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/
7 p.m.
Women's Soccer
at Virginia
Thursday, August 24
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
Duke University
vs
Southern California
Photo by: Duke Athletics
No. 4 Duke Welcomes No. 24 USC Thursday in Koskinen Stadium
8/23/2023 8:11:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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Match 2
#24 Southern California (1-0-0) at #4 Duke (1-0-0)
Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023 - 7 PM (ET) - ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
ACC Network Extra Talent: Dean Linke (PXP), Tess Boade (Analyst)
NEED TO KNOW
•   No. 4 Duke (1-0) hosts former Blue Devil standout Jane Alukonis and her No. 24 Southern California (1-0) squad in the second of a three-game homestand Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium.
•   Thursday's match versus USC will be aired live on ACC Network Extra with Dean Linke (PXP) and Tess Boade (Analyst) calling the action.
•   It will mark Mental Health Awareness night versus Southern California. Â
•   Coming off three straight NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearances, Duke returns five starters -- Maggie Graham, Katie Groff, Olivia Migli, Kat Rader and Emily Royson -- and 15 letterwinners off its 15-5-3 squad from 2022.
•   Duke welcomes the No. 6 overall recruiting class with eight freshmen and three transfers. In the final TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) class of 2023 rankings, the Blue Devils featured four players in the top-40 of the ledger – Cameron Roller (5), Mia Minestrella (13), Kiera Clemens (26) and Phoebe Goldthwaite (38). The reigning Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year, Leah Freeman, from Oregon along with two-year starter Kati Druzina (Notre Dame) and Julia Saunicheva (UCLA) also transferred in.
STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES
•   Duke registered its 450th all-time win in the season opener against West Virginia. The Blue Devils became just the 22nd program to reach 450 wins on the women's soccer side.
•   The Blue Devils opened the season with a shutout for the fifth time out of the last six years. The last time Duke kicked off the season with two straight shutouts was the 2015 campaign. Â
•   In her first two seasons, when Kat Rader scores, the Blue Devils feature a 10-0-1 ledger. She owns a 1.29 points per game average in 24 career matches. Â
•   Duke has been preseason ranked No. 4 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
•   The Blue Devils open the season with three straight home matches at Koskinen Stadium. Overall, Duke features nine home matches in Durham for the 2023 regular season.
•   Duke welcomes 11 newcomers to the 2023 roster as head coach Robbie Church enters his 23rd season with the Blue Devils. Â
•   Leah Freeman has earned a trio of preseason honors -- MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI First Team along with United Soccer Coaches Goalkeepers Watch List.
•   Duke features a leadership committee of its six seniors (returning players only) to start the season -- Nicky Chico, Maggie Graham, Katie Groff, Olivia Migli, Emily Royson and Grace Watkins.
•   Senior Maggie Graham enters her first season at Duke without her sister, Delaney, as Delaney graduated this past year and is now enrolled in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tenn., to start the process of being a doctor. Â
•   The Blue Devils will need to replace the reigning MAC Hermann Trophy Award winner Michelle Cooper, after she turned professional following her sophomore season with Duke. In two seasons, Cooper scored 31 goals, added 16 assists and posted 78 points. She scored in 29-of-40 matches. Â
THE SERIES WITH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
•   Duke features a 2-1-1 ledger in the series with Southern California. It will mark the first meeting since 2015.
•   Head coach Robbie Church also holds a 2-1-1 record against the Trojans.
•   Their most recent contest against Southern California came at home during Duke's Nike Classic in 2015 in which Duke won 1-0.
•   In matches played in Durham, Duke is 1-1 versus the Trojans.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
•   USC is entering its second season under Duke graduate head coach Jane Alukonis in 2023. The Trojans finished last season 12-3-3 overall and 8-1-2 (3rd) in the Pac-12.
•   Southern California made its ninth straight postseason appearance in Alukonis' first season at the helm and finished the year No. 23 in the rankings. USC reached as high as No. 8 in the polls, had a 4-0 record against ranked opponents and picked up big wins over No. 1 UCLA and No. 7 Stanford.
•   In the season opener, USC defeated Michigan, 1-0.
DUKE VS. THE PAC-12
•   Duke currently holds a 16-18-1 record against Pac-12 teams.
•   The Blue Devils will face two Pac-12 teams out of the next three matches (Stanford on Sept. 2).
