Men's Soccer Remains In South's Top Five; Hosts No. 6 Duke Tuesday Night

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Looking to beat two nationally-ranked teams in the same season for the first time since 2004, the Davidson men's soccer team will put their six-game winning streak on the line against No. 6 Duke on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Alumni Stadium. The Wildcats remain a top-five team in the NSCAA South region after a pair of conference wins last week.

“Playing Duke is always an exciting match-up for Davidson, both for our current team and for alumni and fans,” said head coach Matt Spear. “This season's Blue Devils are off to a great start and are on a surge up the national rankings. Defeating defending national champs Maryland underlines this.

“Winning individual battles will be crucial, but we also must defend and attack as a team, and lean on our system and group mindset. It will be an entertaining night for sure.”

Additionally, Street Soccer 945, a soccer program for the homeless originally founded by Davidson men's soccer alumnus Lawrence Cann, will play an exhibition match at halftime. A portion of the proceeds from the game will go to benefit the Charlotte Street Soccer USA team.

For those who can't make it to the field, the match will be broadcast on live video with live audio commentary, along with live stats throughout the contest.

Scouting the Wildcats: Winners of their last six games, the 'Cats opened their Southern Conference schedule last week with a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win over the College of Charleston at home on Wednesday and a 3-0 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday. At 8-1 overall they boast the fourth-best winning percentage in the country (.889) and are looking to match the 10-1 start to the 1990 season.

For the third consecutive week, the 'Cats were ranked regionally. In the latest poll released on Monday by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Davidson was ranked fifth. Davidson, a Southern Conference member, is the only top-five team that is not a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke remained in the top-three places, respectively. NC State broke last week's fourth-place tie with Davidson after earning wins over South Carolina (ranked sixth in the same poll) and then-No. 14 Boston College.

Davidson sits atop the SoCon standings as the only 2-0 team in conference play. Overall, they lead the Southern Conference in shots per game (18.33), points per game (7.33) and goals per game (2.56). With 23 goals in nine games, the 'Cats are locked in a three-way tie for the sixth-best scoring offense in the nation.

Senior F Charlie Reiter (Westport, Conn.) leads the conference with 18 points (6 goals, 6 assists) through nine games this season, exactly matching his three-year (57 games) career scoring totals prior to the start of the 2009 season. Reiter's average of two points per game places him in a five-way tie for 10th in the nation. Also the conference leader in assists, Reiter ranks in a nine-way tie for eighth in the country with 0.67 per game. He has recorded at least one point in eight of nine games this season, including the last seven consecutively.

Junior MF Alex Caskey (Dunwoody, Ga.) is tied for second in the conference with 14 points (6g, 2a) and ranks in a four-way tie for 33rd in the nation with 1.56 points per game. Junior F Yannick Pilgrim (Arima, Trinidad & Tobago) is fourth with 13 points (5g, 3a) and ranks in a four-way tie for 26th nationally with 1.63 points per game (eight games).

Scouting the Blue Devils: Duke enters the match ranked sixth nationally by Soccer America. The Blue Devils moved up in the poll after defeating Elon, the preseason pick to win the Southern Conference, and the then second-ranked defending national champions, Maryland. Freshman goalkeeper James Belshaw was named the College Soccer News Player of the Week for his efforts in both matches. Freshman MF/F Ryan Finley was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week after scoring the game-winning goals in both contests.

“Duke is arguably the most athletic, most talented team we will face this season,” said Spear.

Finley is Duke's top goal scorer with five through nine games, good for 47th nationally.

The Series: Davidson trails in the all-time series with a 7-32-2 record. Duke prevailed by 2-0 scores in both 2007 and 2008 and also won in 2006, 3-1. The teams did not meet in 2004 and 2005. Davidson last beat Duke in 2003 by a score of 2-0 at home.

Up Next: The Wildcats will resume their conference schedule with a trip to Elon on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. match. Davidson will host conference foes Appalachian State (Oct. 14) and Furman (Oct. 17) next week. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. in Alumni Stadium.

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