1. Unbeaten ACC giants clash Friday night
- by Soccer America , Sep 8, 2006
Two big ACC men's showdowns take place Friday night when No. 4 Maryland travels to No. 5 Clemson and No. 6 Duke visits No. 7 Wake Forest. They are four of the six ACC teams with perfect records. No. 1 North Carolina lost for the first time in 2006 when it fell to N.C. State, 3-1, on Wednesday night in the ACC opener.
The Clemson-Maryland game features a pair of Soccer America Preseason All-American goalies in the Tigers' Phil Marfuggi and the Terrapins' Chris Seitz. Both will be tested against two of the best attacking teams in the country.
Maryland showed its firepower last Saturday when it crushed UCLA, 4-1. Stephen King leads the Terrapins with four goals and four assists in four games. Sophomore Graham Zusi, who scored five goals in 2005, already has three goals in 2006. Maryland's first-year players have made big contributions. Jason Herrick leads them with two goals and an assist.
Clemson is led by Jamaican Dane Richards with five goals and Brazilian Frederico Moojen with four. (Click here to listen to Tiger coach Trevor Adair talk about Friday's showdown.)
Wake Forest, 4-0-0 for the first time since 1994, had nine different players score its first nine goals this season. Its big threat is senior Steven Curfman, who has scored two goals and recorded three assists off set pieces. Duke features three of the ACC's best attacking players in Mike Grella (three game-winning goals in four games), Spencer Wadsworth (NCAA-high five assists) and Michael Videira (three goals and two assists).