A WIN WOULD...
•   Increase the Blue Devils' home winning streak to eight dating back to last year.
•   Move the series record against USC to 3-1-1 in favor of the Blue Devils.
DUKE WELCOMES JANE ALUKONIS BACK...
•   The Blue Devils welcome former Duke student-athlete and coach Jane Alukonis back to Durham Thursday for the match against Southern California. She is a 2010 Duke graduate.
•   Alukonis is in her second season as the head coach at USC.
•   Over four seasons at Duke, Alukonis appeared in 84 matches and made 76 starts, while notching five goals and 11 assists for 21 points. Â
•   She helped lead Duke to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a pair of quarterfinal finishes.
•   In 2015 and 2016, Alukonis returned to Duke as the director of operations, before moving on to UCLA as an assistant coach. Â
RADER, GROFF SCORE IN OPENER...
•   In the season opener a week ago, Kat Rader and Katie Groff scored to push Duke past West Virginia, 2-0. Â
•   Rader totaled her 13th career goal in less than 11 minutes into the match, while Groff added a goal off a corner kick from Devin Lynch in the second half. Â
•   Senior transfer Leah Freeman notched the clean sheet in goal, playing the full 90 minutes. Â
•   The shutout for Freeman was the 19th of her career and first as a Blue Devil. It also marked her 50th career match in goal.
•   Freeman was selected honorable mention for the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week released on Aug. 22. Â
STARTERS...
•   Duke featured a mix of six seniors, four sophomores and one junior in the starting lineup against West Virginia in the opener. Â
•   Rookie Mia Minestrella made her Duke debut seeing action in 39 minutes. Â
MORE TIME ON FIELD
•   A few Blue Devils posted career highs in minutes in the season opener against West Virginia.
•   Both Elle Piper and Carina Lageyre saw action in a career-high 90 minutes.
•   Senior Grace Watkins played a career-high 80 minutes in the opener as well.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
•   Duke currently features a seven-match winning streak at home in Koskinen Stadium. Â
•   In the seven-match winning streak, Duke has outscored its opponents 16-2.
•   Over the last seven seasons, the Blue Devils have totaled a 58-10-7 ledger at home.
•   In 23 years under the direction of head coach Robbie Church, Duke owns a 166-42-29 record at home.
A full set of notes are here…
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Match 2
#24 Southern California (1-0-0) at #4 Duke (1-0-0)
Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023 - 7 PM (ET) - ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
ACC Network Extra Talent: Dean Linke (PXP), Tess Boade (Analyst)
NEED TO KNOW
•   No. 4 Duke (1-0) hosts former Blue Devil standout Jane Alukonis and her No. 24 Southern California (1-0) squad in the second of a three-game homestand Thursday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium.
•   Thursday's match versus USC will be aired live on ACC Network Extra with Dean Linke (PXP) and Tess Boade (Analyst) calling the action.
•   It will mark Mental Health Awareness night versus Southern California. Â
•   Coming off three straight NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearances, Duke returns five starters -- Maggie Graham, Katie Groff, Olivia Migli, Kat Rader and Emily Royson -- and 15 letterwinners off its 15-5-3 squad from 2022.
•   Duke welcomes the No. 6 overall recruiting class with eight freshmen and three transfers. In the final TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) class of 2023 rankings, the Blue Devils featured four players in the top-40 of the ledger – Cameron Roller (5), Mia Minestrella (13), Kiera Clemens (26) and Phoebe Goldthwaite (38). The reigning Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year, Leah Freeman, from Oregon along with two-year starter Kati Druzina (Notre Dame) and Julia Saunicheva (UCLA) also transferred in.
STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES
•   Duke registered its 450th all-time win in the season opener against West Virginia. The Blue Devils became just the 22nd program to reach 450 wins on the women's soccer side.
•   The Blue Devils opened the season with a shutout for the fifth time out of the last six years. The last time Duke kicked off the season with two straight shutouts was the 2015 campaign. Â
•   In her first two seasons, when Kat Rader scores, the Blue Devils feature a 10-0-1 ledger. She owns a 1.29 points per game average in 24 career matches. Â
•   Duke has been preseason ranked No. 4 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
•   The Blue Devils open the season with three straight home matches at Koskinen Stadium. Overall, Duke features nine home matches in Durham for the 2023 regular season.
