Saturday, September 26
Durham, NC
7 PM
NC State
at
Duke
Wolfpack Men's Soccer Begins 2020 Season at Duke Saturday Evening
9/25/2020 11:38:00 AM | Men's Soccer
MATCH NOTES | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE
RALEIGH – The NC State men's soccer team will officially begin head coach George Kiefer's fourth season at the helm of the program on Saturday evening as it visits the Duke Blue Devils (0-1-0). Kickoff from Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C., is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be streamed live on ACCNX.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...
• Be the 529th win in program history (528-455-98)
• Be the 190th victory in Kiefer's career (189-106-61)
• Be Kiefer's 28th win at NC State (27-20-10)
• Be Kiefer's ninth conference win with the Wolfpack (8-11-5)
TRACKING THE PACK (0-0-0)
• The Wolfpack was selected to finish fourth in the competitive South Region, as voted on by the league's head coaches in the 2020 ACC Preseason Poll.
• NC State returns a significant portion of its lineup from 2019 and also welcomes a solid group of newcomers. Included among the Pack's 2020 signing class are four freshmen and three transfers.
• Four multi-goal scorers from last year are back with the squad. That includes junior striker Kuda Muskwe, who tied for the team lead with five goals in 2019.
• The team also returns six players - Muskwe, George Asomani, Ivy Brisma, Jose Morales Jr., Pablo Pedregosa, Jamie Smith - who earned at least 17 out of a possible 19 starts apiece last season.
2019 REWIND
• The Pack went 9-7-3 (3-4-1 ACC) on the year with a ranked win over Louisville, which was No. 17 in the nation when the two teams faced off. That victory was NC State's only road win of the 2019 campaign.
• NC State finished fifth in the conference standings, the team's best ACC finish since 2005.
• With its qualification for the 2019 NCAA Championships, NC State made its third consecutive appearance in the season-ending tournament for the first time since 1985-87.
• The squad finished listed 37th in the final NCAA RPI of the season that was released on Dec. 15, 2019. Four of the Wolfpack's losses in 2019 came to teams ranked in the top 10 of the final RPI - Virginia (1), Clemson (4), Wake Forest (5), St. John's (9).
• The Wolfpack also ended the 2019 campaign receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS (0-1-0)
• Duke was picked to finish fifth in the South Region in the ACC Preseason Poll.
• The team finished the 2019 campaign with a 7-9-2 (2-5-1 ACC) overall record and earned the No. 12 seed in the ACC Tournament.
• The Blue Devils return five starters from the 2019 squad and welcome a rookie class that was ranked third nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.
• Duke opened its 2020 fall season with a 4-2 loss at Kentucky on Monday night.
SERIES HISTORY (NC State trails 21-52-8)
• The squads last met during the 2019 ACC Tournament, with NC State earning the 2-1 victory to advance to the quarterfinal round for the second season in a row.
• That win was the Pack's first in the series since a 1-0 overtime victory in 2009. It snapped a seven-match unbeaten streak that the Blue Devils had strung together against NC State. That 2009 match also marks the last time that the Wolfpack has earned a road win at Duke.
• NC State also made the trip to Duke during the 2019 regular season, and that match ended in a scoreless draw.
KRAPF BACK WITH THE PACK
Goalkeeper Leon Krapf will make his return to the pitch after suffering a season-ending injury in the 54th minute of NC State's 2019 opener. Prior to that injury, Krapf played every single minute in goal during each of his first two seasons with the Wolfpack (38 games).
His 1.09 career GAA mark ranks as the best in program history, and the redshirt junior's 14 career shutouts are tied for fifth in the NC State record book. Krapf tallied seven of those career shutouts in his most recently completed season (2018). That number ranked third in the conference and 26th in the nation that year.
MUSKWE SCORES, WOLFPACK WINS
In 2019, NC State went 5-0-0 on the year when Muskwe found the back of the net. His four match winners ranked 30th nationally at the conclusion of last season and tied for fifth in the league.
OPENING WITH THE ACC
The 2020 season features a slate that is heavy on conference matchups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the program was established in 1950, NC State has played its season opener against an ACC opponent just 10 times.
The last time the Pack opened its season with a game against a conference foe was Sept. 8, 1979 when it traveled to rival North Carolina for the Mayor's Cup. NC State came away from that match with the 1-0 overtime decision.
