Tobacco Road Rivals Square Off Thursday at Koskinen

Thursday, October 10

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Ella Stevens high fives teammates pregame

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Tobacco Road Rivals Square Off Thursday at Koskinen

10/9/2019 2:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Duke Notes North Carolina Notes DWS Season Stats North Carolina Season Stats Live Stats ACC Network Watch Link

DURHAM, N.C. – The Tobacco Road rivalry renews Thursday evening as No. 11 Duke welcomes third-ranked North Carolina to Koskinen Stadium for a top 15 ACC matchup.

The conference match is set for a 7 p.m. ET start at Koskinen Stadium, and will be broadcasted on ACC Network, marking the third consecutive contest for the Blue Devils on national television.

Recapping Last Week
Duke battled to a double-overtime scoreless draw with No. 23 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg this past weekend in their lone matchup of the week.

The Blue Devils held the advantage in both shots and corners, but were unable to break through for a goal throughout the 110 minutes of play. Duke closed out the contest with 14 shots—led by sophomore Marykate McGuire's three attempts—and three corner kicks en route to the team's second consecutive scoreless draw, and fifth tie of the season.
The Blue Devils battled to a double-overtime scoreless draw with top-ranked Virginia in Charlottesville to conclude the week. Duke picked up its sixth shutout of the season, holding the nation's top-ranked offense scoreless for the first time in 2019.

The Tobacco Road Rivalry
Thursday's matchup between the two Tobacco Road schools marks the second of two matchups between Duke and North Carolina in 2019. The first contest between the two schools came in the second match of the season, serving as a nonconference matchup in the final game of the 2019 Carolina Nike Classic. North Carolina claimed a 2-0 victory over Duke, handing the Blue Devils their only loss of the season thus far.

Prior to this season, the two teams had not met since the 2017 season, where the Tar Heels defeated the Blue Devils twice. North Carolina owns the series advantage between the two programs, 40-3-2, including a two-game winning streak. Duke looks to capture its first-ever win over North Carolina at home.

TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week Honors
The Blue Devils have had a TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week honoree for five weeks in a row, most recently being redshirt junior Brooke Heinsohn. Heinsohn was named to this week's team of the week as an honorable mention for her performance on the road against No. 23 Virginia Tech this past weekend. The Norfolk, Mass., native joins the trio of seniors Mia Gyau and Ella Stevens, and sophomore Mackenzie Pluck in players who have received Team of the Week honors in 2019. Pluck has received the recognition twice this season, while Gyau and Stevens have each earned the honor once.

Tough Draws
The Blue Devils have earned double-overtime draws in each of their two last matchups, pushing their draw total to four on the season. Duke battled to a scoreless draw with then-No. 13 Georgetown in its home opener before recording a 1-1 tie in the ACC opener against NC State in double overtime. Most recently, the Blue Devils have battled to back-to-back draws against top-ranked Virginia and No. 23 Virginia Tech on the road. Duke's four ties this season serve as the most in a single season since 2015, while being three shy of the school record. The school record for most ties in a season is seven, which was recorded in 2007, as the Blue Devils finished with a 10-6-7 overall record in a season that saw Duke become a NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist.

Unbeaten Streak Going Strong
Duke holds a nine-game unbeaten streak, which serves as the second-longest in the ACC. The Blue Devils have not been beaten since the second game of the season, where they fell to then-No. 2 North Carolina on the road in a non-conference matchup in the final game of the 2019 Carolina Nike Classic. Duke's nine-game mark trails only top-ranked Virginia in the conference, who holds a 12-game unbeaten streak. Other schools in the ACC who hold multiple-game unbeaten streaks include No. 5 Florida State (eight games), No. 3 North Carolina (four games), No. 16 Louisville (three games) and NC State (two games).

Piper Stepping Up Big
Freshman Sarah Piper has stepped up big for the Blue Devils recently, playing a key role in each of the team's previous two matchups. The Duke freshman earned her first start in the squad's last matchup at No. 23 Virginia Tech, logging the full 110 minutes of action to help the Blue Devils record their second consecutive shutout on the road. The Woodlands, Texas, native also played an integral part in the match at top-ranked Virginia on Sept. 29, logging a then-season high 85 minutes of action in the double-overtime contest. The first-year Blue Devil came off the bench in Charlottesville, being inserted in at left-center back to help Duke to an impressive defensive performance, shutting down the nation's top-ranked offense to hold them scoreless for the first time this season.

Duke in the Polls
Duke checked in at No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week as one of five ACC teams in the top 15, and one of seven schools ranked in the top 25. Additionally, the Blue Devils are ranked eighth in the Soccer America Top 25, and 12th in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings. Duke is ranked for the 54th straight week in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, dating back to the ninth week of the 2015 season, when the Blue Devils were ranked No. 22.

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