Blue Devils Begin NCAA Tournament Against Western Michigan

DURHAM – The 15th-seeded Duke men’s soccer team opens NCAA Tournament play on Sunday afternoon, welcoming Western Michigan to Koskinen Stadium at 1 p.m. Fans can tune in to the game on ESPN+, with Dean Linke and Cedric Burke on the call. The Blue Devils (11-3-3) and Broncos (16-1-3) meet for the first time in program history and boast two of the top offenses in the country.  

MATCHUP NOTES

• Duke and Western Michigan meet for the first time 
• The two teams feature three of the top goal-scorers in the nation this season — Forster Ajago for Duke and Dylan Sing for Western Michigan each have 14 goals and Charlie Sharp for WMU leads the nation with his 18 goals this season.
• The Broncos picked up a 3-0 win in their NCAA First Round match, defeating Green Bay at home.

BY THE NUMBERS
11 – Different goal scorers for Duke so far this season, with all 11 players scoring at least two goals.
20 – Total goals scored across Duke’s last four games.
141 – Total points tallied by Duke so far in 2023, an average of 8.29 per game.
14 – 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 striker duo – Forster Ajago and Ulfur Bjornsson – have shown their chemistry up top lately.
• Ajago and Bjornsson have combined for 10 goals and six assists in Duke’s last four matches, with Bjornsson directly assisting Ajago’s goal against Virginia Tech.

TOURNEY TIME

• Duke is the 15th seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, the fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance as a national seed for the Blue Devils.
• Duke makes its 30th overall NCAA Tournament field and currently holds a 34-27-2 record. 
• In the second round, the Blue Devils are 11-7 and have picked up the win in each of their last four second-round matches.
• With a win, Duke would advance to the third round, and would play the winner of Kentucky and second-seeded Notre Dame.

TOP GOAL SCORERS ARRIVE IN KOSKINEN

• Four of the nation’s top goal-scorers take the field on Sunday afternoon
• Forster Ajago and Ulfur Bjornsson have 14 and 10 goals, respectively, good for fourth and 30th nationally. Charlie Sharp and Dylan Sing, with 18 and 14 goals, rank 1st and 4th in the country.
• Both teams feature a top-five scoring offense, with Duke leading the country with 2.88…