Duke’s men’s soccer team heads into Friday night’s ACC match against Virginia Tech still sorting through an early-season injury mess, but the Blue Devils also get to celebrate something bigger at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium: the 40th anniversary of the program’s 1986 national championship team.
The Blue Devils, 3-4 overall and 0-2 in the ACC, will host the Hokies at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18 during Alumni Weekend. Virginia Tech comes in at 3-2-1 and 1-0-1 in league play. Duke said fans can stream the match on ACC Network Extra.
The weekend celebration will include a halftime recognition for the 1986 title team, along with a championship pennant giveaway while supplies last.
This matchup has been friendly to Duke for a long time. The Blue Devils and Hokies will meet for the 28th time, and Duke owns a 19-4-4 edge in the series. Even more to the point, Duke has taken six straight and eight of the last nine against Virginia Tech.
The 1986 team still stands as one of the program’s signature groups. Led by head coach John Rennie, Duke went 18-5-1 that season and closed it out with a 1-0 win over Akron in the championship match. Tom Stone scored the lone goal in the title game.
Current Duke head coach John Kerr was part of that team, finishing his Blue Devils playing career in 1986 with 15 goals, 14 assists and 44 total points. That season also brought him the Hermann Trophy, the Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year, Soccer America Player of the Year and the NSCAA Player of the Year.
On the field, Duke is coming off a much-needed 2-0 shutout of Queens. That result gave the Blue Devils their first clean sheet of the season and ended a four-match losing streak.
Colin Gallagher got the start in goal and made it count, earning the shutout in his first career appearance for Duke. The transfer, who previously played at Providence and Virginia, made two saves across 90 minutes.
The bigger story for Duke has been availability. The Blue Devils have spent the opening stretch dealing with injuries that forced players into unfamiliar roles and left the back line especially thin. Multiple expected starters were missing from the lineup through the first month.
Preston Zabinko has been out all season. Jamie Kabuusu returned in Duke’s most recent match against Queens, playing 79 minutes and collecting an assist in his 2026 debut. Maxwell Simpson and Josh Poulson were both dealing with preseason knocks, and Poulson made the first start of his career against Queens.
Thomas Vold missed Furman, Georgetown and Wake Forest before rejoining the lineup at NC State, while Ian Hecker sat out the Georgetown and Wake Forest matches before stepping into a starting role on defense. Altogether, Duke has been working through injuries to seven anticipated contributors.
That has opened the door for others to step in. Julius Suber has shifted from midfield to the back line, Tucker Smith earned his first career start against Georgetown, and Adrian Byasiima moved to defense against the Hoyas. In the midfield and attack, freshmen Ethan Congleton, Logan Moniz and Jack Ottley have been regular starters as Duke has pieced together its lineup.
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