June 27, 2002

With 15 letterwinners returning and a stellar recruiting class entering in 2002, Duke men's soccer head coach John Rennie will have a very talented squad expected to contend for yet another ACC title in his 24th season.

Contending for championships is something Rennie is used to as his Blue Devils have won 332 games, advanced to 15 NCAA Championships, won the 1986 NCAA title, advanced to four NCAA Final Fours, won four ACC Regular Season titles and won one ACC Tournament title.

Of the 15 letterwinners returning from last season, eight are seniors in 2002. Heading the class will be co-captains Donald McIntosh and Scott Noble.

"The seniors who are going to lead the team for the most part really didn't start being leaders on the team until last year," said Rennie. "The senior class has a lot of leadership and now has a lot of experience."

The 2001 season was marred with several key injuries to Jordan Cila (mono), Owoicho Adogwa (leg injury), Trevor Perea (groin), Noble (kidney transplant surgery), Matt Ahumada (torn ACL) and Victor Victorsson (recovering from torn ACL). On top of the injuries, the Blue Devils lost six matches which went into overtime.

With the experience coming back and with everyone healthy, the Blue Devils are expected to be a force to be reckoned with in 2002. Rennie expects to tinker with the formations in the preseason to determine what type of lineup will take the field.

"Overall, we had a lot of players play last year that maybe wouldn't have played due to injuries," said Rennie. "Some didn't get to play because we had an outstanding senior class the year before. So they got a lot of experience and are much more mature now. Even though we have a lot of the players back from last year's team, they are not the same players they were at the beginning of last year. They are much more experienced, confident and ready to play. In addition, we have some very good incoming freshmen."

Listed below is a position by position breakdown of the 2002 Blue Devils:

GOALKEEPER

The Blue Devils will have one of the youngest goalkeeper tandems in the ACC in 2002 with sophomores Justin Trowbridge and Mark Valdez. Trowbridge is the more experienced of the two returning as theTampa, Fla. native started four of his five matches played as a freshman. Valdez didn't see any action in the fall, but performed very well in the spring season, while Trowbridge was injured.

"We have two sophomore goalkeepers who are both now ready to play as starting goalkeepers in the ACC," said Rennie. "To me the goalkeeping situation is a plus for our team heading into the season."

DEFENSE

Duke's defense will look much different in 2002 with the loss of four-year starter Kevin Sakuda, but the unit will not have a lack of experience with five defenders returning. Heading the defense will be Ahumada, Robert Antoniou, Andy Borman, Mark Mattern and Matt White.

"We will have plenty of depth and experience in the back," said Rennie.

Seniors Borman, Mattern and Antoniou have started a combined 60 games during the last three years and will be expected to once again anchor the backfield for their final year with the Blue Devils.

Ahumada was a key performer for Duke last season, starting 13 of his 14 matches played before tearing his ACL. The junior is expected to make a full recovery for this season. White also came on strong as a freshman, starting five of his 14 matches played.

The Blue Devils will also welcome a very talented freshman to the back as Windsor, Conn., native Ryan Kerlew is expected to jump in and conten for a starting spot immediatley.

MIDFIELD

The most experienced spot in the 2002 lineup will be the midfield with seniors McIntosh, Noble and Perea.

"The midfield will be the real strength of our team," said Rennie. "A trio of seniors, Noble, McIntosh and Perea, should lead the way. It will be great to have Noble back playing in his fifth year after missing all of last season, Donald is a rising star in the national scene and Trevor is one of the most talented players in the country. We have depth and experience in the midfield along with some fresh, young blood in there too."

McIntosh is coming off of his best collegiate season as a junior, starting all 19 matches and earning first team All-ACC honors. Perea was an All-ACC second team selection as a sophomore and Noble was a preseason honorable mention All-America heading into last season. In August, Noble went through kidney transplant surgery and was forced to miss the entire season. He returns for his fifth season after making a full recovery.

Senior Adam Guren, senior Mark Mattern and sophomore Joe Kelly also return after seeing extensive action last season. Expecting to battle for time in their first year witht the Blue Devils will be Blake Camp and Danny Kramer. Each had stellar high school careers and Rennie believes Camp was the best player who came out of Georgia last year.

FORWARD

The biggest question mark for the Blue Devils in 2002 will be the forward position. Duke scored only 27 goals last season compared to the 59 in 2000, but Cila, one of the top goal scorers in the ACC, returns for his junior year the Blue Devils after scoring 21 goals the last two years.

"Up front is the question that has to be answered," said Rennie. "Who is going to score goals besides Jordan Cila? How successful we are at scoring goals will be an area that will have a lot to do with our success this year. You know Jordan is going to score, but we need others to step up and score also."

Two returning letterwinners, Adogwa and junior Danny Wymer, will look to assist Cila up front along with two freshmen, Ian Carey and Adam Gage.

SCHEDULE

The Blue Devils' schedule features 13 home and only five away matches in 2002. Duke will open the season with six consecutive home matches, which includes the annual Duke/Adidas Soccer Classic with South Carolina, George Washington and N.C. State.

Duke will also battle in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, the ACC, and also travel to Charlotte, N.C., to compete in the Big Four Tournament along with UNC Greensboro and Charlotte.