The 2021 Duke Blue Devils men's soccer team represented Duke University during the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Blue Devils were led by head coach John Kerr, in his fourteenth season. They played their home games at Koskinen Stadium. The team was founded in 1935 and currently plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Blue Devils finished the season 14–5–1 overall and 5–2–1 in ACC play to finish in a tie for first place in the Coastal Division. As the third overall seed in the ACC Tournament, the received a bye into the Quarterfinals where they defeated Wake Forest and then defeated Clemson in the Semifinals. They fell in the final to Notre Dame. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded the seventh seed. Being a seeded team, they received a bye into the Second Round where they defeated UCLA before losing to tenth seeded Saint Louis in the Third Round.
Background
The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021.
The Blue Devils finished the fall season 2–6–0 and 2–4–0 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the South Division. In the ACC Tournament they lost to Pittsburgh in the Quarterfinals. They finished the spring season 2–4–3 and 2–3–1 in ACC play, to finish in third place in the Coastal Division. They were not invited to the NCAA Tournament.
Player movement
Players leaving Departures Michael Reis 0 GK 6'2" 180 Senior Claremont, CA Graduated Will Pulisic 1 GK 6'1" 180 Senior Mechanicsville, VA Graduated Stephen O'Connell 2 DF 5'11" 170 Senior Rye, NY Graduated Matthias Frick 3 DF 6'2" 195 Senior Feldkirch, Austria Graduated Daniel Wright 7 FW 5'10" 140 Senior Wixom, MI Graduated Jack Doran 8 MF 5'11" 180 Graduate Student West Roxbury, MA Graduated Kristófer Garðarsson 10 MF 6'1" 175 Senior Akranes, Iceland Graduated Micolas Macri 11 FW 6'1" 175 Senior Buenos Aires, Argentina Graduated Kees Heetderks 16 DF 5'10" 170 Sophomore Chapel Hill, NC — Sintayehu Clements 19 DF/FW 6'1" 180 Freshman Seattle, WA — Adrian Vela 20 DF 6'0" 170 Senior Richmond, TX Graduated Alex Slover 24 MF 5'11" 170 Sophomore Westhampton, NY — Matthew Wolf 30 GK 6'1" 205 Freshman Chapel Hill, NC —
Players arriving
Duke signed seven players during the 2021 recruiting period.
Name Nat. Hometown Club TDS Rating Los Angeles, CA LA Galaxy (Academy) Bermuda Black Rock FC Larchmont, NY New York SC Academy Baltimore, MD Baltimore Armour Longboat, FL IMG Academy Kumasi, Ghana Black Rock FC Cary, NC North Carolina N/A
Squad
Roster
Team management
Athletic Director Kevin White Head coach John Kerr Associate head coach Michael Brady Assistant Coach Kyle Renfro Volunteer Assistant Coach Tristan Wierbonski
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!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=6 style=""| Regular season
!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Tournament
!colspan=6 style=""| NCAA Tournament
Awards and honors Peter Stroud Preseason All-ACC Watchlist August 18 Eliot Hamill ACC Defensive Player of the Week September 7 ACC Defensive Player of the Week September 21 ACC Defensive Player of the Week September 28 Thorleifur Úlfarsson ACC Offensive Player of the Week October 5 Thorleifur Úlfarsson ACC Offensive Player of the Year November 10 Peter Stroud ACC Midfielder of the Year Shak Mohammed ACC Freshman of the Year Thorleifur Úlfarsson All-ACC First Team Shak Mohammed All-ACC Second Team Ruben Mesalles ACC All-Freshamn Team Shak Mohammed Shak Mohammed ACC All-Tournament Team November 15 Peter Stroud Thorleifur Úlfarsson
2022 MLS Super Draft
Thorleifur Úlfarsson Houston Dynamo 1 4 FW Ian Murphy FC Cincinnati 1 14 DF
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Rankings
References