Duke opens postseason play Wednesday night with a trip to Clemson, where the 15th-seeded Blue Devils will face No. 2-seed Clemson in the first round of the ACC Championship at Historic Riggs Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the winner moves on to the second round to meet the winner of No. 7-seed North Carolina and No. 10-seed California.
This is a familiar matchup, and the all-time numbers tilt slightly toward Clemson. The teams have played 65 times, with Duke holding a 27-32-6 record in the series. Recent history has leaned heavily toward Clemson’s home field, too: five of the last six meetings have taken place in Clemson, and four of those came in the regular season.
The most recent clash ended in a 3-0 Tigers win on Oct. 17 last year at Historic Riggs Field. Duke’s last victory there came in the 2021 postseason, when the third-seeded Blue Devils knocked off the second-seeded Tigers 1-0 in the semifinal round.
Duke arrives after a 3-0 road loss at Notre Dame in its last outing. The Irish scored twice in the opening half and added another early in the second.
Even with the injuries and absences that have shaped the season, the Blue Devils have gotten production from two freshmen who have become central to the attack. Jack Ottley leads the team with seven assists, while Ethan Congleton tops the roster with eight goals. Ottley has found the net in four of Duke’s last seven matches and has totaled 10 points over that stretch.
Together, Congleton and Ottley have given Duke a rare bright spot in the ACC standings. Their 21 combined points leave them tied for fourth in the league in total points, and they lead all ACC freshmen in that category. Congleton’s eight goals rank fifth in the conference, while Ottley’s seven assists are tied for seventh.
That production has mattered because Duke has been piecing things together for much of the season. The Blue Devils have lost minutes from seven starters and 10 expected contributors overall, a stretch that has forced the staff to shuffle the lineup and lean on replacements.
The back line has taken the biggest hit. Preston Zabinko has been out all season, Jamie Kabuusu has missed 13 matches, and both Maxwell Simpson and Josh Poulson were slowed by preseason knocks. Poulson didn’t debut until four matches into the regular season and has made four starts, while Simpson was forced out after 23 minutes in his season debut at NC State before returning against Notre Dame.
Thomas Vold has been fully healthy and available for selection for only three matches, and Ian Hecker, who later settled into a starting role, missed back-to-back matches against Georgetown and Wake Forest and has been out since the Howard match. In the attack and midfield, Bjornsson and Logan Moniz have been the key absences, with Bjornsson returning against UNC after missing eight games and Moniz sidelined since late September.
As those pieces have come and gone, others have stepped in. Tucker Smith has made seven starts, Julius Suber has shifted from midfield to the back line, and Adrian Byasiima has also helped fill defensive gaps. Moniz, before his own injury, had become a steady presence in midfield, starting all nine of his appearances, logging nearly 700 minutes and collecting five points on three assists and a goal.
Off the field, Duke’s men’s and women’s soccer programs have teamed with Duke Children’s on the Kicks for Kids initiative to support Pets at Duke, part of the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program. Pets at Duke brings trained therapy dogs to patients in the hospital and clinics, offering comfort and companionship during treatment. Kicks for Kids pledges, tied to combined key stats from both programs, have already raised nearly $10,000.
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