Oct. 20, 2016
by Tony Jones
2016 NOTRE DAME MEN’S SOCCER – Match 15#4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3-1, 3-2-1 ACC) vs. Duke Blue Devils (5-6-2, 1-4-1 ACC)
DATE: Oct. 21, 2016
TIME: 7 p.m. (ET)
LOCATION: Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium — cap. 7,000)
BROADCAST: RSN/ESPN3 (Bob Rathbun – PxP, Richard Broad – Color)
LIVE STATS: GoDuke.com
TWITTER: @NDMenSoccer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The final Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) road match of the 2016 regular season for the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team is set as a Friday night clash under the lights at Duke. The 7 p.m. (ET) contest at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, North Carolina will air live on the Regional Sports Network (RSN), with Bob Rathbun and Richard Broad on the call.
No. 4 Notre Dame (10-3-1, 3-2-1 ACC) looks to bounce back from consecutive setbacks to No. 21 Virginia and Northwestern in its third-ever trip to Duke (5-6-2, 1-4-1 ACC). The Irish dropped a 5-2 decision in Durham in 1990 before defeating the Blue Devils by a 4-1 final in 2014.
Entering the final full week of regular season play Notre Dame (10 points) stands in second place in the ACC Coastal Division, three points behind No. 3 North Carolina atop the division table. The Irish and Tar Heels are set to close the 2016 regular season on Oct. 28 at Alumni Stadium.
Single game tickets for the 2016 Notre Dame men’s soccer season remain on sale. Visit und.com/BuyTickets or call the Murnane Family Ticket Office at 574-631-7356 for more information or to purchase tickets.
Irish Fall In OT Heartbreaker
A game Northwestern team settled in to its traditional counterattack and strong defensive front against Notre Dame. Instead of the customary draw that has been achieved in recent years in the series, the Wildcats found a goal in the 94th minute to upset the No. 4 Irish 2-1 on Oct. 18 at Toyota Park.
Five of the past seven matches between Northwestern and Notre Dame have gone into overtime, dating back to 2010. The previous four contests each ended in 1-1 draws before Northwestern’s Tuesday victory.
Gormley Rides Hot Streak To Duke
Forward Mark Gormley officially established a career-high for goals in a season after just 14 matches (four starts) in 2016, scoring his fourth goal of the season in the 26th minute at Toyota Park.
Gormley, who has notched either a game-tying or game-winning goal in three of the past four Notre Dame matches, is the third leading Irish scorer this season, trailing only All-America candidates Jon Gallagher (11) and Brandon Aubrey (8).
Dedrick Opens ND Points Account
A strong sophomore season for left back Sean Dedrick was offensively noted on the box score against Northwestern, as the Notre Dame defender picked up his first career point thanks to an assist on the tying Irish goal.
A strong run by Dedrick down the left sideline allowed the Irish fullback to center a pass to Mark Gormley from near the end line. Gormley calmly finished his fourth goal of the season near the left post for his fourth goal of the year to draw the match even at 1-1 at 25:27.
Dedrick is one of 12 different Notre Dame players to log at least one point thus far this season, including 11 different players who have an assist.
Aubrey Atop TDS Midseason Top 100
Notre Dame center back Brandon Aubrey was recognized by TopDrawerSoccer as its the top rated player nationally in its annual midseason top 100 list that was released on Oct. 18. Aubrey, who ranks second on the Irish roster in both goals (8) and points (17), remains one of the leading scorers in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) from his central defense post, and has helped guide Notre Dame to seven team shutouts this season.
Striker Jon Gallagher, among the ACC and NCAA Division I leaders in scoring, checked in as the 17th ranked player in the top 100 midway through his junior campaign. Gallagher’s 11 goals and 27 points remain near the top of the ACC statistics standings, along with the top 10 of all Division I players in 2016.
Goalkeeper Chris Hubbard rounded out the Notre Dame players included in the TDS Top 100 at the midway point, placing 31st in the rankings. Hubbard’s 0.62 goals against average, .836 save percentage and seven solo shutouts all rank among the upper echelon of ACC keepers this season.
Earlier in the month, midfielder Tommy McCabe was tabbed the number two freshman in the midseason TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Freshmen list. McCabe has started all 14 Notre Dame matches during his rookie campaign, playing a key role in the seven Irish clean sheets thus far in 2016.
Irish In The ACC
In its fourth full season as an ACC member, Notre Dame has recorded a 20-6-7 (.712) conference mark in the regular season since 2013. The Irish shared the ACC regular season championship (7-1-3) in 2013 before claiming the top position in the ACC Coastal Division (6-1-1) in 2014.
Notre Dame has yet to drop back-to-back decisions in the ACC, posting a combined 5-0 mark immediately following a conference loss since 2013. The Irish extended that streak with a 2-1 win over No. 2 Syracuse on Sept. 23 at Alumni Stadium.
Scouting Duke
Duke enters Friday’s match sporting a 5-6-2 record (1-4-1 in the ACC), fresh off a 2-1 defeat at the hands of No. 8 North Carolina on Oct. 14. It was the third one-goal defeat for the Blue Devils this season, and the second to occur in ACC play (1-0 at No. 25 Boston College on Sept. 10).
Brian White leads all Duke players with 12 points (four goals and four assists), along with 14 shots on goal and two game-winning goals over 13 starts. Suniel Veerakone has chipped in three goals and a team-high five assists for his 11 points, while Cameron Moseley has added five goals to pace all Blue Devil scorers.
Robert Moewes has started all 13 Duke matches in goal, logging a 1.43 goals against average and a .729 save percentage. Moewes claimed a solo shutout earlier in the season against No. 9 UCLA.
Head coach John Kerr has logged an 85-64-22 (.561) record in his nine seasons at Duke, guiding the Blue Devils to four NCAA tournament berths (2008-11) and 26 all-ACC selections during his tenure.
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Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball and men’s soccer programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.