April 1, 2003

Five dates of spring matches highlight the 2003 spring schedule for the Duke men's soccer team as they prepare for Head Coach John Rennie's 25th season leading the Blue Devils.

With eight starters returning and a number of young players who received a great deal of experience this past season, Rennie is as enthusiastic about his expectations to win an ACC title as ever before.

"The team this spring and in the fall will be like a new generation," says Rennie. "With 9 seniors leaving it will be very exciting to watch as our young players give this team it's own identity. I expect we will be stronger mentally and physically. This is a great group of young men."

Contending for championships is something Rennie is used to as his Blue Devils have accomplished quite a bit under his watch:

*	Rennie's Blue Devil teams have won 343 games with him at the helm
*	Advanced to 16 NCAA Championships
*	Captured the 1986 NCAA title
*	Advanced to four NCAA Final Fours
*	Won four ACC Regular Season titles and won the ACC Tournament title in 1999.

The spring season opens up with a home match against North Carolina State University on March 22nd @ 1:00 PM. Virginia Tech (1:00 PM) and the University of Richmond (2:30 PM) come into town for two matches on March 29th. The Blue Devils travel to Elon on April 1st, and then finish the spring campaign up with matches at Campbell on April 9th (7:00 PM) and at UNC-Wilmington on April 12th.

The Blue Devils will be led by a young nucleus that gained a great deal of valuable experience this past season. Of the 12 letter winners returning from last season, nine of them had started nine or more games this past season. Heading this group will be co-captains Matt Ahumada and Jordan Cila.

"Our entire senior leadership, led by captains Matt Ahumada and Jordan Cila, will be very strong, but they won't be along," said Rennie. "There are a lot of leaders on this team."

The offense will be keyed by leading scorers Cila (6 goals, 10 assists, 22 total points), Owoicho Adogwa (8-3-19), Danny Kramer (4-2-10), Ian Carey (1-6-8) and Blake Camp (2-1-5). Goalkeeper Justin Trowbridge returns between the posts after a very successful 2002 campaign, and he will have a stingy and experienced defense returning in front of him. Ahumada, Matt White and Ryan Kerlew return from the Blue Devils defense a year ago and Joe Kelly and Justin Bodiya will help anchor the defensive midfield.

With a veteran nucleus returning and a nationally heralded recruiting class joining them in the fall, the future certainly looks bright for Duke Soccer. As much as Coach Rennie has accomplished in his first 24 seasons, he looks poised to lead the Blue Devils into season number 25 and beyond.

"I also look forward to adding an outstanding freshman class for a most demanding fall schedule," said Rennie. "It will be my 25th season here at Duke and I think it will be a whole lot of fun for all of us. I am very excited about the next 25 years!"