The men's soccer team (8-9-1) has won six out of its last seven games. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, their only loss during the streak came against Wake Forest (14-3), which happens to be Duke's first-round opponent in the ACC Championships beginning today at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the No. 4 North Carolina and No. 5 N.C. State matchup set to kick off the championship at 3:00 p.m.
"We are excited," senior Matt Ahumada said. "We don't have anything to lose. We need the win. It's like the beginning of our NCAA Tournament because if we don't win all of our games, we aren't going to make it."
If the Blue Devils come up short this afternoon, it will almost definitely be the final game for the team's five seniors.
When the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons faced each other in Winston-Salem at the end of October, Wake Forest shut out Duke 4-0 in a convincing victory. However, in that contest, the Blue Devils were playing without their most prolific scoring threat, Nigi Adogwa, who was sidelined due to injury.
Adogwa has scored 11 goals this season, putting him in a three-way tie for the ACC lead. The junior was named co-ACC Player of the Week last week, the second time he has received the honor this season. Wake Forest's Scott Sealy is also a member of the goal-leading trio.
The Demon Deacons have built a streak of their own, winning 10 straight games, six of which have come by shutout, including the last four.
While being stingy defensively, Wake Forest is the most powerful offensive producer in the conference. The Demon Deacons lead the ACC with 2.47 goals per game, with three offensive threats among the top-10 ACC goal scorers. Among them is senior Jeremiah White, who was tabbed the ACC Player of the Year by the league's seven coaches.
As they did in the previous matchup against the Demon Deacons, the Blue Devils could struggle defensively, standing last in the ACC in goals allowed. In the previous contest, the Blue Devils sat back defensively and Wake Forest was able to take advantage of the time it had to make passes and set up its offense, said Ahumada. The team plans to adjust its tactics to hopefully come out on top the second time around.
"We are going to go and press them in their own half and make them make mistakes and hopefully capitalize off them," Ahumada said.
If the Blue Devils pull off the upset this afternoon, they will face the winner on the No. 3 seed Virginia versus No. 6 seed Clemson Friday in the semifinals.
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