There will be one more home game for the Blue Devils this season.
Riding a three-game winning streak, seventh-seeded Duke will open postseason play under the lights of Koskinen Stadium Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against 10th-seeded N.C. State in the first round of the ACC tournament.
The Blue Devils (8-8-1, 4-4-0 in the ACC) will enter Wednesday’s match playing some of their best soccer of the season. Following a five-game losing skid, the team reversed its fortunes and won its last three contests by a total score of 6-2. Duke’s last match, a 2-0 victory at Virginia Tech, was the team’s first road win of the season and sealed home field advantage for the Blue Devils in the first round of the tournament.
“The Virginia Tech game was a great confidence builder for us,” head coach John Kerr said. “Being able to come back to Koskinen for our first game of the ACC tournament is a huge benefit because we’re very comfortable at home.”
Duke has played well down the stretch despite injuries to freshman goalkeeper Joe Ohaus and junior midfielder Zach Mathers, both of whom have started for the majority of the season. Ohaus is waiting to be cleared from concussion symptoms and Mathers, one of the team’s co-captains, recently tore his MCL.
One of the big stories of the previous few weeks for the Blue Devils has been Wilson Fisher, the senior goalkeeper who has stood in for Ohaus during the team’s last four matches. Following a 2-1 loss to Elon, the Birmingham, Ala., native recorded 2-1 victories against Pittsburgh and Georgia State. The Blue Devils' 2-0 shutout against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on Halloween was Fisher's first career shutout.
“Wilson has done a great job since he’s been introduced to the team,” Kerr said. “He’s very organized and his talking is superb. He’s playing absolutely out of his mind right now, so I’m very happy with him.”
Sophomore forward Brody Huitema has also been crucial for Duke during the team’s recent hot streak. The Chilliwack, British Columbia, native has notched four goals and two assists in the team’s past five games. He has five goals and five assists on the season.
N.C. State has also played well down the stretch. The Wolfpack (7-6-4, 1-4-3) has recorded four wins and two ties in the team’s previous six matches, most notably a 2-1 victory against then-No. 5 Louisville and a 0-0 tie against Syracuse, currently the nation’s top team.
Sophomore midfielder Michael Bajza and redshirt senior forward Nick Surkamp lead N.C. State with 11 points each, though Surkamp is out for the remainder of the season following a knee surgery. Sophomore forward Travis Wannemuehler and freshman midfielder Zach Knudson are also offensive threats for the Wolfpack, each with 10 points on the season. N.C. State's junior goalkeeper, Alex McCauley, has recorded 4.44 saves per game this season, good for third in the ACC.
“They have a really organized defense; it’s very difficult to break down,” Kerr said. “They’re very dangerous on counterattacks and also on free kicks and corners, so we’re going to have to be on our toes and marking properly when they get those opportunities.”
Duke is 3-0-0 against N.C. State all-time in ACC postseason competition. The last such matchup between the two teams occurred in 2006, when the Blue Devils bested the Wolfpack 2-1. Duke went on to win the tournament that year—still the team’s last conference title.
The winning team advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament and will travel to play against No. 2 seed Syracuse Sunday.
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