No. 4 Duke Set to Take on No. 1 Wake Forest on Saturday Night

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The fourth-ranked Duke men’s soccer team travels to take on the top team in the country on Saturday night, matching up against No. 1 Wake Forest at Spry Stadium. The Blue Devils (6-0-2, 2-0-1) and Demon Deacons (9-0-0, 3-0-0) sit atop their respective ACC divisional tables heading into the halfway mark of the conference schedule. First touch is scheduled for 7 p.m., with streaming available on ACC Network Extra.

LAST TIME OUT

• Duke extended their unbeaten streak to start the 2022 season with a 1-1 draw against non-conference opponent Yale on Tuesday night.
• The Blue Devils picked up the first goal of the match in the 40th minute when Felix Barajas put home his first goal of 2022.
• Duke conceded the game-tying goal in the 69th minute.
• A very physical match, there were seven cards shown throughout the match, including a straight red against the Bulldogs, and 24 fouls committed — four by Duke, 19 by Yale.

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday night’s meeting is the 50th all-time between the two North Carolina schools.
• Duke won its last match against Wake Forest, prevailing 3-2 in November of 2021 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
• The Blue Devils and Demon Deacons entered halftime with the score tied 2-2, with both of Duke’s first half goals being scored by Thorleifur Ulfarsson.
• Jai Bean scored the game-winner, his first goal in his career, in the 77th minute to push Duke ahead for good

TALE OF THE TAPE

• Wake Forest is undefeated on the season and is consensus No. 1 in the country.
• The Demon Deacons are the last remaining team in the United Soccer Coaches poll to have a perfect record in 2022.
• Wake Forest has won its last two contests by the same scoreline of 6-1 against George Mason and then-No. 10 Clemson.

DUKE VS. TOP TEAMS

• The Blue Devils’ last victory over the top team in the country came in 2014, when Duke beat No. 1 North Carolina 2-1 at Koskinen Stadium.
• The last time Duke matched up against the No. 1 team in the country came in 2018 against the same opponent as they’ll face on Saturday night, Wake Forest.
• The Blue Devils, 12th-ranked in the country at the time, lost to the Demon Deacons 4-2 in Winston-Salem.
• Duke also played Pittsburgh when they were ranked No. 1 in the fall of 2020 during the split season due to the COVID-19 pandemic,…