Men's Soccer Begins Postseason Play Wednesday

DUKE vs LOUISVILLE
Details	Friday, Nov. 4 \| Durham, N.C. \| Koskinen Stadium \| 7 p.m.
Coverage	Watch \| Live Stats \| @Duke_MSOC \| Parking Map \| ACC Site
Louisville	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule
Duke	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule

Parking Information

The men's soccer game will take place at the same time as the Duke men's basketball exhibition game against Livingstone Wednesday, resulting in parking changes ... General public parking will be available for $10 in the Circuit Drive and PG9 lots ... The lots are approximately a 15-20 minute walk from Koskinen Stadium so please allot time to get to the game for kickoff at 7 p.m.

Setting the Scene

• Duke begins ACC postseason play with a first-round game against Louisville ... The Blue Devils won their first-round game last season in a double overtime thriller against NC State.

• The Cardinals have lost three straight and are the No. 9 seed overall with a 1-4-3 overall record.

• Duke and Louisville did not meet during the regular season.

Series History

Duke and Louisville are meeting for the fifth time in the programs' storied histories ... The Cardinals lead the series with a 2-1-1 record, including last season's 5-0 blanking of the Blue Devils ... Duke's win over Louisville came in 1997 ... This is just the second meeting between the two teams as ACC foes.

Duke - Louisville by the Numbers

3 – ACC Championships in Duke history, 1999, 2005, 2006

19-23-4 – Duke's record all-time in ACC Tournament play

0 – Road wins by Louisville this season

104 – Points by the Blue Devils this season for 5.78 points per game, the second-highest average under a John Kerr Duke team

8 – Assists for Zach Mathers this season, second in the ACC and 11th nationally

10 – Wins by the Blue Devils, the most in the regular season for Duke since the 10 in 2011

4 – Goals allowed by Mitch Kupstas and the Blue Devils during five-game win streak

14 – Goals allowed by Duke in the six-game winless streak in the middle portion of the schedule

39 – Duke's RPI after the conclusion of the regular season

25 – Louisville's RPI heading into the ACC Tournament

Duke in the ACC Tournament

• Duke is 19-23-4 all-time in ACC Tournament action and owns three ACC titles - 1999, 2005 and 2006

• The Blue Devils are the No. 8 seed for the first time in program history and sport a 9-7-1 record in first-round games.

• Duke is 1-7-1 under John Kerr in the ACC Tournament.

• The Blue Devils have played 13 overtime games in tournament history, going 6-4-3.

About Duke

• Duke is riding a five-game win streak, dating back to a tough non-conference loss to Holy Cross Oct. 13 ... The Blue Devils have outscored their opponents 12-4 in that span.

• Duke features a balanced attack led by Zach Mathers' 22 points from seven goals and eight assists ... Jeremy Ebobisse has seven goals, including the game winner at Pitt, and four assists for 18 points, while Brian White has six goals and an assist for 13 points ... Five Blue Devils have at least three goals this season.

• Three of Duke's top five point scorers are sophomores - Ebobisse, White, and Macario Hing-Glover (3g, 2a, 8pts).

• Duke has scored at least two goals in 10 games, going 7-1-2 ... The Blue Devils are 3-1-2 when scoring two goals and 4-0-0 when tallying three.

• Defensively, Duke owns three shutouts overall and is anchored by center backs Markus Fjørtoft and Tyler Hilliard ... Mitchell Kupstas, with two of the clean sheets, started the past eight games and has a 1.25 goals against average and a .607 save percentage ... The Blue Devils are allowing just 4.1 shots on goal per game.

About Louisville

• Louisville comes to Durham on a three-game losing streak with losses to some of the toughest teams in the nation in Indiana, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

• The Cardinals are 6-8-3 overall and will need to make a run through the ACC Championship for hopes at earning an NCAA postseason bid.

• Tate Schmitt leads all scorers with 16 points from six goals and four assists, while Tim Kubel has four goals and three assists ... Daniel Johnson has added five goals in his 17 starts.

• Louisville has struggled defensively at times and is allowing 1.51 goals per game and has given up eight goals in its past three losses ... The Cardinals have given up multiple goals in six games this season and are 0-6 in those outings.

• Casey Axman has earned the recent starts for Louisville in goal and sports a 2.03 goals against average and a .500 save percentage ... All three of Louisville's keepers have played at least 350 minutes this season.

In Common

Duke and Louisville met up against six of the same ACC foes this season ... The Blue Devils went 2-3-1 overall, while the Cardinals posted an 0-3-3 mark in the six outings.

