2023 Duke Blue Devils men's soccer team explained

The 2023 Duke Blue Devils men's soccer team represented Duke University during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Blue Devils were led by head coach John Kerr, in his sixteenth season. They played their home games at Koskinen Stadium. The team was founded in 1935 and played the 2023 season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Blue Devils finished the season 11–4–3 overall and 4–3–1 in ACC play to finish in third place in the Coastal Division. As the fifth overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated twelfth seed Boston College in the First Round before losing to eventual champions Clemson on penalties in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded the fifteenth overall seed. Being a seeded team, they received a bye into the Second Round where they were defeated by to end their season.

Background

See main article: 2022 Duke Blue Devils men's soccer team.

The Blue Devils finished the season 13–2–4 overall and 5–0–3 in ACC play to finish in first place in the Coastal Division. As the first overall seed in the ACC Tournament, the received a bye into the Quarterfinals where they were upset at home by eighth seed Clemson. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded the seventh overall seed. Being a seeded team, they received a bye into the Second Round where they defeated and then in the Third Round before being upset by unseeded in the Quarterfinals.

Player movement

Players leaving

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Eliot Hamill	1	GK	6'2"	175	Graduate Student		Graduated
	8	MF	5'10"	145	Junior		Signed Professional Contract with New York Red Bulls[1]
Scotty Taylor	9	FW	6'0"	157	Senior		Graduated
Josh Kim	13	MF	5'11"	165	Freshman		—
	14	MF/FW	5'10"	160	Sophomore		Drafted 2nd overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft[2]
Santa Ihara	17	MF	5'11"	145	Junior		—
Carl Fisher	20	MF	6'0"	160	Senior		Graduated
Daniel Aguilar	21	MF	6'1"	175	Senior		Graduated
Alex Bonnington	30	FW	6'1"	180	Freshman		Transferred to Boston University
Peter Wentzel	31	GK	6'3"	205	Graduate Student		Graduated

Players arriving

Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Cameron Fisher	14	MF	6'0"	175	Graduate Student		North Carolina
Forster Ajago	21	FW	6'2"	178	Graduate Student		Dayton
Fahmi Ibrahim	26	FW	6'0"	175	Graduate Student		California

Recruiting Class

Name	Nat.	Hometown	Club	TDS Rating
				N/A
			FC Dallas Academy	[3]
			FC Westchester	N/A[4]
				N/A
			Eastside FC 04 ECNL	N/A[5]

Squad

Roster

^[6]

Team management

Position	Staff
Athletic Director	Nina King
Head coach	John Kerr
Associate head coach	Michael Brady
Assistant Coach	Kyle Renfro
Volunteer assistant coach	Tristan Wierbonski

Source:

Schedule

Source:^[7] |-!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition|-!colspan=6 style=""| Regular season|-!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Tournament|-!colspan=6 style=""| NCAA Tournament

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date	Ref.
Nick Pariano	Pre-Season All-ACC Team	August 26, 2023	[8]
Forster Ajago	ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week	August 29	[9]
Julian Eyestone	ACC Defensive Player of the Week	September 12	[10]
Nick Pariano	ACC Offensive Player of the Week	October 3	[11]
Forster Ajago	ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week	October 17	[12]
Forster Ajago	ACC Offensive Player of the Year	November 8, 2023	[13]
Forster Ajago	All-ACC First Team
Nick Pariano
Ulfur Bjornsson	All-ACC Second Team
Amir Daley
Julian Eyestone
Antino Lopez	All-ACC Third Team
Ulfur Bjornsson	All-ACC Freshman Team
Julian Eyestone

2024 MLS Super Draft

See main article: 2024 MLS SuperDraft.

Player	Team	Round	Pick #	Position
Wayne Frederick		1	2	MF
Antino Lopez		2	52	DF
Ruben Mesalles		3	84	DF

Source:^[14]

Rankings

See main article: 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: New York Red Bulls Sign Two-Time ACC Midfielder of the Year Peter Stroud to Homegrown Deal. New York Red. Bulls. New York Red Bulls.
2. Web site: Citro . Michael . 21 December 2022 . 2023 MLS Draft: Orlando City Selects Shakur Mohammed No. 2 Overall . 24 December 2022 . The Mane Land.
3. Web site: Julian Eyestone. topdrawersoccer.com. January 29, 2024.
4. Web site: Nathan Gaviser. topdrawersoccer.com. January 29, 2024.
5. Web site: Andrew Myerson. topdrawersoccer.com. January 29, 2024.
6. Web site: 2023 Men's Soccer Roster. goduke.com. Duke University Athletics. January 29, 2024.
7. Web site: 2023 Men's Soccer Schedule. Duke Blue Devils Athletics. goduke.com. January 29, 2024.
8. Web site: Clemson Selected 2023 Preseason ACC Men's Soccer Favorite. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 16, 2023. August 16, 2023.
9. Web site: ACC Announces Men’s Soccer Player of Week Honors. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 29, 2023. August 29, 2023.
10. Web site: UofL’s Guerra, Duke’s Eyestone Claim ACC Men’s Soccer Player of Week Honors. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 11, 2023. September 11, 2023.
11. Web site: Duke’s Pariano, UVa’s Batrouni Named ACC Men’s Soccer Players of Week. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 3, 2023. October 3, 2023.
12. Web site: ACC Announces Men’s Soccer Players of Week. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 17, 2023. October 17, 2023.
13. Web site: 2023 All-ACC Men’s Soccer Team Announced. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 8, 2023. November 8, 2023.
14. Web site: Three Blue Devils Selected in 2024 MLS SuperDraft. goduke.com. Duke University Athletics. December 20, 2023. January 29, 2023.