UP NEXT
NC State will continue road action on Saturday, Oct. 3 with a trip to Wake Forest. That match is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be broadcast live on ACCNX.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
RALEIGH – The NC State men's soccer team will officially begin head coach George Kiefer's fourth season at the helm of the program on Saturday evening as it visits the Duke Blue Devils (0-1-0). Kickoff from Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C., is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be streamed live on ACCNX.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...
• Be the 529th win in program history (528-455-98)
• Be the 190th victory in Kiefer's career (189-106-61)
• Be Kiefer's 28th win at NC State (27-20-10)
• Be Kiefer's ninth conference win with the Wolfpack (8-11-5)
TRACKING THE PACK (0-0-0)
• The Wolfpack was selected to finish fourth in the competitive South Region, as voted on by the league's head coaches in the 2020 ACC Preseason Poll.
• NC State returns a significant portion of its lineup from 2019 and also welcomes a solid group of newcomers. Included among the Pack's 2020 signing class are four freshmen and three transfers.
• Four multi-goal scorers from last year are back with the squad. That includes junior striker Kuda Muskwe, who tied for the team lead with five goals in 2019.
• The team also returns six players - Muskwe, George Asomani, Ivy Brisma, Jose Morales Jr., Pablo Pedregosa, Jamie Smith - who earned at least 17 out of a possible 19 starts apiece last season.
2019 REWIND
• The Pack went 9-7-3 (3-4-1 ACC) on the year with a ranked win over Louisville, which was No. 17 in the nation when the two teams faced off. That victory was NC State's only road win of the 2019 campaign.
• NC State finished fifth in the conference standings, the team's best ACC finish since 2005.
• With its qualification for the 2019 NCAA Championships, NC State made its third consecutive appearance in the season-ending tournament for the first time since 1985-87.
• The squad finished listed 37th in the final NCAA RPI of the season that was released on Dec. 15, 2019. Four of the Wolfpack's losses in 2019 came to teams ranked in the top 10 of the final RPI - Virginia (1), Clemson (4), Wake Forest (5), St. John's (9).
• The Wolfpack also ended the 2019 campaign receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS (0-1-0)
• Duke was picked to finish fifth in the South Region in the ACC Preseason Poll.
• The team finished the 2019 campaign with a 7-9-2 (2-5-1 ACC) overall record and earned the No. 12 seed in the ACC Tournament.
• The Blue Devils return five starters from the 2019 squad and welcome a rookie class that was ranked third nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.
• Duke opened its 2020 fall season with a 4-2 loss at Kentucky on Monday night.
SERIES HISTORY (NC State trails 21-52-8)
• The squads last met during the 2019 ACC Tournament, with NC State earning the 2-1 victory to advance to the quarterfinal round for the second season in a row.
• That win was the Pack's first in the series since a 1-0 overtime victory in 2009. It snapped a seven-match unbeaten streak that the Blue Devils had strung together against NC State. That 2009 match also marks the last time that the Wolfpack has earned a road win at Duke.
• NC State also made the trip to Duke during the 2019 regular season, and that match ended in a scoreless draw.
KRAPF BACK WITH THE PACK
Goalkeeper Leon Krapf will make his return to the pitch after suffering a season-ending injury in the 54th minute of NC State's 2019 opener. Prior to that injury, Krapf played every single minute in goal during each of his first two seasons with the Wolfpack (38 games).
His 1.09 career GAA mark ranks as the best in program history, and the redshirt junior's 14 career shutouts are tied for fifth in the NC State record book. Krapf tallied seven of those career shutouts in his most recently completed season (2018). That number ranked third in the conference and 26th in the nation that year.
MUSKWE SCORES, WOLFPACK WINS
In 2019, NC State went 5-0-0 on the year when Muskwe found the back of the net. His four match winners ranked 30th nationally at the conclusion of last season and tied for fifth in the league.
OPENING WITH THE ACC
The 2020 season features a slate that is heavy on conference matchups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the program was established in 1950, NC State has played its season opener against an ACC opponent just 10 times.
The last time the Pack opened its season with a game against a conference foe was Sept. 8, 1979 when it traveled to rival North Carolina for the Mayor's Cup. NC State came away from that match with the 1-0 overtime decision.
UP NEXT
NC State will continue road action on Saturday, Oct. 3 with a trip to Wake Forest. That match is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be broadcast live on ACCNX.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
Players Mentioned
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