NC State
Duke
Pack Hosts Duke Friday for Home Opener on ACC Network
10/8/2020 8:52:00 AM | Men's Soccer
NC State and Duke will kick off at 8 p.m.
RALEIGH – The NC State men's soccer team (0-2-0, 0-2-0 ACC) opens its 2020 home slate on Friday evening as it welcomes Duke (1-2-0, 1-1-0 ACC) to Dail Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on the ACC Network.
Due to health and safety recommendations and current state guidelines, attendance at NC State men's soccer home competitions is limited to the family of student-athletes and coaching staffs until further notice.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
• Be the 529th win in program history (528-457-98)
• Be the 190th win in head coach George Kiefer's career (189-108-61)
• Be Kiefer's 28th victory at NC State (27-22-10)
• Be Kiefer's ninth ACC win with the Pack (8-13-5)
TRACKING THE PACK (0-2-0, 0-2-0 ACC)
• A total of 16 players have made appearances for NC State, with four of those marking Wolfpack debuts. Five players have been named starters for the first time in their NC State careers.
• Alex Bautista has scored the Pack's lone goal of the 2020 fall season. The junior has earned the starting nod in both of those outings for the first two starts of his collegiate career.
• The Wolfpack's 16 shot attempts have been distributed among nine players, led by a team-leading three strikes from freshman Tal Segev.
• Goalkeeper Leon Krapf's 1.15 career GAA mark is tied as the best in program history. The junior also owns 14 career shutouts to his name.
LAST TIME OUT
• NC State fell 4-1 to top-ranked Wake Forest on Saturday, Oct. 3 inside Spry Stadium.
• After the Pack surrendered a goal in the 36th minute, Bautista evened the tally in the 44th minute. He put away a rebound from AJ Seals' penalty kick attempt for the second goal of his career.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS (1-2-0, 1-1-0 ACC)
• Duke was picked to finish fifth in the South Region but currently finds itself in the middle of the standings through three outings and two conference matchups.
• Jack Doran, Nick Pariano and Daniel Wright have each scored one of Duke's three total goals on the year.
• Senior Will Pulisic ranks second among active Division I goalkeepers with 20 career shutouts.
• Duke is coming off of a 2-0 home loss to North Carolina.
SERIES HISTORY (NC State trails 21-53-8)
• Friday marks the 83rd overall meeting and the second match this season between NC State and Duke.
• NC State has picked up just one victory (1-6-3) over Duke in the last 10 tries, with that win coming in 2-1 fashion during the 2019 ACC Tournament.
• The Pack endured a 1-0 double overtime defeat to the Blue Devils in its season opener on Sept. 26. The teams fought through 109:26 of scoreless action before Duke notched the game winner. In that match, the Wolfpack held the 9-6 advantage in shots, with one of its attempts on target.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since head coach George Kiefer's first season at NC State in 2017, the Wolfpack is 22-6-6 (.735) when playing inside Dail Soccer Stadium. Those 22 wins include three victories over ranked foes and two over top-five opponents.
The Pack has also won all three of its previous home openers with Kiefer at the helm.
UP NEXT
The Wolfpack will continue its three-match home stretch when it welcomes Navy to Raleigh on Sunday, Oct. 18. That non-conference matchup is set to kick off at 7 p.m. from Dail Soccer Stadium, with live streaming coverage provided by ACCNX.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
