Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Wake Forest on September 25, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Women's Soccer
vs Wake Forest
Thursday, October 21
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
Duke University
vs
Notre Dame
No. 6 Duke, No. 15 Notre Dame Square Off Thursday at Koskinen
10/20/2021 2:29:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Match 14
No. 6 Duke (10-2-1, 4-2-1 ACC) vs. No. 15 Notre Dame (12-2-1, 6-1-0 ACC)
Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
Durham, N.C. – Koskinen Stadium
NEED TO KNOW
DUKE VS. NOTRE DAME
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
LAST TIME OUT: DUKE 2, WAKE FOREST 0
HOME SWEET HOME
STEPPING IT UP ON DEFENSIVE END
RECORD-TYING RANKING
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
No. 6 Duke (10-2-1, 4-2-1 ACC) vs. No. 15 Notre Dame (12-2-1, 6-1-0 ACC)
Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 | 7 p.m. | ACCNX
Durham, N.C. – Koskinen Stadium
NEED TO KNOW
- Two of the top four teams in the ACC standings clash on Thursday night when No. 6 Duke hosts No. 15 Notre Dame at Koskinen Stadium.
- The match kicks off at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra with Ryan Craig and Allison Gaskins on the call.
- The Blue Devils are coming off their seventh shutout of the season -- a 2-0 win at Wake Forest on Friday, Oct. 15.
- Duke is 43-5-7 at Koskinen since the start of the 2017 campaign, including a 7-1-0 home mark this season.
- Junior goalkeeper Ruthie Jones has 32 saves through 13 matches. Her 0.56 goals against average currently leads the ACC, while her .821 save percentage is tied for second in the conference.
- Graduate student Tess Boade is tied for first in the ACC with four goals in conference-only matches, while her 10 points are tied for second in league play.
- Senior Mackenzie Pluck has an assist in four of her last five contests. Her six helpers this season are tied for fourth in the ACC.
- Freshman Michelle Cooper paces the team with eight goals and 19 points in just 10 games this season. She is the first player in program history to score six times over her first six career matches.
- Cooper's 1.90 points per game lead the ACC. The Clarkston, Mich., native is tied for sixth in the conference in both goals and points, despite her playing at least two fewer matches than any player ranking in the top 10 of each category.
- The Blue Devils are 4-1-0 in five matches against opponents ranked in the United Soccer Coaches national poll this season.
- Duke is ranked No. 6 in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, marking the 25th consecutive poll that the Blue Devils have held a spot in the top 10. That streak ties the program record, set from 1992-95.
- Defensively, Duke's seven goals allowed this season are tied for the fewest in the ACC. The Blue Devils' 0.52 goals against average ranks 13th nationally and second in the conference.
DUKE VS. NOTRE DAME
- Duke will face Notre Dame for the 19th time in program history on Thursday.
- The Blue Devils trail the all-time series, 7-9-2, but have gone 4-1-1 over the last six matches since 2011.
- Duke is 2-2-1 at home against Notre Dame, with the last contest resulting in a 1-1 draw on Oct. 24, 2019.
- Ella Stevens netted the Blue Devils' lone goal in that matchup on a cross from Delaney Graham in the 39th minute. Goalkeeper Brooke Heinsohn finished with two saves in the 110-minute outing.
- Duke has taken three of its five matches against Notre Dame since the Irish joined the ACC in 2013.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
- Notre Dame heads into Thursday's match with 18 points in ACC play, good for third place in the conference standings.
- The Fighting Irish are 12-2-1 overall, already marking the program's highest win total since the 2016 season.
- Nate Norman's team was not ranked in the United Soccer Coaches national poll until Oct. 5, and has since shot up to No. 15 in the most recent rankings.
- Notre Dame's 2-1 loss at Virginia on Oct. 17 snapped an eight-match win streak in which the Irish outscored their opponents, 30-4.
- The Irish rank second in the ACC with 40 goals this season and have been fueled by hot starts. In six of their last eight contests, they have gotten on the board within the first 12 minutes of play.
- Graduate student Sammi Fisher leads the ACC in points (24) this season and is tied for first in goals (10).
- Three other players have already eclipsed the 10-point mark, including freshman Korbin Albert (18 points), senior Olivia Wingate (12) and junior Maddie Mercado (11).
- Sophomore Ashley Naylor has started nine of Notre Dame's 15 matches with 14 saves to six goals allowed. Naylor is coming off a five-save performance at Virginia.
LAST TIME OUT: DUKE 2, WAKE FOREST 0
- Duke scored a pair of goals in the opening 22 minutes and maintained possession for the majority of the night in a 2-0 win at Wake Forest on Friday, Oct. 15.
- The Blue Devils yielded just one shot on goal and earned their seventh shutout of the season.
- Freshman Michelle Cooper opened the scoring at the 7:24 mark with her eighth goal of the season. Tess Boade turned Wake over in the midfield and sent a through ball behind the Demon Deacon defense that Cooper caught up with before dribbling it around the goalkeeper and hitting the open net.
- Boade followed up with her third goal in her last three outings in the 22nd minute. She was played a cross-field ball from senior Mackenzie Pluck, sprinted to the top of the 18-yard box and fired a right-footed strike into the left side of the net.
- Duke finished with four shots on goal off 11 attempts.
HOME SWEET HOME
- Koskinen Stadium has provided one of the best home-field advantages in the nation over the last five seasons, as Duke boasts a 43-5-7 record at the venue since the start of the 2017 campaign.
- The Blue Devils are 7-1-0 in home matches this season, with three of those wins coming over ranked opponents.
- Duke has outscored its opponents 26-5 at home.
- The 5-0 win over East Carolina on Sept. 9 marked head coach Robbie Church's 150th career victory at Koskinen Stadium.
- Duke has been fueled by quick starts at home this year, scoring 11 times in the first half while allowing just one first-half goal by an opponent. The Blue Devils' opening goal in five of their last six home games has been scored in the first 30 minutes.
STEPPING IT UP ON DEFENSIVE END
- The Blue Devils' seven goals allowed this season are tied for the second-fewest yielded through 13 matches in program history.
- The 2017 Duke team also held opponents to seven goals at the 13-game mark, while the 2005 and 2011 squads each gave up just five.
- The seven goals against are tied for the fewest in the ACC this season alongside Florida State, which has played one more match.
- Duke's 0.52 goals against average ranks 13th nationally and second in the conference behind the Seminoles (0.50).
- The Blue Devils have recorded seven shutouts, which ranks fourth in the ACC despite playing fewer matches than each of the top-eight teams.
- Graduate student Caitlin Cosme, sophomore Katie Groff and sophomore Emily Royson anchor the Duke back line and have each logged over 1,000 minutes this season.
RECORD-TYING RANKING
- Duke is ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll this week, marking 25 consecutive polls that the Blue Devils have held a spot in the top 10.
- That streak, which dates back to Oct. 6, 2020, is tied for a program record. The Blue Devils were also ranked in the top 10 in 25 straight polls from 1992-95.
- With their win at second-ranked North Carolina on Sept. 17, Duke moved up to No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll released Tuesday, Sept. 21.
- The No. 2 ranking was the highest for Duke since Oct. 31, 2017, when the Blue Devils captured the program's third ACC regular season crown.
- Five of Duke's eight wins this season have come against opponents included in the United Soccer Coaches preseason rankings.
- Duke has held a spot in the top 10 of the TopDrawerSoccer.com national rankings in nine of 10 weeks this season.
- In the NCAA's Rating Percentage Index (RPI), which is designed to rank teams based on their strength of schedule, Duke is currently rated as the No. 3 team in the nation.
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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