No. 13 Virginia Closes Regular Season at No. 18 Duke

Oct. 26, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 13 Virginia (10-2-3, 3-1-3 ACC) will travel to No. 18 Duke (11-3-2, 3-3-1 ACC) for its regular season finale on Friday (Oct. 27) at 7 p.m. in Durham, N.C. A win by the Cavaliers clinches a top-four seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.

Game Coverage: The game will air live ACC Network Extra which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Live Stats will be available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get in-game updates on the men’s soccer official twitter feed (@UVAMenSoccer).

Playoff Scenario

• Virginia is already locked into a top-eight seed, ensuring a ACC Tournament home game either in the first round (Nov. 1) or the quarterfinals (Nov. 5).
• A win over Duke ensures a first-round bye and a top-four seed for the first time since 2011.
• Pending outcomes of Louisville/Clemson and North Carolina/Notre Dame, a draw by Virginia vs. Duke could still push the Cavaliers into top-four spot.
• A loss will relegate the Cavaliers to a first-round matchup at home on Nov. 1.

ACC Tournament Info

• All 12 ACC teams will participate in the tournament with the top four seeds earning first-round byes.
• The first round through semifinals are hosted at campus sites by the highest remaining seeds. The final will be played at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, S.C.

Match Notes

• For the second-straight season, Duke and Virginia will meet in a regular season finale.
• Over the last six seasons, Virginia is 4-0-2 its final regular season match of the year.
• All four of Virginia’s road games have been against ACC opponents. The Cavaliers are 1-0-2 away from Charlottesville in 2017.
• No. 18 Duke will be Virginia’s fourth nationally-ranked opponent this season (No. 7 Syracuse, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 7 North Carolina). The Cavaliers are 0-1-2 against ranked foes in 2017.
• Four of the last five ACC contests for Virginia have needed extra time. Virginia has played in eight overtime matches this season in which they boast a record of 4-1-3.

Series History

• Friday will be the 88th meeting between Duke and Virginia.
• With 87 total games in a series that was first played in 1946, Virginia has played Duke more than any other opponent.
• Virginia holds a 41-36-10 advantage in the all-time series.
• Pablo Aguilar scored the game-winning goal with 3:20 left in regulation to top Duke, 1-0 last year in Charlottesville.
• Virginia is unbeaten in its last eight games against the Blue Devils (5-0-3) and have tied the last two matches in Durham.

Ranking Summary

• Virginia moved up one spot in the latest NCAA RPI to No. 9 after a 1-1 week.
• The Cavaliers slipped to No. 13 in the United Coaches poll, the spot where they began in this year’s preseason poll. TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America had the Cavaliers ranked 11th and 10th respectively.

Exciting home finish

• Jean-Christophe Koffi ended the home portion of the 2017 schedule in dramatic fashion last Friday (Oct. 20) with a golden goal in the 107th minute.
• The 2-1, overtime victory over Pittsburgh moved Virginia to 9-2-1 at Klöckner Stadium.
• Raheem Taylor-Parkes, who was responsible for the Cavaliers’ first goal of the night, entered the game just 16 seconds prior to scoring his second goal of the season.
• Prosper Figbe assisted on the game’s first goal, his first point of the season. He was one of six Virginia field players to play all 107 minutes.

Virginia Attack

• The Virginia scoring offense ranks 26th in the country, averaging 1.87 goals per game.
• Of the 28 goals this season, 16 have come in the second half and four more have been scored in extra time.
• 14 different players have registered a point for Virginia, including 10 different goal scorers.
• Prior to last Friday at Pittsburgh, Virginia had been shutout in consecutive games for the first time since late 2015.

Tradition of Excellence

• Last Friday night’s win over Pitt secured Virginia’s 10th win of the season. The Cavaliers have registered double-digit wins in each of the last 27 seasons.
• Virginia has qualified for 26-straight NCAA Tournaments, the longest active streak in the nation.

Noting Duke

• The Blue Devils picked up a 2-1, midweek victory over Delaware on Tuesday night. The Blue Hens tied the game up at one on a penalty kick in the 22nd minute before Daniele Proch scored the eventual game-winner three minutes later.
• With 11 wins this season, Duke has its highest win total since 2011 and are three shy of matching the school record of 14.
• Duke has suffered ACC losses to Clemson (1-4), Louisville (0-1) and North Carolina (1-2) this season.
• Senior Brian White is tied for third in the ACC and leads the team with a career-high nine goals.
• Goalkeeper Will Pulisic has played every minute in front of the net for the Blue Devils. He comes into the contest with the league’s second highest save percentage (.764) and ranks third in the ACC with 3.44 saves per game.