Blue Devils Face No. 1 Florida State in NCAA Quarterfinals

Sunday, May 9

Cary, N.C. (Quarterfinal)

1 P.M.

Duke University

Florida State

Blue Devils Face No. 1 Florida State in NCAA Quarterfinals

5/8/2021 12:39:00 PM | Women's Soccer

WATCH LIVE STATS DUKE NOTES (PDF)FSU NOTES (PDF)

NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
No. 9 Duke (12-5-3) vs. No. 1 Florida State (13-0-0)
Sunday, May 9, 2021 | 1 p.m.
Cary, N.C. – WakeMed Field #2

NEED TO KNOW

Duke will play in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for the seventh time in the last 10 years when it takes on No. 1 Florida State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C.
The match will be streamed on goheels.com and NCAA.com.
The Blue Devils are coming off a 1-0 shutout win over Ole Miss in the Round of 16. Senior Caitlin Cosme scored the match's lone goal in the third minute, while sophomore goalkeeper Ruthie Jones recorded her 11th clean sheet of the season with two saves.
Sophomore Sophie Jones has stepped up offensively for Duke this spring, netting three goals in her last six games -- including the game-winner in double-overtime in the second round against Arizona State on May 1.
Duke looks to advance to the College Cup for the fifth time in program history. The Blue Devils played in the tournament's final four in 1992, 2011, 2015 and 2017.

DUKE IN THE NCAA QUARTERFINALS
The Blue Devils will play in the NCAA Quarterfinals for the ninth time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 2001. Duke is 2-5-1 in the Elite Eight since the tournament's expansion.

Duke's pair of wins in the Elite Eight came in 2011 (2-0 vs. Long Beach State) and 2017 (4-0 vs. Baylor). The Blue Devils advanced to the 2015 College Cup by edging Stanford in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.

Sunday's match will be Duke's seventh appearance in the Elite Eight since 2011, tied for the second-most in the NCAA during that span.

NCAA Elite Eight Appearances | Last 10 Seasons (2011-20)
8 – Florida State
7 - Duke
7 - Stanford
6 - North Carolina
6 - UCLA
5 - Virginia
5 - Penn State

Duke improved to 42-22-10 all-time in tournament games with its 1-0 win in the Round of 16 on Wednesday. Under head coach Robbie Church, the Blue Devils are 36-16-9 in the tournament with eight quarterfinal appearances and three trips to the College Cup (2011, '15, '17).

Seeded as the No. 9 overall team, Duke entered the tournament as a top-10 seed for the ninth time since the tournament expanded. This year's tournament features 48 teams, with the top 16 seeds receiving a first-round bye.

DUKE VS. FLORIDA STATE
A pair of ACC rivals consistently near the top of the conference standings, Duke and Florida State meet for the third time this season and 33rd time in series history on Sunday afternoon.

The Blue Devils trail in the all-time series with a 10-16-6 ledger. Duke and FSU have faced one another at least once every season since 1995.

The only matchup between the two teams in the NCAA Tournament came in the 2015 College Cup semifinal -- a 2-0 Duke victory in Cary, N.C., that sent the Blue Devils to the national title game.

There have been four previous occassions in which the Blue Devils faced an opponent three times in a single season -- 1992 (North Carolina), 1994 (North Carolina), 2000 (Clemson) and 2011 (Wake Forest).

The Seminoles won both matches during the 2020 fall season. In a clash between two top-five ranked teams on Oct. 29 in Tallahassee, Florida State scored off a corner kick with 14 seconds remaining to come away with a 1-0 victory. The ACC Tournament semifinal match on Nov. 13 in Cary saw the No. 1 Seminoles score one goal in the first half and three in the second for a 4-0 result.

LAST TIME OUT: DUKE 1, OLE MISS 0
The Blue Devils punched their ticket to the Elite Eight with a 1-0 victory over Ole Miss in the Round of 16 on Wednesday at WakeMed Field No. 2.

Duke wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as senior Tess Boade sent a corner kick to the near post that was headed in by fellow senior Caitlin Cosme just 2:25 into the match.

The goal was Cosme's sixth of the season and third since the spring portion of the season began in March. Boade collected her eighth point in her last seven games with the helper.

Duke held off the Rebels' attempts for an equalizer, and nearly doubled the lead several times. Junior Delaney Graham had a one-on-one chance with Ole Miss goalkeeper Ashley Orkus in the 12th minute, but Orkus turned away her right-footed strike.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ruthie Jones registered two saves for the Blue Devils, with each coming in the opening 25 minutes. Jones improved to 11-5-3 on the season and collected her ninth shutout win.

With the win, Duke moved to 8-3-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.

COMING OUT HOT
Duke has used early goals in both the first and second half this season to help establish a quick advantage. Of the 17 goals the Blue Devils have scored in the first half, eight have come in the first 15 minutes of play.

Senior Caitlin Cosme's goal in the third minute against Ole Miss on Wednesday -- which proved to be the game-winner -- was the quickest the Blue Devils have scored this season.

Duke is 12-0-0 when scoring first this year.

The Blue Devils have scored 12 goals in the second half of games this season, with nine coming within the first 20 minutes out of halftime and four scored in the opening six minutes of the period.

Freshman Grace Watkins increased the Blue Devil lead to 3-0 at UNCW (3/6) when she scored her first career goal at the 48:31 mark of the match. Senior Tess Boade scored 1:20 into the second half in the season opener at Wake Forest (9/10), while freshman Olivia Migli made it a 3-1 match at Miami (11/1) 2:58 into the latter frame.

NOTING DUKE

Duke is 8-0-0 when leading at the half.
Duke's defensive core features a veteran quartet of Caitlin Cosme, Taylor Mitchell, Mia Gyau and Delaney Graham, who have combined for 20,511 minutes, 253 games played and 212 starts over the last four years.
Mitchell has played 7,661 minutes over four years and ranks fourth in all-time minutes played at Duke.
Cosme played 300 minutes in eight matches her first two seasons at Duke, but has logged 40 matches and 3,610 minutes over the last two years.
With her assist on Cosme's game-winner on Wednesday, senior Tess Boade now owns 38 points in 72 games at Duke
On Oct. 13, Duke climbed to No. 5 in the national rankings for the first time since week 10 of the 2018 season. The Blue Devils' No. 4 ranking a week later was their highest in a regular season poll since 2017.
Duke finished the fall portion of the regular season with five consecutive road games, notching a 3-2 record on the swing. The Blue Devils are 5-3-0 this season when playing away from home and 2-1-0 at a neutral site.