minutes and one assist). Senior Zack Pope has started 11 contests, played in all 17 and is tied for the team lead with seven assists. Senior Spencer Wadsworth (799 minutes over four starts with two goals and one assist) has increased his workload as the year has gone on after having surgery in the off-season. Wadsworth has made the transition to playing more midfield after being used primarily as a forward. Freshman Cole Grossman has stepped up since the Maryland game when he scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime. Grossman has played 529 minutes with two starts, two goals and two assists.
Forwards: The trio of junior Mike Grella, senior Paul Dudley and graduate Joshua Medcalf has provided the majority of Duke's goal-scoring this season. Grella has nine goals and six assists, while Dudley has contributed seven goals and an assist of his own. Medcalf has tallied six goals and five assists in only 527 minutes. Medcalf averages 2.9 points-per-90 minutes played. Together the group makes up 61.1% of Duke's goal-scoring and 47.9% of its point-scoring.
The Opponent: The Wolfpack has posted a 6-7-3 record this season and a 1-5-1 mark in the ACC. N.C. State is 6-2-2 at home and is 0-3-2 against ranked foes.
Series History: Duke owns a 47-19-5 all-time record against N.C. State, which is its best record against any ACC foe. The 71 matches with the Wolfpack are the third-most against any opponent for Duke, behind North Carolina (85) and Virginia (77).
Last Time Out: Duke was upended at home on Nov. 4 by Alabama A&M, 4-3. Grella, Germanese and Dugoni notched goals for the Blue Devils. N.C. State lost 3-0 at No. 5 Virginia Tech on Nov. 3 in its last match.
Rankings: Duke is ranked No. 21 in Soccer America's poll this week, No. 23 in the Soccer Times poll, No. 24 in the NSCAA/adidas rankings and No. 25 in College Soccer News' rankings. N.C. State is unranked.
Jepson Up For Lowe's Seniors CLASS Award: Jepson was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually in eight NCAA Division I sports to a senior student athlete who excels both on and off the field. Fans can vote once a day per computer online at http://soccer.seniorclassaward.com/public/men/vote.aspx until Nov. 21. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award. Winners will be announced during the NCAA Championships, scheduled December 14-16 in Cary, N.C.
The Rennie File: Coach John Rennie claimed his 400th career victory at Duke in his 29th season opener as a Blue Devil against Delaware. With his 409 victories at Duke and 94 in ACC play, Rennie has the most wins of any coach in ACC history. He is also in fifth place all-time for Division I coaches with 452 overall wins and third among active coaches in the same category. Rennie has taken Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 19 of his 28 years as head coach, a feat the Blue Devils had accomplished only once before he took over. This will be Rennie's last season as head coach of Duke, a decision he made prior to this season.
A Look Ahead: The ACC Tournament will run from Nov. 13 through Nov. 18 in Cary, N.C., this year. The official bracket for the tournament will be released on Monday, Nov. 12. Duke has already assured itself of a first-round bye and will play on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at a time to be determined.
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