Oct. 9, 2015
DATE: Oct. 10, 2015
TIME: Noon (ET)
LOCATION: Notre Dame, Ind. (Alumni Stadium — cap. 3,500)
LAST MEETING: ND, 4-1 (10/17/14 at DU)
BROADCAST: WatchESPN
LIVE STATS:
TWITTER: @NDMenSoccer
TICKETS: FREE ADMISSION
An Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) matinee takes center stage on Saturday when Duke makes its fourth all-time appearance at Alumni Stadium against the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team. The noon (ET) match will air live on ESPN3, with admission into Alumni Stadium free and open to the public.
No. 7/4 Notre Dame enters Saturday’s contest with a 5-2-0 record in its all-time series against Duke, winning the last five meetings with the Blue Devils by an aggregate 13-3 goal margin since 2008.
Scouting Duke
Duke enters Saturday’s match with a 5-4-2 record after downing No. 23 Hofstra 3-2 in double overtime on Monday. The Blue Devils remain in search of their first ACC win of the season at 0-3-1, most recently dropping a 3-1 decision to Syracuse on Oct. 2.
Sophomore forward Jeremy Ebobisse leads all Duke strikers with five goals and 13 points, converting on one game-winning goal. Ebobisse, Zach Mathers, Ryan Thompson and Jared Rist are each tied for the Blue Devil lead with three assists.
Graduate goalkeeper Wilson Fisher has compiled a 4-4-2 record in net for Duke, logging a 1.71 goals against average and .622 save percentage.
Head coach John Kerr is 76-51-22 (.584) in his eighth season at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to nine or more wins in six different seasons. Kerr has guided Duke to four NCAA Championship appearances during his tenure in Durham.
Ueland Makes His Mark Against B1G
Freshman striker Thomas Ueland earned his third career goal by finding the back of the net in the 43rd minute of Wednesday’s game against Michigan, chipping an expert cross from tri-captain Max Lachowecki into the net for the ultimate deciding goal in a 1-1 draw.
All three of Ueland’s goals during his inaugural collegiate season have been scored against opponents from the Big Ten Conference. Ueland notched the game-winner in the 109th minute of a 1-0 Notre Dame win at Indiana (Aug. 30) and provided an insurance tally during a 4-0 Irish shutout at Michigan State (Sept. 22) before finding his way back into the goal column in the Michigan match.
Consecutive Draws A Rare ND Feat
Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark has been on the sideline for 48 matches that ended in a draw during his 15-year tenure at the helm of the Irish, but tie scores in consecutive games have been rare.
Since 2001, Notre Dame has recorded consecutive draws on four occasions; against Providence (2-2) and Georgetown (0-0) in 2007, versus South Florida (2-2), Louisville (0-0) and St. John’s (0-0) in 2009, against Northwestern (1-1) and Connecticut (0-0) in 2011, and in its past two matches with North Carolina State and Michigan.
This season’s draws with both NC State and Michigan are the only back-to-back ties in the Clark era where Notre Dame found the scoresheet in both games, with each match finishing 1-1.
Second Half = Irish Offense
Although Notre Dame has notched a 10-4 goals edge against opponents during the first half of matches this season, the second half has been where the Irish have shined in the offensive third.
Through 12 matches, Notre Dame has converted 10 of its 64 shots in the first half into goals, with opponents managing a 79-64 advantage in the shot column. The Irish have scored a total of 13 times in both the second half and overtime in that same span, outshooting counterparts by a combined total of 98-70.
Irish Against The ACC
Notre Dame enters Saturday’s contest against Duke with a 62-28-13 (.665) record all-time against the current Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) membership, including a 15-3-5 (.761) regular season mark in league play since joining the conference in 2013. The Irish were the outright regular season champions of the ACC that year before claiming the ACC Coastal Division title in the first season of the conference’s two-division structure in 2014.
Notre Dame previously defeated No. 9 Clemson (1-0 on Sept. 12) and No. 4 Virginia (3-1 on Sept. 25) in ACC matchups earlier this season, most recently playing to a 1-1 draw at North Carolina State on Oct. 4.
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— Tony Jones, Athletics Communications Assistant