1986 Duke Blue Devils men's soccer team

Last updated

1986 Duke Blue Devils men's soccer
Duke Athletics logo.svg
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches  pollNo. 1
Record18–5–1 (3–3–0 ACC)
Head coach
Seasons
←  1985
1987 →
1986 ACC men's soccer standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 10 Virginia‡ 6 –0 –017 –2 –2
No. 8 NC State+ 4 –1 –113 –4 –2
Clemson 3 –3 –012 –6 –2
No. 22 NC State+ 3 –3 –014 –4 –1
No. 1 Duke+ 3 –3 –018 –5 –1
North Carolina 1 –4 –113 –7 –1
Wake Forest 0 –6 –07 –11 –2
As of December 12, 1986
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source: The ACC

The 1986 Duke Blue Devils men's soccer team represented Duke University during the 1986 NCAA Division I men's soccer season.

Contents

The Blue Devils won the first ever national title this season.

Background

In the 1985 season, Duke's soccer team had a successful record of 4-2 in the ACC and 16-5 overall. However, they faced the loss of four-year starters Tom Kain and goalkeeper Pat Johnston to graduation. Head coach John Rennie, with a strong returning midfield and defense, looked to seniors John Kerr, Jr., Kelly Weadock, and Mike Linenberger to step up. [1] Rennie also recruited a strong incoming class, including freshman Joey Valenti from Tampa, Florida, who would later assist in a game-winning goal against Akron. [1]

Review

The early season results were mixed, with losses to Catawba, NC State, and Maryland, but victories over North Carolina and Wake Forest. Duke ended the regular season 15-5-1, including a 4-0 loss to Virginia. Despite some close losses, Duke registered eleven shutouts and five matches with a win margin of at least four goals.

In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Duke faced 13th-ranked South Carolina, winning 3-2 with all goals scored in the first half. In the second round, they defeated 12th-ranked NC State 2-0 with goals from freshmen Brian Benedict and Joey Valenti. In the quarterfinals, Duke played Loyola of Baltimore, winning 2-1 and ending Loyola's 30-game winning streak. [1]

Duke then faced Ivy League Champion Harvard, winning 3-1 with two early goals by Kerr. The national championship game was held on December 13 [2] in the Tacoma Dome against 12th-ranked Akron Zips. [3] [4] Duke won 1-0 with a goal by Tom Stone, [5] assisted by Joey Valenti and Carl Williamson. Starting goalkeeper Mark Dodd made three saves for his ninth shutout of the season.

Following the championship, John Kerr was awarded the 1986 Hermann Trophy and the National Player of the Year Award by the Missouri Athletic Club. [6] Teammates Stone and Weadock were named most valuable offensive and defensive players of the national championship game, respectively. Freshman Robert Probst was named to the 1986 Men's All-Freshman Team by Soccer America. Undefeated at home (12-0-1), the team returned to Duke with their first national championship trophy in any sport, greeted by the cheers of the campus community and Duke President Keith Brodie. [1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankStadium
(City)		Result
F–A		ScorersAttendanceRecord
(Conference)
Wolfpack Classic
September 6vs. Catawba* Method Road
Raleigh, NC 		1–2 Kerr Jr. 1690–1–0
September 7vs. Vanderbilt*Method Road6–0Unknown3741–1–0
MetLife Classic
September 12 UConn* Koskinen Stadium
Durham, NC 		5–0UnknownUnknown2–1–0
September 14 Hartwick*Koskinen Stadium5–0UnknownUnknown3–1–0
September 17 Davidson*Koskinen Stadium6–0UnknownUnknown4–1–0
September 20at NC State Method Road3–4UnknownUnknown4–2–0
(0–1–0)
September 23 Drexel*Koskinen Stadium5–1UnknownUnknown5–2–0
September 28 Clemson Koskinen Stadium5–2UnknownUnknown6–2–0
(1–1–0)
October 1 Charlotte*Koskinen Stadium2–0UnknownUnknown7–2–0
October 4at Maryland Byrd Stadium
College Park, MD 		0–1UnknownUnknown7–3–0
(1–2–0)
October 8at UNCG* UNCG Stadium
Greensboro, NC 		3–0UnknownUnknown8–3–0
October 12 George Mason*Koskinen Stadium1–1OTUnknownUnknown8–3–1
October 15 Charleston (WV)*Koskinen Stadium1–0UnknownUnknown9–3–1
October 19at South Carolina* Stone Stadium
Columbia, SC 		3–2OTUnknownUnknown10–3–1
October 22 Wake Forest Koskinen Stadium2–1UnknownUnknown11–3–1
(2–2–0)
October 26 Virginia Scott Stadium
Charlottesville, VA 		0–4UnknownUnknown11–4–1
(2–3–0)
UCLA Classic
November 1vs. Cal State Fullerton* Elvin Drake Stadium
Los Angeles, CA 		1–0UnknownUnknown12–4–1
November 2vs. UCLA*Elvin Drake Stadium0–3UnknownUnknown12–5–1
November 9 North Carolina Koskinen Stadium1–0UnknownUnknown13–5–1
(3–3–0)
NCAA tournament
November 16No. 13 South Carolina
First round		No. 10Koskinen Stadium3–2UnknownUnknown14–5–1
November 23at No. 17 NC State
Round of 16		No. 10Method Road2–0UnknownUnknown15–5–1
November 30at No. 25 Loyola (MD)
Quarterfinals		No. 10Koskinen Stadium2–1UnknownUnknown16–5–1
December 7 Harvard
Semifinals		No. 10Koskinen Stadium3–1UnknownUnknown17–5–1
December 13vs. No. 12 Akron
National championship		No. 10 Tacoma Dome
Tacoma, WA 		1–0 Stone 4,65218–5–1

Legend:       = Win       = Loss       = Tie

Awards and honors

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "1986 Men's Soccer National Champions". goduke.com. Duke University Athletics. May 26, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  2. ↑ "On This Date: Duke Captures 1986 NCAA Title". Duke University. December 13, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  3. ↑ Ap (December 8, 1986). "SPORTS NEWS BRIEFS; Duke and Akron Gain Soccer Final". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Team of Distinction: 1986 Men's Soccer". University of Akron Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  5. ↑ soccermavn (February 20, 2018). 1986 NCAA D1 Men's Soccer Final--Duke v. Akron . Retrieved July 20, 2024– via YouTube.
  6. ↑ "John Kerr". MAC Hermann Trophy. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
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