Men's Soccer: WVU To Face No. 5 Duke On Saturday
September 13, 2007 02:04 PM | General
September 13, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.- The No. 13/15 West Virginia University men’s soccer team (3-1-0) will take on No. 5/5 Duke (3-1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in Durham, N.C. The Mountaineers are seeking their fourth win and their second against a Top 10 ranked opponent.
These two squads have only met once before, in 1981. WVU fell 3-0 on Duke’s home field.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 1-0 home-opening win against Duquesne on Sept. 10. Senior Dan Stratford scored his second consecutive game-winning goal and goalkeeper Zach Johnson recorded his third straight shutout- one shy of the WVU single season record.
Duke (3-1) is ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA/adidas and Soccer America poll released this week. Last time out, the then-No. 1 Blue Devils defeated then-No. 12 St. Louis on Sept. 9 in the 26th annual Duke/adidas Classic tournament, 2-0. Duke relied on two scores from senior forward Paul Dudley and the second shutout of the season from senior goalkeeper Justin Papadakis.
The Mountaineers jumped from No. 21 to No. 15 in the weekly Soccer America poll and from No. 20 to No. 13 in this week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas poll. WVU also has been ranked No. 9 by SoccerTimes.com and No. 15 by College Soccer News, both released on Sept. 10.
