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No. 10 Duke Opens 2018 Slate Friday with No. 20 FIU
8/23/2018 12:03:00 PM | Men's Soccer
2018 John Rennie Nike Invitational
No. 10 Duke vs. No. 20 FIU | Aug. 24 | 7:30 p.m.
ACC Network Extra | Live Stats | Twitter
No. 10 Duke vs. Vermont | Aug. 26 | 2:30 p.m.
ACC Network Extra | Live Stats | Twitter
Duke by the Numbers
10 – Duke's preseason ranking in the coaches' poll after finishing 2017 ranked 13th
7-1-4 – Duke's record in the John Rennie Nike Invitational since it was renamed for the longtime head coach in 2012
4 – John Rennie Nike Invitational titles in the past six seasons, including each of the previous two
10 – Countries represented on Duke's roster - Argentina, Austria, Canada, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Peru, Scotland and the United States.
100 – Wins for head coach John Kerr at Duke, only the second Blue Devil men's soccer coach to amass 100 career victories at the school
1 – Goal allowed by Duke in the three exhibition matches - which totaled 285 minutes of play
53 – Percentage of points returning to the Blue Devil roster from last season, including three of the top four point scorers from a year ago
11 – Home games for the Blue Devils in 2018
6 – Former Blue Devils currently on MLS rosters after Brian White signed a contract with the New York Red Bulls and made his debut Aug. 18 - Mike Grella, Sean Davis, Andrew Wenger, Sebastien Ibeagha, Carter Manley, White
RECAPPING PRESEASON
- The Blue Devils had a successful preseason, going 1-0-2 in the three scrimmages and giving up just one goal in 285 minutes of action.
- Duke tied No. 11 Clemson 0-0 in the opening exhibition and drew 1-1 on the road at South Carolina. The Blue Devils capped preseason with a 1-0 win over NC State in arguably their best performance.
- Daniel Wright had the penalty kick goal against the Gamecocks and Daniele Proch finished a corner kick set piece in the win over the Wolfpack. Defensively, Duke allowed nine shots per game and goalkeeper Will Pulisic made four overall saves.
- Rookies Aedan Stanley and Seth Kuhn both earned starts in all three games, while Issa Rayyan was outstanding off the bench in the first two and started the third.
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
- Duke returns seven starters from last season's 13-4-3 squad. Daniele Proch is the top returning scorer after totaling five goals and two assists for 12 points. Bolstering the offense will be transfers Kevin Feucht and Sivert Daehlie. Brandon Williamson once again will patrol the midfield and be the engine for the Blue Devils in getting forward. Max Moser, tying for the team lead in assists last seasin, is expected to continue his growth as an outside midfielder. His ability to serve the ball in from the right side will be tough to handle for opponents.
- Ciaran McKenna will anchor the backline for the Blue Devils along with sophomore Matthias Frick and Jack Doran. A captain, McKenna is very vocal and a steady presence for Duke as the last line before goalkeeper Will Pulisic. Fresh off of a strong rookie campaign, Pulisic was tabbed one of the top 11 goalkeepers by Top Drawer Soccer. He posted seven shutouts a year ago and earned All-ACC third team recognition.
- Off the bench, Duke will be the strongest its been in recent memory with a wealth of talent ready to step in. Rayyan could see quality time on the left or right flank, while the talents of Suniel Veerakone and Daniel Wright are available at any moment.
DUKE vs. FIU PREVIOUSLY
- Duke and FIU are pitted in a rematch after the Blue Devils edged the Panthers 2-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
- The game featured a pair of first career goals for Max Moser and Kristófer Garðarsson, with Garðarsson netting what proved to be the game winner. Will Pulisic was outstanding in goal with seven saves as the Panthers edged Duke in shots, 12-11.
- Friday will be the third meeting between the two teams with Duke owning a pair of 2-1 NCAA Tournament wins. It is the first time the two programs have met in the regular season.
ABOUT FIU
- Six of the 11 starters and nine of the 17 Panthers who played for FIU in the NCAA Tournament game against Duke return for the 2018 season. Joris Ahlinvi and Santiago Patino were among the 32 players named to the Hermann Watch List. Patino is back after tallying 35 points in 2017 to rank fourth nationally in points per game.
- Hugo Fauroux started 17 games in goal last season, finishing with a 1.25 goals against average and a .724 save percentage. He made 55 saves for a 3.24 saves per game average.
ABOUT VERMONT
- Vermont enters its second season under head coach Rob Dow. The Catamounts finished last season 10-8-1 and won the regular season America East title. They are picked to finish fourth in the America East this season behind UMass Lowell, New Hampshire and Albany.
- 2017 America East First Team honoree Geo Alves is back after leading the league in scoring with 23 points from nine goals and five assists as a junior. Aron Runarsson is back for his third season as the starter in goal. He became the second Vermont goalkeeper to win America East Goalkeeper of the Year honors after he garnered the honor last season with three shutouts.
HOME SWEET HOME
- The Blue Devils feature a busy home schedule again in 2018, playing at Koskinen Stadium 11 times. Duke went 10-3-1 last season. The Blue Devils have just five road games overall and only one non-conference road contest in 2018.
- Under John Kerr, Duke is 76-26-16 at home for a .712 win percentage. The Blue Devils' best season was 2009, going 12-1-0 at home.
DUKE vs RANKED TEAMS
- Duke is slated to play seven teams ranked in the preseason top 25. The opener versus No. 20 FIU is the first time Duke has opened against a ranked opponent since hosting 20th-ranked Louisville in 2010.
- The Blue Devils captured four top 25 wins in 2017, the most by a Kerr team after they won three in 2015 and 2008.
RANKED OPPONENTS IN 2018
| Aug. 24 | FIU | 20 | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 9 | at Louisville | 6 | 2 p.m. |
| Sept. 14 | North Carolina | 3 | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 18 | GEORGETOWN | 13 | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 29 | at Wake Forest | 5 | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 5 | at Virginia | 15 | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 12 | NOTRE DAME | 17 | 7 p.m. |
UNDER KERR
| vs. Ranked when Unranked | 9-14-1 |
| vs. Ranked when Ranked | 7-14-3 |
| vs. Unranked when Ranked | 21-16-9 |
UP NEXT
- Duke makes the long trip to San Diego for its next game. The Blue Devils square off against the Toreros of San Diego Aug. 31 at 11:30 p.m. (ET).
#GoDuke
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