Starved for wins and facing the possibility of no postseason, the Blue Devils have responded by ripping off three key victories. But Duke still has work to do.
With two regular season games left to prove their candidacy to the NCAA tournament selection committee, Duke will host Jacksonville Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. After picking up their first road win of the year Saturday night at Pittsburgh, the Blue Devils enter Tuesday’s matchup with plenty of momentum on both sides of the ball.
Duke (8-6-2) sat at 5-6-2 and very much on the edge of the NCAA tournament bubble before a six-goal explosion against then-No. 23 N.C. State opened the floodgates and gave the Blue Devils new life. Since then, Duke’s offense has found ways to finish the shots that they could not for most of their ACC schedule, picking up another upset win against then-No. 10 Elon Oct. 20 in overtime.
After a hot start to the season, sophomore Jeremy Ebobisse found the back of the net for the first time since Sept. 11 against the Panthers, providing the game’s only offense. With the Bethesda, Md., native back in the box score, the Blue Devil offense now resembles the unit that staked head coach John Kerr’s squad to a 4-0 record early in September.
Duke’s strong run has coincided with excellent play from senior midfielder Zach Mathers, who spearheaded the scoring spree with a hat trick against the Wolfpack. Mathers has 19 points this season, just three short of his total from the last three years combined. Led by Ebobisse’s 16 points, the Blue Devil sophomore class has scored 56 percent of the team’s goals, with Brian White and Macario Hing-Glover also in Duke’s top four for points this season. With 14 goals in the last six games, finding the net has come more easily for Duke, even against strong competition.
In the eight games prior to the win against N.C. State, Duke scored on 9.6 percent of its shot attempts—since then, the Blue Devils have found the back of the net 19.6 percent of the time.
The Blue Devils have also tightened up as a unit defensively, now allowing just 3.3 shots on goal per game during their winning streak. Duke also registered its second shutout of the season against Pittsburgh. Freshman Oliver Spring came in against the Panthers in relief of Carter Manley and Kevon Black for 70 minutes of action. Goalkeeper Mitch Kupstas recorded his seventh career shutout and first for Duke after becoming the starter six games ago. The back five will look to shut down a Jacksonville offense that has only managed four goals in its last five games.
The win at Pittsburgh guaranteed Duke a spot in the ACC tournament, which runs Nov. 4-15, but a win Tuesday against the Dolphins (3-10-1) would further solidify its postseason resume. The Blue Devils are ranked 30th in the NCAA RPI and unranked in the coaches poll. Three of Duke’s last four wins have come against top-25 competition as Duke makes a late-season push for a spot in the 48-team tournament field.
Jacksonville is still searching for its first road win this season and has lost 10 of its last 11 matches. But the Dolphins won the last meeting against the Blue Devils—a 3-2 triumph in the first round of the 1998 NCAA tournament.
The Dolphins are buoyed offensively by Ejiroghene Mrabure’s five goals this season but are struggling defensively, giving up 13 goals in the last five games. Goalkeeper Marc Meny has saved 55.3 percent of shots sent his way, but has split time in goal with four other players. The Jacksonville goalie unit has allowed 35 goals on the season.
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