Fifth-Seeded Duke Travels to Clemson for ACC Quarterfinal

CLEMSON, S.C. – For the third consecutive season, the Duke and Clemson men’s soccer teams meet in the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils (11-3-2) are the five seed and travel to take on the fourth-seeded Tigers (9-3-3) at Historic Riggs Field on Sunday at 6 p.m. Fans can tune in on ACC Network, with Joe Malfa and Michael Lahoud on the call. 

MATCHUP NOTES

• Duke and Clemson clash for the 64th time in program history.
• Head coaches John Kerr and Mike Noonan have been coaching for a combined 59 seasons, matching up against each other in both ACC and the Ivy League
• Sunday marks the eighth meeting between the two teams in the ACC Tournament and the third consecutive season with the Blue Devils and Tigers meeting in the postseason.
• Clemson claimed a 2-0 win at Duke in 2022 and the Blue Devils won, 3-2, at Clemson in 2021.

BY THE NUMBERS
11 – Different goal scorers for Duke so far this season, including multi-goal seasons for nine separate players.
17 – Total goals scored across Duke’s last three games.
135 – Total points tallied by Duke so far in 2023, an average of 8.44 per game.
13 – Goals for Forster Ajago, the most goals in a season since Mike Grella scored 14 in 2008.

EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM

ROOKIE AND THE VET

• Duke’s strikers – Forster Ajago and Ulfur Bjornsson – have proven to be a dynamic duo as of late.
• Ajago and Bjornsson have combined for eight goals and six assists in Duke’s last three three wins, with Bjornsson directly assisting Ajago’s goal against Virginia Tech.

TOURNEY TIME

• Duke is the five seed in this year’s ACC Tournament, the first time the Blue Devils have been seeded fifth since 2008.
• Duke is 22-31-5 all-time in the ACC Tournament.
• As the five seed in the ACC Tournament, Duke is 5-4-2.
• Duke is 2-4-1 against Clemson in the ACC Tournament and would make its 15th semifinal appearance with a victory over the Tigers on Sunday evening.

ELITE OFFENSES MEET AT HISTORIC RIGGS

• Duke and Clemson are near the top of the national leaderboard is several offensive categories.
• The Blue Devils lead the country in scoring offense (2.88) while the Tigers slot in at third (2.80)
• The two teams are tied for fourth nationally in goal differential (+29). Duke and Clemson are second and sixth, respectively, in points per game, with 8.44 and 7.67.

To stay up to date with Blue…