•   Duke welcomes 11 newcomers to the 2023 roster as head coach Robbie Church enters his 23rd season with the Blue Devils. Â
•   Leah Freeman has earned a trio of preseason honors -- MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI First Team along with United Soccer Coaches Goalkeepers Watch List.
•   Duke features a leadership committee of its six seniors (returning players only) to start the season -- Nicky Chico, Maggie Graham, Katie Groff, Olivia Migli, Emily Royson and Grace Watkins.
•   Senior Maggie Graham enters her first season at Duke without her sister, Delaney, as Delaney graduated this past year and is now enrolled in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tenn., to start the process of being a doctor. Â
•   The Blue Devils will need to replace the reigning MAC Hermann Trophy Award winner Michelle Cooper, after she turned professional following her sophomore season with Duke. In two seasons, Cooper scored 31 goals, added 16 assists and posted 78 points. She scored in 29-of-40 matches. Â
THE SERIES WITH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
•   Duke features a 2-1-1 ledger in the series with Southern California. It will mark the first meeting since 2015.
•   Head coach Robbie Church also holds a 2-1-1 record against the Trojans.
•   Their most recent contest against Southern California came at home during Duke's Nike Classic in 2015 in which Duke won 1-0.
•   In matches played in Durham, Duke is 1-1 versus the Trojans.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
•   USC is entering its second season under Duke graduate head coach Jane Alukonis in 2023. The Trojans finished last season 12-3-3 overall and 8-1-2 (3rd) in the Pac-12.
•   Southern California made its ninth straight postseason appearance in Alukonis' first season at the helm and finished the year No. 23 in the rankings. USC reached as high as No. 8 in the polls, had a 4-0 record against ranked opponents and picked up big wins over No. 1 UCLA and No. 7 Stanford.
•   In the season opener, USC defeated Michigan, 1-0.
DUKE VS. THE PAC-12
•   Duke currently holds a 16-18-1 record against Pac-12 teams.
•   The Blue Devils will face two Pac-12 teams out of the next three matches (Stanford on Sept. 2).
A WIN WOULD...
•   Increase the Blue Devils' home winning streak to eight dating back to last year.
•   Move the series record against USC to 3-1-1 in favor of the Blue Devils.
DUKE WELCOMES JANE ALUKONIS BACK...
•   The Blue Devils welcome former Duke student-athlete and coach Jane Alukonis back to Durham Thursday for the match against Southern California. She is a 2010 Duke graduate.
•   Alukonis is in her second season as the head coach at USC.
•   Over four seasons at Duke, Alukonis appeared in 84 matches and made 76 starts, while notching five goals and 11 assists for 21 points. Â
•   She helped lead Duke to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a pair of quarterfinal finishes.
•   In 2015 and 2016, Alukonis returned to Duke as the director of operations, before moving on to UCLA as an assistant coach. Â
RADER, GROFF SCORE IN OPENER...
•   In the season opener a week ago, Kat Rader and Katie Groff scored to push Duke past West Virginia, 2-0. Â
•   Rader totaled her 13th career goal in less than 11 minutes into the match, while Groff added a goal off a corner kick from Devin Lynch in the second half. Â
•   Senior transfer Leah Freeman notched the clean sheet in goal, playing the full 90 minutes. Â
•   The shutout for Freeman was the 19th of her career and first as a Blue Devil. It also marked her 50th career match in goal.
•   Freeman was selected honorable mention for the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week released on Aug. 22. Â
STARTERS...
•   Duke featured a mix of six seniors, four sophomores and one junior in the starting lineup against West Virginia in the opener. Â
•   Rookie Mia Minestrella made her Duke debut seeing action in 39 minutes. Â
MORE TIME ON FIELD
•   A few Blue Devils posted career highs in minutes in the season opener against West Virginia.
•   Both Elle Piper and Carina Lageyre saw action in a career-high 90 minutes.
•   Senior Grace Watkins played a career-high 80 minutes in the opener as well.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
•   Duke currently features a seven-match winning streak at home in Koskinen Stadium. Â
•   In the seven-match winning streak, Duke has outscored its opponents 16-2.
•   Over the last seven seasons, the Blue Devils have totaled a 58-10-7 ledger at home.
•   In 23 years under the direction of head coach Robbie Church, Duke owns a 166-42-29 record at home.
A full set of notes are here…
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