Duke Opens Campaign at Kentucky Monday Night

Game 1
Duke (0-0-0) at Kentucky (0-1-0)
September 21, 2020 | 7:30 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Game Notes | Digital Game Program

Duke – Kentucky by the Numbers
204 – Days since Duke last faced an opponent - a March 1 contest at ACC foe Wake Forest

199 – Career wins for Duke head coach John Kerr heading into the 2020-21 season

3 – Ranking of Duke's rookie class by Top Drawer Soccer

5 – Different countries represented on the 2020 Duke roster

5 – Duke games to be broadcast on ACC Network this fall

58 – Career starts for senior goalkeeper Will Pulisic

5,355 – Career minutes for Pulisic, second among active Division I goalkeepers

181 – Career saves for Pulisic in his three seasons, sixth among active Division I goalkeepers

5 – Returning Blue Devil starters from last year's squad

7 – Newcomers to the Kentucky program, five freshmen and a pair of junior transfers

32 – Total wins for Kentucky in the past two seasons - 2018 and 2019

19 – Total victories for the Wildcats in the 2016 and 2017 seasons combined

20 – Players returning for Kentucky from the 2019 team, including C-USA Player of the Year Aimé Mabika

How to Follow Duke at Kentucky

Monday's night game will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans will need a subscription to ESPN+ that is separate from what is broadcast through a cable or television streaming subscription.
Kentucky adopted a player guest and coach guest model for tickets this season, meaning no tickets will be available to the public.

Breaking Down the Blue Devils

It has been 204 days since Duke has faced an opponent – March 1, 2020 at Wake Forest. The Blue Devils look quite different from March, welcoming the addition of 11 freshmen and the return of graduate students Jack Doran and Nico Macri.
Under head coach John Kerr, the Blue Devils return five starters from a year ago – Will Pulisic, Matthias Frick, Ian Murphy, Daniel Wright, and Kristofer Gardarsson. In addition, Jack Doran, a starter in every game in 2018, returns after missing 2019 to injury.
Pulisic, Frick and Murphy are the veterans anchoring the defense. They have a combined 136 starts and will be crucial in Duke's sucess this season. Rookies Antino Lopez and Sintayehu Clements also are fighting for starting spots in the back as the Blue Devils' depth is a difference from a year ago.
Sophomore Scotty Taylor and senior Daniel Wright are the top two returning scorers and look to help lead the offense. Talented rookies Nick Pariano and Peter Stroud likely will patrol the center of the field. Both possess the ability to create offense as well as score and aim to be the breakout stars they can be. In addition, outside midfielder Amir Daley will run on the flanks, giving opposing defenses fits. The return of Doran gives Duke a veteran leader in the midfield.

Kerr One Away From 200 Wins Mark

Head coach John Kerr is one win shy of earning his 200th career victory. A win Monday would make him the 51st active coach to reach the benchmark.
Kerr captured his 100th win as the Blue Devil leader in 2017 with a 2-1 victory over FIU. Now in his 13th season, Kerr is one of two Duke coaches in program history to win 100 career games from the Duke sideline.
Kerr's mentor and head coach, John Rennie, won 410 games in his 29 seasons at Duke and still ranks 22nd all-time across all three divisions with 454 wins overall. He is ninth among Division I coaches.
Kerr's current .569 win percentage at Duke (118-86-29) is fourth among Duke coaches with Rennie leading the way at .706. Roy Skinner (1966-76; 71-45-5) is second at .607, while inaugural head coach K.C. Gerard (1935-48; 41-27-10) finished with a .589 win percentage.

Where There's a Will There's a Wall

Will Pulisic has been stellar during his career. He provides organization and quality leadership and pure simple shot-stopping ability. Here is how his 2019 and career numbers break down.
Ranked second in the ACC with 63 saves in 2019
Made a career-high 10 saves at Clemson in 2019, the first Blue Devil goalkeeper to do so since 2013
Ranks 2nd among active goalkeepers in career minutes played (5,335:90)
Ranks seventh among active goalies in career saves (184)

Will Pulisic Garners Notice from TDS

While Pulisic's statistics speak for themselves, Top Drawer Soccer confirmed the senior goalie's talent by naming him one of the nation's top 10 keepers. Pulisic came in at No. 4
Top Drawer Soccer said this of the Duke goalie – "Pulisic is set to become one of the few goalkeepers in ACC history to finish as a four-year starter," wrote Top Drawer Soccer. "Pulisic's strengths rest in his composure and highly crafted technique, which could be used as a textbook example for any young goalkeeper."

About Kentucky

Kentucky opened its 2020 fall season with a 1-0 loss at Notre Dame Thursday night.
The Wildcats are coming off a successful 2019 season that saw them advance to the NCAA Tournament second round. Kentucky returns 20 players from that team, including Conference USA Player of the Year Aimé Mabika. A veteran defender, he also was the C-USA Co-Defensive MVP. He scored three goals last season.
In addition to Mabika, 2019 All-C-USA performers Kalil ElMedkhar (first team), Enrique Facusse (second team), Marcel Meinzer (second team) and Daniel Evans (second team) return, along with C-USA All-Freshman performers Eythor Bjorgolfsson and John Michael Bandy.

On the Road

Duke heads to Lexington, Kentucky for its first road trip of the 2020 fall season. The Blue Devils went 1-5 in road games last season with the win coming against North Carolina.
Overall on the road, Duke is 29-43-9 under head coach John Kerr and 10-16-3 in non-conference road games.

The Skinny on Stroud

Rookie Peter Stroud joins the Blue Devils after spending the past two years playing in the West Ham United system. He joined West Ham United in the summer of 2018 and played for both the U18 and U23 sides. He made his debut at age 16 versus Swansea City.
Prior to his time with West Ham United, Stroud played for New York Red Bulls Academy. Stoud follows in his brothers' footsteps. Jared Stroud is a current member of the Red Bulls, Will plays at Colgate University and Dylan played soccer at Washington and Lee.

Up Next

Duke makes its home debut Saturday, Sept. 26 with an ACC contest against NC State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., on ACCNX.

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Duke Opens Campaign at Kentucky Monday Night

Players Mentioned

Sintayehu Clements

Amir Daley

Jack Doran

Matthias Frick

Antino Lopez

Ian Murphy

Nick Pariano

Will Pulisic

Peter Stroud

Scotty Taylor

Daniel Wright

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Duke Opens Campaign at Kentucky Monday Night

Players Mentioned

Sintayehu Clements

Amir Daley

Jack Doran

Matthias Frick

Antino Lopez

Ian Murphy

Nick Pariano

Will Pulisic

Peter Stroud

Scotty Taylor

Daniel Wright

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