Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus North Carolina on October 12, 2025 at 1 p.m.
Women's Soccer
vs North Carolina
Thursday, August 26
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
Duke University
vs
Western Carolina
No. 5 Duke Set For Thursday Night Clash With Western Carolina
8/25/2021 2:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Match 3
No. 5 Duke (2-0-0) vs. Western Carolina (1-1-0)
Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021 | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C. – Koskinen Stadium
NEED TO KNOW
DUKE VS. WESTERN CAROLINA
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
BLUE DEVILS SWEEP CAROLINA NIKE CLASSIC
HOT START FOR PLUCK
COOPER MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
No. 5 Duke (2-0-0) vs. Western Carolina (1-1-0)
Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021 | 7 p.m. | ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C. – Koskinen Stadium
NEED TO KNOW
- The fifth-ranked Duke women's soccer team looks to make it three wins in a row to start the season when it hosts Western Carolina at Koskinen Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 26.
- The match kicks off at 7 p.m. ET and will stream live on ACC Network Extra with Chris Edwards and Ryan Craig on the call.
- Duke opened the 2021 campaign by sweeping two ranked opponents in the Carolina Nike Classic, defeating No. 13 Arkansas, 3-1, on Aug. 19 and besting No. 19 Washington, 2-1, on Aug. 22.
- Senior Mackenzie Pluck scored the game-winner in the 88th minute against Washington and now has two goals with one assist through two games this season.
- Freshman Michelle Cooper became the seventh player in program history to score in each of her first two career starts, as she got Duke on the board against both Arkansas and Washington.
- The 2021 campaign marks the 34th season in program history and the 21st in Durham for head coach Robbie Church, where he has won 258 games and led the Blue Devils to three NCAA College Cup appearances.
- Duke put together a 12-5-4 record in an unprecedented 2020-21 season that featured the first spring matches in program history. The Blue Devils advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in the last 10 years, becoming one of just three programs nationally to do so.
- Duke returns 20 letterwinners and nine starters from last season's team. Each of the three 2020-21 team captains -- Tess Boade, Caitlin Cosme and Lily Nabet -- are using their additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have enrolled in graduate school at Duke.
- The 2021 roster is highlighted by five seniors -- Delaney Graham, Marykate McGuire, Mackenzie Pluck, Sydney Simmons and Holly Stam.
DUKE VS. WESTERN CAROLINA
- Although just 270 miles apart, Duke and Western Carolina have met only once in the regular season -- a 1-0 Blue Devils victory on Aug. 27, 2006 at Koskinen Stadium.
- Senior Sarah McCabe scored the series' lone goal in the first half of that matchup, while junior goalkeeper Allison Lipsher made one save in a full 90-minute effort.
- The Blue Devils are 58-6-0 all-time when playing non-conference opponents from the state of North Carolina.
- Duke head coach Robbie Church (1981) and Western Carolina head coach Chad Miller (1994) both played at and graduated from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, N.C. Miller went on to serve as head coach of the Pfeiffer women's soccer program from 1999-2005.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
- Western Carolina fell to North Florida, 4-1, in its season opener on Aug. 19 before picking up a 2-1 win over UNC Asheville on Aug. 22.
- Two of the Catamounts' three goals on the young season have been scored by graduate students -- Maryanne Kilgore and IUPUI transfer Natalie McNally.
- Western Carolina played 12 total games last season, beginning the campaign in mid-February. Chad Miller's squad posted a 4-7-1 record and a 3-5-1 mark in the Southern Conference.
- SoCon All-Freshman Team pick Maggie Lloyd tied for the team lead in goals (3) and points (8) with current grad student Regan Ward.
- Senior goalkeeper Ashlee Owens has started both of WCU's games this season, making eight saves with five goals allowed in 180 minutes of action.
BLUE DEVILS SWEEP CAROLINA NIKE CLASSIC
- Duke participated in the Carolina Nike Classic for the 30th time in program history to open the 2021 season and picked up two wins over ranked opponents at Koskinen Stadium.
