The ninth-ranked Duke men's soccer team, flying high after two consecutive wins, will travel to Raleigh to take on N.C. State Sunday at 2 p.m.
The matchup pits the Blue Devils-who have the fewest losses in the ACC following No. 2 Maryland's 3-0 defeat to No. 4 Virginia Wednesday-against the last place Wolfpack (4-7-1, 1-4-1 in the ACC).
"It will feel good for a couple of days until we play another ACC game," head coach John Rennie said about being in the ACC lead. "Then it doesn't matter, but it's enjoyable for the moment."
Duke (9-2-1, 3-1-1), led by midfielder Michael Videira and defender Tim Jepson, enters Sunday's game after a successful week that featured a 2-1 upset against Virginia Friday and a 3-1 win over Davidson Wednesday. Goals by Graham Dugoni, Chris Loftus and Zach Pope secured the victory against the Wildcats.
After recovering from an early-season ankle injury, captain Kyle Helton was injured during Wednesday's game when the defender was struck in the mouth in the first half.
"[Kyle] has some loose teeth," Rennie said after the Davidson contest. "He'll probably have to wear a mouthpiece or something like that on Sunday, but we don't really know at this point."
Rennie could reach a milestone during Sunday's game, as he is just one win shy of tying the all-time record for conference wins. Rennie has 89 ACC wins in his 28 years at Duke and trails former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim by just one.
N.C. State, meanwhile, has had a season to forget. Coached by George Tarantini, in his 20th season at the school, the Wolfpack defeated rival North Carolina early in the season, but are 0-3-1 in the conference in their last four games.
"Against N.C. State you don't really know what to expect," Rennie said. "They went over to [then top-ranked] UNC and beat them decisively, 3-1. That was the first game of the ACC season, and they haven't won since."
The Wolfpack is an extremely young team-15 players are either freshmen or sophomores. Rennie identified two key men on the N.C. State roster, junior forward El Hadj Cisse and freshman midfielder Alan Sanchez, as dangerous players that the Duke defense must keep in check. Sanchez, a Miami, Fla. native, leads the team in goals and points, with six and 13, respectively. Cisse is the only other player on the roster with more than one goal.
While Rennie does not believe his team will look past the Wolfpack, he warned the Blue Devils not to take them too lightly.
"We beat them 6-0 last season, and they haven't forgotten," Rennie said.
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