Opponent	Duke	Louisville
Syracuse	L, 1-3	T, 1-1
Virginia Tech	W, 2-1	T, 1-1
NC State	W, 6-2	T, 1-1
Virginia	T, 2-2	L, 2-3
Clemson	L, 1-2	L, 2-4
North Carolina	L, 1-2	L, 1-2

Last Time We Met

Fifth-ranked Louisville tallied a pair of goals in the opening four minutes and never looked back en route to a 5-0 blanking of Duke ... The game was the inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference contest for the new-member Cardinals ... Ben Strong finished with two goals for Louisville as it outshot Duke 15-10.

Former Blue Devil Returns

Louisville head coach Ken Lolla returns to face his alma mater for the fourth time overall and the third time as the Cardinals leader ... Lolla was a four-year letterwinner for the Blue Devils from 1980-83 ... He helped lead Duke to a 71-11-7 overall record, four NCAA Tournament appearances and a runner-up showing in the 1982 NCAA Championship.

Late Season Push

The Blue Devils, after battling through a six-game winless streak in the middle of the season, finished the regular season by winning six of the final eight, including each of the past five ... Three of the six wins came against teams in the top 25 and one against a top 10 opponent in Elon ... Duke has 17 goals in those eight games.

10 Wins and Counting

Duke's 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech to close out the regular season gave the Blue Devils their 10th win of the year ... It marked the first time Duke has posted double-digit wins in the regular season since it had 10 in 2011 ... That year also marked Duke's last NCAA Tournament appearance.

High Powered Offense

The Blue Devils are having one of their best offensive seasons in recent memory with 35 goals and 104 points through 18 games, an average of 5.78 points per game ... The average is the second best by a Duke team under head coach John Kerr, while the 104 points are the third most and highest total since 2011.

Year	GP	G	A	Pts	Pts/GM
2015	18	35	34	104	5.78
2014	19	32	33	97	5.11
2013	19	25	25	75	3.95
2012	18	20	21	61	3.39
2011	22	44	41	129	5.86
2010	20	34	32	100	5
2009	21	40	36	116	5.52
2008	20	30	24	84	4.2

Duke in Overtime

Two of the Blue Devils' five wins in this stretch have come in overtime ... Overall, Duke has played six overtime games, one shy of the program-record seven in 2010 ... The Blue Devils are 3-1-2 in extra time this season ... In the ACC Tournament, Duke is 6-4-3 in overtime contests.

Duke's Depth on Defense

The Blue Devils demonstrated their depth on the backline recently after starting and reserve right backs Carter Manley and Kevon Black both went down with injuries ... Freshman Oliver Spring came on in their stead and didn't skip a beat as Duke posted consecutive 1-0 shutouts ... Spring, after having played 44 minutes in three games all season, played 164 overall against PIttsburgh and Jacksonville.

Duke Defenders Garner Honors

Duke defenders Markus Fjørtoft and Jared Rist were named the ACC Defensive Players of the Week in consecutive weeks ... Fjørtoft won the award Oct. 27 after leading Duke to consecutive shutouts, while Rist picked up his first award this week after he helped anchor the defense to two wins and headed home the game winner over Virginia Tech ... Rist and Fjørtoft are first and second on the team in minutes played, respectivley.

Last Time Out

Jared Rist headed home a service from Zach Mathers in the 80th minute to lead the Blue Devils to a 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech on senior night ... Jeremy Ebobisse registered the first tally off assists from Brody Huitema and Mathers ... Defensively, Mitchell Kupstas was outstanding in guiding the backline and making two saves.

Ebobisse Finding Form Again

Sophomore Jeremy Ebobisse ended his 10-game goal scoring drought with the game winner at Pittsburgh Oct. 24 ... He added his seventh of the year six days later against Virginia Tech ... Ebobisse had five goals in the first five games of the year before hitting a dry spell ... He is tied for the team lead in goals (7) and ranks second in points (18).

Next Up

With a win Wednesday Duke would advance to the ACC quarterfinals agains top-seeded Wake Forest ... Kickoff in Winston-Salem is set for 1 p.m.

#GoDuke

Men's Soccer Begins Postseason Play Wednesday

Players Mentioned

Kevon Black

Jeremy Ebobisse

Markus Fj?rtoft

Tyler Hilliard

Macario Hing-Glover

Brody Huitema

Mitchell Kupstas

Carter Manley

Zach Mathers

Jared Rist

Oliver Spring

Brian White

Duke information

Men's Soccer Begins Postseason Play Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Kevon Black

Jeremy Ebobisse

Markus Fj?rtoft

Tyler Hilliard

Macario Hing-Glover

Brody Huitema

Mitchell Kupstas

Carter Manley

Zach Mathers

Jared Rist

Oliver Spring

Brian White

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Duke information