- An annual early-season event hosted by the University of North Carolina, the Classic perennially features high-level competition from around the country.
- The Blue Devils kicked off their 2021 slate in a Thursday night matchup with No. 13 Arkansas on Aug. 19 and defeated the Razorbacks, 3-1.
- The Razorbacks opened the scoring at the 20:15 mark, but Duke found an equalizer in the 39th minute when freshman Michelle Cooper netted her first career goal from outside the 18-yard box.
- Senior Mackenzie Pluck used her speed to draw two penalties inside the box in the second half, setting Duke up for back-to-back PK opportunities just two minutes apart.
- Graduate student Tess Boade sent the first attempt into the lower left corner of the net to break the tie, before Pluck extended Duke's lead to two with a penalty goal of her own at the 50:51 mark.
- Duke continued to fire away at the Razorback goal, finishing the night with 19 shots and 10 on target.
- Three days later on Sunday, Aug. 22, the Blue Devils edged out No. 19 Washington in a thrilling 2-1 game that saw Pluck net the winner in the 88th minute.
- Cooper opened the scoring with her second goal in as many games, becoming the seventh player in program history to score in each of her first two career starts.
- Junior goalkeeper Ruthie Jones made a combined four saves in 180 minutes of work, including a key stop in the 71st minute against Washington.
- The 2020-21 season did not feature the Carolina Nike Classic as each ACC team played a conference-only schedule in the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- North Carolina played Washington (Aug. 19) and Arkansas (Aug. 22) in Chapel Hill, N.C., opening with a 4-1 win over the Huskies before defeating the Razorbacks, 1-0, in overtime.
- Duke is 31-18-1 all-time in the event.
HOT START FOR PLUCK
- After recording just two goals in her previous 22 games, Mackenzie Pluck has opened her senior campaign with the scoring touch, finding the back of the net in each of Duke's first two wins.
- She drew two penalties inside the box in the second half against Arkansas, setting the Blue Devils up for back-to-back PK opportunities in a two-minute span.
- After Tess Boade converted the first attempt, Pluck was given the chance to extend Duke's lead to 3-1 and did so by firing her shot into the lower right corner.
- It was the first PK attempt of Pluck's career.
- Three days later, the North Wales, Pa., native scored the game-winner in the 88th minute to lead Duke to a 2-1 win over Washington.
- She also assisted on the Blue Devils' opening goal in the 53rd minute, marking the sixth time in her career that she recorded a goal and an assist in the same game.
- Her two performances earned her a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week.
- Eight of Pluck's nine shots this season have been on target.
- The senior now has 15 career goals, with five game-winning tallies, to go with 14 assists in 65 appearances.
COOPER MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT
- Freshman Michelle Cooper scored Duke's opening goal in each of its first two games while displaying her offensive capabilities on multiple runs.
- In the season-opening win over Arkansas, she took a pass from Maggie Graham in the midfield and dribbled it to an opening 25 yards out before firing a right-footed shot past the Razorback goalkeeper, knotting the score at 1-1 in the 39th minute.
- She followed up her debut performance by breaking a scoreless tie in the 53rd minute versus Washington, bursting up the left side past a defender and placing her shot into the lower right corner.
- The Clarkston, Mich., native became the seventh player in program history to score in each of her first two career starts and the first Blue Devil to do so since Taylor Racioppi in 2015.
- Cooper leads the team with 11 shots through two matches and is the only freshman on the roster to have started in the regular season.
- A high school All-American at IMG Academy, Cooper arrived at Duke as the No. 18 overall player and No. 5 forward in the TopDrawerSoccer.com class of 2021 rankings.
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerKieran Hall Postgame vs Pitt
Thursday, October 02
Mia Oliaro Postgame vs Pitt
Thursday, October 02
Kieran Hall Postgame Vs. Wake Forest
Thursday, September 25
Kieran Hall Postgame Vs. Notre Dame
Friday, September 19
