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Men's Soccer
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Duke Kicks Off ACC Tournament on Wednesday
11/10/2009 8:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.-The Duke University men's soccer team opens postseason play tomorrow, Nov. 11, against Boston College in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinal. The No. 6 seed Blue Devils will battle the No. 3 seed Eagles at 2:30 p.m., at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
At the final practice prior to the tournament, the Blue Devils received some words of encouragement from French international Lillian Thuram who is visiting Duke's campus. Thuram is the most capped player for the French National Team and was a key member of the teams that captured the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship titles.
Duke and Boston College are meeting for just the sixth time overall and for the first time in ACC Tournament action. Prior to the Eagles joining the conference in 2005 the two teams had never played. Duke leads the series 3-2, but Boston College has won two of the past three outings. The Blue Devils fell to the Eagles 2-0 in Chestnut Hill this season.
Ranked 15th in the final regular season NSCAA national poll, Duke heads into the 23rd ACC Tournament with a 12-5-0 overall record and as the sixth seed after posting a 4-4 record in conference play. The Blue Devils are led on offense by junior Cole Grossman and freshman Ryan Finley. Grossman leads the way with 24 points, including a team-best 10 assists, while Finley is the top goal-scorer with nine on the year. Rookie Andrew Wenger and sophomore Daniel Tweed-Kent both have eight points apiece. Defensively, Duke is anchored by rookie James Belshaw in goal. Earning the start in 15 contests, he sports a 1.14 goals against average and a .857 save percentage. Duke has allowed just 17 goals on the year and posted seven shutouts.
The Blue Devils enter postseason play in search of its fourth ACC Tournament title since playoff action began in 1987. Duke is 18-17-3 all-time in ACC Tournament action and lost in the quarterfinal round last season to Virginia. This season marks the first time Duke has been the No. 6 seed. The three ties came against Wake Forest in 1989 and 2001 and North Carolina in 2005. Duke is 1-2 all-time in penalty kick shootouts in the ACC Tournament. Duke's three tournament crowns came in 1999, 2005, and 2006. All three were overtime wins with the 2005 championship being won in a shootout.
Boston College enters the tournament as a winner of six of its past seven games, including wins over then second-ranked North Carolina and No. 2 Wake Forest. Charlie Rugg headlines the attack with 16 points from six goals and four assists. Edvin Worley has contributed 13 points. The Eagles have allowed just 15 goals this season with Justin Luthy anchoring the backline. He is 10-6-0 overall with a 0.74 goals against average and a .859 save percentage. Boston College is 4-4 on the road this year.
Fans can watch the action live online through ACC All-Access by logging onto www.GoDuke.com.
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