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Thursday, October 28
Louisville, Ky.
5 p.m.
Duke University
at
Louisville
No. 2 Duke Wraps Up Regular Season at Louisville Thursday
10/27/2021 5:44:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Match 16
No. 2 Duke (12-2-1, 6-2-1 ACC) at Louisville (7-6-2, 3-5-1 ACC)
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 | 5 p.m. | ACC Network
Louisville, Ky. – Lynn Stadium
NEED TO KNOW
DUKE VS. LOUISVILLE
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
LAST TIME OUT: DUKE 1, FLORIDA STATE 0
STEPPING IT UP ON DEFENSIVE END
A RECORD RANKING
DUKE ON THE ROAD
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
No. 2 Duke (12-2-1, 6-2-1 ACC) at Louisville (7-6-2, 3-5-1 ACC)
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 | 5 p.m. | ACC Network
Louisville, Ky. – Lynn Stadium
NEED TO KNOW
- No. 2 Duke wraps up the regular season with a road contest at Louisville on Thursday evening.
- The match kicks off at 5 p.m. ET on ACC Network with Steve Schlanger and Lori Lindsey on the call.
- The Blue Devils are coming off a 1-0 win over previous No. 1 Florida State on Sunday.
- It marked Duke's first win over a top-ranked team since a victory at No. 1 North Carolina on Oct. 9, 2005.
- Duke is listed at No. 2 in this week's United Soccer Coaches rankings, marking a program-record 26 consecutive polls in which the Blue Devils have held a spot in the top 10.
- Defensively, Duke's seven goals allowed are the fewest in the ACC and tied for the third-fewest through 15 matches in program history.
- The team's 0.45 goals against average ranks fourth in the NCAA.
- The Blue Devils swept the ACC's weekly awards for the second time this season, as graduate student Tess Boade was tapped the conference's Co-Offensive Player of the Week while sophomore Emily Royson was named the Defensive Player of the Week.
- Boade's five goals and 13 points in conference-only matches are both tied for third in the ACC. She brings a five-match point streak into Thursday with four goals and two assists in that span.
- Freshman Michelle Cooper leads the team with nine goals and 21 points. She leads the ACC with 1.75 points per game and is two goals away from the Duke freshman record set by Kelly Cobb in 2011.
- Junior goalkeeper Ruthie Jones has 37 saves through 15 matches. Her 0.48 goals against average is currently tops in the ACC, while her .841 save percentage ranks second in the conference.
- Senior Mackenzie Pluck has an assist in five of her last seven contests. Her seven helpers this season pace the Blue Devils and are tied for seventh in the ACC.
- Duke has won seven of its last 10 road games.
DUKE VS. LOUISVILLE
- Duke and Louisville are set for their eighth all-time matchup with the Blue Devils leading the series, 2-0-5.
- The series began with four consecutive draws before the Blue Devils strung together back-to-back wins over the Cardinals in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
- Duke's last result versus Louisville was a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes of play at Lynn Stadium on Oct. 18, 2019. Then-sophomore Mackenzie Pluck helped set up a penalty kick opportunity for the Blue Devils that Ella Stevens cashed in on to give Duke an early advantage over the 14th-ranked Cardinals.
- Louisville is one of three ACC teams that Duke has never lost to, along with Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
- Louisville heads into its Senior Night against the Blue Devils with a 7-6-2 overall record and a 3-5-1 mark in ACC matches.
- After jumping out to a 3-1-0 start in conference play, the Cardinals have gone 0-4-1 in their last five games, with two of those setbacks coming on the road against ranked opponents.
- Louisville drew with Clemson on the road on Oct. 24, tying the match at 1-1 just 20 seconds into the second half.
- The Cardinals feature a well-balanced attack as 12 players have gotten on the scoresheet this season.
- Freshman Julia Simon leads the team with four goals and 11 points. The forward has found the back of the net in two of Louisville's last three matches.
- Fellow newcomer Nina Nicosia has dished out a team-leading four assists to go with three goals.
- Graduate student Gabby Kouzelos has started all 15 matches in goal, collecting 63 saves (.708 save pct.) with two shutouts.
LAST TIME OUT: DUKE 1, FLORIDA STATE 0
- Graduate student Tess Boade scored in the 27th minute and Duke held Florida State scoreless for the first time this season in a 1-0 home victory over the top-ranked Seminoles on Sunday, Oct. 24.
- It marked Duke's first win over the No. 1 team in the United Soccer Coaches poll since Oct. 9, 2005 against North Carolina.
- The Blue Devils also picked up their first win over Florida State since Oct. 8, 2017. Duke had gone 0-4-1 over its previous five contests versus the Seminoles, not scoring a goal in that stretch.
- Boade's goal was set up by an intelligent play from freshman Michelle Cooper, who let an Emily Royson pass roll by her to divert two FSU defenders away from Boade.
- The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native got the ball at the top of the box and fired a left-footed shot that handcuffed goalkeeper Mia Justus before trickling just over the line and in.
- Ruthie Jones made four saves in goal as the Blue Devils earned their ninth shutout of the season and their fourth consecutive clean sheet.
- The result marked Florida State's first loss in regulation in its last 32 matches dating back to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
- Duke concluded its regular-season home slate with a 9-1-0 record at Koskinen Stadium.
- The win also came on Duke's Senior Day, as each of the team's five seniors – Delaney Graham, Marykate McGuire, Mackenzie Pluck, Sydney Simmons and Holland Stam – were recognized in a pregame ceremony.
STEPPING IT UP ON DEFENSIVE END
- The Blue Devils' seven goals allowed are the fewest by an ACC team this season.
- Duke's 0.45 goals against average leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally.
- The Blue Devils have recorded nine shutouts, which are the third-most in the ACC despite playing fewer matches than each of the top-10 ranking teams.
- Duke has allowed more than one goal in a match just once this season -- a 2-1 double-overtime loss to NC State on Oct. 7.
- Duke's seven goals yielded are also tied for the third-fewest through 15 matches in program history. The 2017 team also gave up seven goals at the 15-game mark, while the 2011 squad allowed five and the 2005 team allowed six.
- The Blue Devils enter Thursday's match having not allowed a goal in the last 361 minutes of play.
- 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.
A RECORD RANKING
- Duke is ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll this week, marking a program-record 26 consecutive polls that the Blue Devils have held a spot in the top 10.
- That streak, which dates back to Oct. 6, 2020, surpasses the 25 straight polls that listed Duke in the top 10 from 1992-95.
- This week's poll marks the second time this season Duke is ranked No. 2. The Blue Devils also moved up to No. 2 after their win at North Carolina on Sept. 17, which was then the highest ranking for Duke since Oct. 31, 2017.
- 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. 1 team in the nation.
DUKE ON THE ROAD
- Duke enters Thursday's match having won six of its last nine road contests.
- The Blue Devils are 9-4-1 in their last 14 road games dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season and have outscored their opponents 24-11 in that stretch.
- Duke is 3-1-1 away from home this season. The Blue Devils have given up just two goals in their five road matches.
- The Blue Devils' last road match was a 2-0 win at Wake Forest on Oct. 15. Duke scored twice in the opening 22 minutes and was in control the rest of the way, allowing Wake just one shot on target.
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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