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Game 1
#2 Duke at East Carolina
Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022 - 7 PM - ESPN+
Greenville, N.C. – Johnson Stadium
ESPN+ Talent: Zach Berly (PXP), Tori Riggs (Color)
NEED TO KNOW:
• Duke heads to Greenville, N.C., for a matchup with East Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 18 to open the 2022 campaign.
• Duke enters Thursday having won eight of its last 10 road contests. The Blue Devils are 10-4-1 in their last 15 road games dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season and have outscored their opponents 25-11 in that stretch.
• Head coach
Robbie Church opened his coaching career in 1982 and 1983 as the men's soccer coach at East Carolina. He tallied 10 wins in two years.
• The Blue Devils have won four straight season openers and six out of the last seven.
• In true road openers,
Robbie Church is 5-2 at Duke. Over his 21 years at Duke, Church is 17-3-1 in season openers.
• The Blue Devils are 62-6-0 (.912) all-time against non-conference opponents from the state of North Carolina. Duke has won 13 straight matches versus non-conference teams from North Carolina, while outscoring those opponents 50-1. The last loss was to UNC Greensboro in Chapel Hill on Aug. 28, 2009.
• The Blue Devils return eight starters and 18 letterwinners from last season's 16-4-1 squad that advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.
• Duke has been preseason ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, which equals the highest preseason ranking in school history (2015 & 2011).
•
Sophie Jones,
Ruthie Jones and
Emmy Duerr were voted captains for the 2022 squad.
• Duke features two sets of sisters in 2022 with Delaney and
Maggie Graham along with Emily and
Jenna Royson.
•
Mackenzie Pluck enters the season ranked tied for ninth on Duke's career assist chart with 21.
•
Ruthie Jones has started 41 straight matches in goal for the Blue Devils and has 19.9 shutouts, which ranks fifth all-time at Duke.
•
Sophie Jones has started 52 straight contests since arriving at Duke.
• In seven road games last season, Duke allowed only two goals in those matches.
• Duke junior
Katie Groff played club soccer along with Maeve English, Adison May, Sierra Lowery and Anabelle Abbott of ECU.
DUKE VS. EAST CAROLINA
• Despite the two campuses being separated by just 109 miles, Thursday will be the third all-time matchup between Duke and East Carolina.
• Duke is undefeated against East Carolina, but have yet to meet them on its home turf in Greenville, N.C.
• The Blue Devils saw the Pirates last season at home and shutout East Carolina, 5-0.
• Duke is 20-4-1 all-time against American Athletic Conference opponents.
• Duke is on a current 5-game winning streak against American Athletic opponents. Its longest winning streak was from September 1991 to September 1995 where Duke won six games in a row against American Athletic opponents.
• Head coach
Robbie Church owns a 2-0 ledger against East Carolina with wins coming in 1994 and 2021.