Battle for Dr. K Cup Underway; Championship Friday

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Battle for Dr. K Cup Underway; Championship Friday

1/21/2021 2:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer

DURHAM, N.C.—It may be just day two of spring training for the Duke men's soccer team, but the competition level is at mid-season form as the Blue Devils held the first day of the Dr. K Cup at the 751 practice fields Thursday morning.

Featuring four teams led by a group of six carefully selected general managers, the players will battle for the coveted Dr. K Cup over the course of two days and four small-sided games apiece. Named for the incomparable Deputy Senior Deputy Director of Athletics Chris Kennedy, the winner this spring will be able to join other elite Duke teams over the years to etch their names on the trophy.

The general managers had the opportunity to analyze the personnel in advance of the draft as they worked to build the winning squad.

Below is the team breakdown.

Carl's Fishermen	Zaha 5	SOP	Solis Six
Antino Lopez	Michael Reis	Lewis McGarvey	Peter Stroud
Amir Daley	Nick Pariano	Daniel Wright	JT Harms
Sintayehu Clements	Thor Úlfarsson	Nicolas Macri	Santa Ihara
Jack Doran	Cameron Kerr	Kyle Renfro	Miguel Ramirez
Matthew Wolf	Kees Heetderks	Krew Verratti	Carl Fisher
Alex Slover
GMs: Conor Kelly, Ian Murphy	GM: Stephen O'Connell	GM: Matthias Frick	GMs: Eliot Hamil, Scotty Taylor

Day 1 Recap
After less than 12 hours to prepare and build their game plans, the four squads hit the field. The first games featured Zaha 5 against SOP and Solid 6 versus Carl's Fishermen.

Zaha 5 and SOP battled close in the early going, but the scoring power from the Zaha 5 group proved to be too much for SOP in a 6-2 defeat. Despite suffering the loss, a massive nod goes out to SOP
goalkeeper Kyle Renfro coming out of retirement all for the good of the team. It is these unselfish actions that can help propel a team to a title.

The other first-round game was nip and tuck with Solis 6 coming away with the 5-4 victory.

Quickly moving on to the second round, SOP was strong against Solis 6, leading 4-3 with minutes remaining. However, a couple of late goals, including the nail in the coffin chip from Lopez over Renfro, were the difference in Solis 6 taking the 6-4 victory.

Zaha 5 and Carl's Fishermen was even throughout, ending in a 6-6 draw and giving both teams a point.

The teams will return to their rooms and meet with their general managers to look at the game film. At that point, the leadership will decide if any last-minute trades are necessary in advance of the midnight trade deadline. Friday morning will be electric for sure, as the four squads hit the field for a fierce, yet friendly, fight for the Dr. K Cup.