Blue Devils & Tar Heels Face Off Thursday in ACC Semifinals

Match 19
#8 Duke (12-4-2, 6-2-2 ACC) vs. #2 North Carolina (15-3-0, 8-2-0)
Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 - 5:30 PM (ET) - ACC Network
Cary, N.C. (WakeMed Soccer Park)
ACC Network Talent: Jenn Hildreth (PXP), Lori Lindsey (Color)

NEED TO KNOW
•   Fifth-seeded Duke (12-4-2) will travel down the road to Cary, N.C., to face top-seeded North Carolina (15-3-0) on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 5:30 p.m., in the semifinals of the ACC Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park.
•   Thursday's match will be aired live on ACC Network with Jenn Hildreth (PXP) and Lori Lindsey (Color) on the call.
•   Duke is making its 32nd appearance in the ACC Championship and owns a 16-31-3 ledger. The Blue Devils have advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Championship for the 15th time.
•   Duke will face its eighth top-10 team this season when the Blue Devils face No. 2 North Carolina.
•   Kat Rader and Michelle Cooper have scored the last eight goals for Duke over the last three matches. Either Rader or Cooper have scored in 10 of Duke's 18 matches.
•   In the latest NCAA RPI, Duke is sixth with its four losses coming to No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Florida State and No. 10 Virginia. The Blue Devils' schedule is currently ranked the eighth-toughest nationally.
•   Freshman Kat Rader's 11 goals rank first in the ACC among freshmen -- Taylor Price of Virginia Tech (8) is second.
•   In 35 matches played at Duke, Michelle Cooper has tallied at least a goal or assist in 26 of those contests.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES
•   The winner of the Duke/UNC match will advance to the ACC Championship final and face the winner of the Florida State/Notre Dame match. The final will take place Sunday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m., live on ESPNU.
•   Junior Katie Groff will return to WakeMed Soccer Park where she has played numerous times growing up. A product of Raleigh, N.C., Groff played there with her club team, NC Courage Girls Development Academy, and over the summer of 2022 with U-23 NC Courage.
•   Duke has collected a 4-4-1 record against ranked opponents. Of the 13 goals scored by Duke, Michelle Cooper (6) and Kat Rader (4) have scored 10 of them.
•   Junior Maggie Graham has assisted on goals in five out of the last seven contests. She ranks tied for sixth in the ACC with six assists on the year, which all came against ACC foes.
•   In ACC regular season games only, Michelle Cooper and Kat Rader combined for 14 goals. They ranked tied for second in the league with seven each. Cooper had ACC-best 20 points.
•   Freshman Devin Lynch tallied assists in back-to-back matches against Louisville and Notre Dame, while making her fifth start at Virginia.
•   When Kat Rader scores this season, the Blue Devils feature a 8-0-1 ledger. Duke is 7-1-1 this season and 17-1-1 over the last two years when Michelle Cooper scores.
•   Michelle Cooper notched her sixth career multi-goal performance against Louisville, which ranks tied for fourth on Duke's career charts along with Kim DeCesare (6). Cooper owns four multi-goal games in 2022, which is tied for second on Duke's record book.
•   Over the first nine matches, Duke featured a different starting lineup in each of those contests. The Blue Devils had the same lineup over the next seven matches. Duke now owns 12 different lineups this season.
•   Jenna Royson collected her first assist as a Blue Devil at Notre Dame. She owns six over her career.
•   The Blue Devils feature nine different players that have scored at least one goal this season.

THE SERIES WITH NORTH CAROLINA
•   Duke and North Carolina will meet for the 51st time in school history with the Tar Heels leading the series, 43-4-3.
•   In the ACC Tournament, UNC leads the series 12-0-0, including a 2-0 ledger in Cary, N.C.
•   The Blue Devils are 3-22-3 against North Carolina under head coach Robbie Church.

SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
•   North Carolina enters the match with a 15-3 record and has won six straight.
•   The Tar Heels have been led by Avery Patterson (9 goals, 3 assists), Tori Hansen (7 goals), Emily Murphy (5 goals, 4 assists) and Ally Sentnor (5 goals, 2 assists).
•   UNC has allowed only 10 goals on the season, including one during the six-game winning streak.

HEY, I KNOW YOU
•   Duke assistant coach Carla Overbeck will face her alma mater as she is a 1990 graduate of North Carolina. She collected an 89-0-6 record at UNC and won four NCAA Championships under Anson Dorrance.

IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
•   Duke is seeing action in the ACC Tournament for the 32nd time in school history and owns a 16-31-3 record. The Blue Devils are 1-11 all-time against No. 1 seeds.
•   Prior to the Blue Devils' win at Virginia, Duke dropped five out of the last six matches in the tournament.
•   Robbie Church owns a 14-25-2 ledger in the ACC Tournament.
•   If Duke were to win on Thursday, the Blue Devils would make their sixth ACC Championship finals appearance and the first since 2017.
•   Duke's 15 semifinal appearances ranks fourth behind North Carolina (32), Virginia (23) and Florida State (18).

LAST MEETING WITH NORTH CAROLINA
•   North Carolina collected a 3-0 victory and outshot the Blue Devils, 15-2, in the match.
•   The Tar Heels registered a goal in the 35th minute and then added two second half tallies.

Blue Devils & Tar Heels Face Off Thursday in ACC Semifinals

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Blue Devils & Tar Heels Face Off Thursday in ACC Semifinals

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