Duke (14-5-5) vs. Penn State (21-3-2)Sunday, Dec. 6 • 12:00 PM (ET) • Cary, N.C.WakeMed Soccer Park • ESPNU & WatchESPNDuke & Penn State to Battle for National Championship Sunday in Cary... Coming off stunning top-seeded and defending NCAA Champion Florida State Friday in the NCAA College Cup semifinals, 2-0, the third-seeded and 19th-ranked Duke (14-5-5) will face No. 1 seed Penn State (21-3-2) in the NCAA Championship Sunday, Dec. 6. The match will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., and aired live on ESPNU. Calling the contest for ESPNU will be Glenn Davis (PXP) and Julie Foudy (Color).
NCAA College Cup... Duke is competing in the NCAA College Cup for the third time in school history -- 1992, 2011 and 2015. The Blue Devils have totaled a 3-0 mark in NCAA semifinal matches, defeating Hartford (1-0) in 1992, Wake Forest in 2011 (4-1) and Florida State in 2015 (2-0). The Blue Devils will be playing in the NCAA Championship match for the third time and looking for their first national title. Duke is 0-2 in previous matches.
In the Rankings... Duke is currently ranked No. 20 in the NSCAA and No. 19 in the Soccer America polls. Penn State is sixth in the NSCAA and 11th in the Soccer America rankings.
Facing Tough Competition... In the national championship match, Duke will have to face its third straight No. 1 seed in Penn State. The Blue Devils have had to knock off a No. 2 seed (Florida) and two No. 1 seeds (Stanford, FSU). Since the bracket started giving the top 16 seeds (4 No. 1 seeds, etc.), Duke is the first to have to face three No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed on its way to the championship match.
College Cup Appearances Duke is one of 15 teams to advance to the NCAA College Cup three or more times -- North Carolina (26), Notre Dame (12), Santa Clara (10), Florida State (9), UCLA (9), Portland (8), Stanford (7), Connecticut (7), UMass (6), Colorado College (5), Penn State (4), George Mason (4), Duke (3), Virginia (3) and California (3).
Breaking Down the NCAA Tournament Stats... The Nittany Lions have led the tournament so far with 19 goals in five matches, while Duke is fourth with 12. For the second straight match, the Blue Devils will face an opponent that hasn't allowed a goal in the NCAA Tournament. Duke's 17 saves in the tournament ranks tied first along with Ohio State and West Virginia.
Emily Ogle (T-1st, 10) and Frannie Crouse (T-3rd, 9) of Penn State and
Toni Payne of Duke (5th, 8) are in the top five in the tournament in regards to points.
Casey Martinez leads all players in the NCAA Tournament with four assists.
Noting the Championship Over the past 15 seasons (2001–15), Duke's 2015 team is one of only 10 (out of 60 total teams) to reach the NCAA Semifinals while being outside the top–eight national seeds. Duke could join Notre Dame's 2010 team as the only DI women's soccer national champions to win the title without being among the top–eight national seeds.
Duke could become the fifth school to win both a men's and women's national title with a win Sunday -- Santa Clara (M-1989, W-2001), North Carolina (M-2001, 2011, W-21 times), UCLA (M-4 times, W-2013), Notre Dame (W-3 times, M-2013). The Blue Devil men won the first national title in Duke history in 1986.
After winning at Florida and then prevailing in the penalty-kick shootout at Stanford, Duke became only the fourth NCAA semifinalist that has advanced to the final weekend via back-to-back games on the opponent's field (previously done by Portland in 2000, FSU in 2003 and eventual NCAA champ Notre Dame in 2010).
The Blue Devils rank tied fifth overall with three NCAA final appearances -- North Carolina (24), Notre Dame (8), UCLA (4), UConn (4), Duke (3), Florida State (3), Stanford (3), Portland (3), George Mason (3).
- notes from CollegeSoccer360.com
Duke In the Championship... The Blue Devils are one of five Duke teams that reached the NCAA Final Four in 2015 -- men's basketball (won title), women's lacrosse, field hockey and women's golf.
Duke will be going for its first NCAA title in women's soccer and 17th overall in school history -- women's golf (6), men's basketball (5), men's lacrosse (3), women's tennis and men's soccer. Only two women's programs have won national titles - golf and tennis.
Payne Having a Tournament... Duke junior
Toni Payne put an exclamation mark on the victory against Florida State with a goal with just one second remaining as the Blue Devils won 2-0.
In five matches in the 2015 Tournament, Payne has totaled three goals and two assists for eight points. She is playing her best soccer of the season.
In the regular season, Payne notched only one goal and three assists for five points.
Duke in the NCAA Tournament... The Blue Devils have reached the big show for the 12th time out of the last 13 years and the 21st time in school history. Duke has advanced to the second round of the tournament in 12 out of the last 13 appearances.
The Blue Devils hold an overall record of 30-18-9 in tournament play. Over the last four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, Duke has outscored its opponents, 45-15.
A Look at Penn State... Penn State is riding a 10-match winning streak heading into the NCAA Championship. The Nittany Lions have totaled a 21-3-2 overall record. PSU has been led by Megan Schafer (13 goals), Frannie Crouse (11 goals, 7 assists) and Mallory Weber (8 goals, 10 assists) on the season.
The Series with Penn State... Duke and Penn State have met a total of five times in school history with the Nittany Lions leading the series, 1-3-1.
Earlier this season, the two squads met at Penn State with the match ending in a 0-0 draw after two overtimes. The Nittany Lions outshot the Blue Devils 21-14 in the match.
Duke Against the Big Ten... The Blue Devils have totaled a 27-22-7 overall record against teams from the Big Ten Conference in school history -- Indiana (1-0), Maryland (15-12-6), Nebraska (1-3), Ohio State (5-2), Penn State (1-4), Rutgers (3-1) and Wisconsin (1-0).
Hey, I Know You... Duke teammates
Morgan Reid and
Christina Gibbons have played with Penn State's Anna Witte since a young age with CASL and Next Level Academy in the Raleigh, N.C., area. Specifically, Reid and Witte played on teams together since they were eight years old.
Gibbons and
Taylor Racioppi have played Penn State's Brittany Basinger, Nikki Driesse, Kaleigh Riehl and Rose Chandler on United States U-20 National Teams they have competed on.
Duke Knocking Off Conference Champs... During Duke's 2015 run in the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils have knocked off the Colonial Athletic Association champions James Madison, Atlantic Sun champions FGCU, SEC champions Florida and Pac 12 champs Stanford and ACC Champions.
The Blue Devils will next face Big Ten Champion Penn State.
Raben Family Enjoying Long Run... The Raben family has been enjoying an extended run in the NCAA Tournament for two kids --
Lizzy Raben (Duke) and Sam Raben (Wake Forest). The duo are the only brother/sister tandem left in the NCAA men's and women's soccer tournament.
Sam Raben and the Demon Deacons are in the NCAA quarterfinals and will face Stanford Dec. 5 in Winston-Salem, N.C.