No. 3 Duke Travels to No. 13 Pittsburgh for ACC Coastal Division Battle

Saturday, October 9

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 P.M.

Duke University

Pitt

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 3 Duke Travels to No. 13 Pittsburgh for ACC Coastal Division Battle

10/8/2021 1:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer

WATCH | ACCNX LIVE STATS GAME NOTES (PDF)

DURHAM – The No. 3 Duke men's soccer program (9-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC) heads out on the road, traveling to face No. 13 Pittsburgh (7-3-0, 3-1-0 ACC) Saturday night in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Blue Devils sit in first place in the ACC Coastal Division, holding a three-point lead on the second-place Panthers.

Last Time Out

The Blue Devils faced their first regulation deficit of the season, but rebounded to defeat Elon, 3-1 on Tuesday night in Koskinen Stadium.
Sophomore Nick Pariano recorded a career-high four points in the win over the Phoenix, scoring a penalty kick goal and adding two assists.
Sophomore Thorleifur Ulfarsson added the final goal of the game on a header off a cross from Pariano. His season total is now up to eight goals and 16 points in six games this season.
Sophomore Lewis McGarvey made an appearance on the scoresheet, recording his first goal of the season, when he jumped into the play to pot a Pariano corner kick. McGarvey remains the lone Blue Devil to start all 10 games this season.
Senior Eliot Hamill won his seventh game of the season in net, making two saves in the win.

Tale of the Tape

The Panthers host the Blue Devils with a record of 7-3-0 and 3-1-0 in the ACC.
The Panthers bring a well-rounded unit, led by two 15-point scorers on offense in Rodrigo Almeida and Veljko Petkovic. In goal, Nico Campuzano has been strong, with a 0.98 GAA and 24 saves, while recording five shutouts.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich is in his sixth season with Pittsburgh and 27th in the ACC, after two decades at Wake Forest. Vidovich recently recorded his 100th win as Panthers head coach.

Opponent History

The Blue Devils and Panthers are meeting for 12th time, in a series that debuted in 1955, but would only be resumed in 2013.
Duke holds the all-time series lead at 6-3-2 overall.
Pittsburgh earned the last victory in the series, winning a 4-3 game that went to double overtime on March 19, 2021.
The two teams have also met in the ACC Tournament twice, with each team winning one game.

What to Watch For

The Blue Devils will look to reach 10 or more wins for the first time since 2018 and do so in the fewest number of games since the 2004 season, when the team won its first 11 games.
Duke has had at least one All-ACC honoree in every season since 1976, including every year of head coach John Kerr's tenure.
Ulfarsson now stands alone as the ACC goals leader, with eight goals in just six games. He currently ranks in a tie for seventh in the country.
Ulfarsson enters the matchup as the reigning TopDrawerSoccer, College Soccer News and United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week. Ulfarsson swept all three national weekly awards, as well as the ACC's Offensive Player of the Week.
Hamill ranks near the top of nearly every major statistic in the country, leading the nation in save percentage (0.912), ranking third in goals against average (0.367) and 10th in shutouts (five). The Scarsdale, N.Y., native also leads the ACC in all those categories.
With five shutouts this season, Hamill is two away from entering a tie for 11th in the single season shutout rankings.
The Blue Devils rank fifth in the nation in goal differential, outscoring opponents 23-3 over 10 games.
The Blue Devils have gotten plenty of production from the freshman class, with 20 of the team's 63 points (31.7%) coming from them. Shakur Mohammed leads the way with eight points, while Felix Barajas has seven, Ruben Mesalles four and Jai Bean one.
Senior Ian Murphy started the 50th game of his collegiate career against Howard. The Redlands, Calif., native has four goals and seven assists for 15 points in his career, with two assists this season, and has anchored the defense with 4,668 career minutes.