No. 5-Seed Duke Opens ACC Tournament vs. No. 12 California

DURHAM, N.C. - The 2025 ACC Tournament begins Wednesday, Nov. 5, with the fifth-seeded Duke men's soccer team hosting 12th-seeded California in the first round. The Blue Devils (8-2-6, 4-2-2 ACC) and Golden Bears (6-7-2, 2-5-1 ACC) meet for the second time this season, kicking off postseason action at 7 p.m., at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium. Fans can watch live on ACC Network Extra.

Tickets are available for purchase here. New this season, for walk-up ticket purchases at either the ticket windows of the Scott Family Athletics Performance Center or Koskinen Stadium ticket booths there will be a $5.00 print fee added to each order. Moving forward, the ticket office will be cashless when accepting payment for tickets, including on gameday. The ticket office accepts American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa.

ACC TOURNAMENT NOTES

Duke holds a 5-4-3 record as the No. 5-seed in the ACC Tournament and was most recently seeded fifth during the 2023 season. The Blue Devils defeated No. 12-seed Boston College, 3-2, in the first round before traveling to No. 4-seed Clemson for an eventual 3-3 2OT (1-4 PKs) loss.
The Blue Devils are seeking their fourth ACC Tournament title, having most recently emerged on top in back-to-back years in 2005 and 2006. Duke was the No. 5-seed during the 2005 run to the championship, defeating No. 4-seed Virginia Tech (2-0), No. 1-seed Maryland (4-2) and No. 6-seed North Carolina, 5-4 in penalty kicks, after playing to a 0-0 2OT draw in the championship match.

MATCHUP NOTES

In this season's first meeting between the two teams, Duke and California played to a 1-1 draw. Alessandro Arlotti scored the late equalizer for Duke, with a header in the 84th minute.
The two teams have only met twice in the all-time series, with this season's prior match joining a quarterfinal meeting between the two squads in last year's ACC Tournament. Duke, the No. 3-seed in last year's ACC field, fell, 0-2, to the 11th-seeded Golden Bears in Durham.

LAST TIME OUT

Duke earned home-field advantage for the first round with a 2-0 win at rival North Carolina on the final conference matchday of the regular season, Friday Oct. 31.
The Blue Devils scored once in each half, with Kenan Hot opening Duke's ledger in the first half, followed by a free-kick goal courtesy of Drew Kerr in the second half.

KENNY CATCHES FIRE

Senior midfielder Kenan Hot has erupted offensively this season. After entering this season with just one goal and one assist (three points) in his career, Hot has seven goals and is second on the team for total points (18).
The senior was named to the Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List on Oct. 10.

FREEMAN FIELD

Duke announced the naming of Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium, honoring a multi-million dollar gift to enhance the experience of men's and women's lacrosse and soccer.
The transformational gift by alumni and former football student-athlete Heath Freeman T'02 reflects the Freeman family's commitment to Duke student-athletes and their belief in the power of sport to shape character, build community and elevate excellence.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMSOC".

#GoDuke