No. 5 Duke Travels to No. 11 Boston College, No. 15 Harvard

About the Weekend

Duke travels to Boston College and Harvard this weekend. Friday's ACC matchup with the Eagles is available on ACCNX, while the Sunday game in Cambridge is streamed on ESPN+.
Duke is 1-0 in ACC play as Boston College hosts the Blue Devils at the Field Hockey Complex in Newton, Mass. The game will be the Eagles' Red Bandanna game.

Bleed Blue and Live Green with Duke Field Hockey

With climate change and sustainability efforts at the forefront of news all around the world, the Duke University field hockey team will host a Bleed Blue Live Green game against Wake Forest, Sept. 29. In conjunction with the game, Duke will hold a donation drive for gently used athletic equipment, shoes and clothes with items going directly to the Boys and Girls Club of Durham. For this game, Duke field hockey is asking fans to bring an item to donate. The Blue Devils will accept gently used athletic equipment (sticks, balls, gloves, etc.) along with shoes and clothes. For each item donated, fans will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win prizes, including a mini field hockey stick signed by the Duke field hockey team.

The Opening Hit

Duke hits the road for a pair of top-15 matchups at Boston College and at Harvard. The Blue Devils are 3-1 against top-20 opponents this season with all three wins coming against teams in the top 10.
The Blue Devils are riding a four-game win streak, including wins over No. 6 Syracuse and No. 9 Liberty. Duke is 6-1 overall and off to its best start since starting 2019, 7-0. The Blue Devils last defeated Boston College on the road in 2017.
Boston College is coming off a solid weekend that included a victory at No. 6 Virginia (2-1) and James Madison (7-0). The Eagles are 5-2 with 1-0 losses to No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 Maryland. They are ninth in the RPI and 11th in the NFHCA poll.
Harvard is 4-2 on the year and ranked 15th nationally. The Crimson is 10th in the RPI with both losses coming against top-10 opponents. Harvard owns a top-20 win over then-No. 15 UConn and most recently beat Dartmouth, 4-0, to open league action.

By the Numbers
136:54 - Shutout streak for the Blue Devils, going back to the goal allowed against Liberty with 7:42 left in regulation
2.43 - Points per game average for Alaina McVeigh, third in the ACC and ninth nationally
3 - Duke's RPI through games last weekend, sitting behind just Louisville and Northwestern
1.01 - Piper Hampsch's goals against average, ranking 11th nationally
3.29 - Goals per game average for the Blue Devils, second highest in the league and sixth in the nation
0.56 - Boston College's goals against average, giving up just four goals
3-1 - Duke's record against top 10 opponents this season
6 – Games remaining on Duke's schedule versus teams ranked in the NFHCA top 20 poll

Movin' On Up

Duke moved up four more places in the NFHCA poll, taking over the No. 5 spot following its win over No. 5 Syracuse Sunday. It's the second biggest jump by a program as the Blue Devils are 15 spots up from their preseason ranking of 20th. Duke is in the top five for the first time since the first week of November in 2019.

Series Histories

Duke plays Boston College for the 26th time since the first meeting in 1990. The Blue Devils are 14-11 all-time against the Eagles, but it is BC riding a four-game win streak. Duke has not beaten Boston College on its home turf since 2017 - a 3-2 shootout victory.
Duke and Harvard are playing for the first time since 2006. The Blue Devils are 5-0 against the Crimson, outscoring them 20-5.

A Win Friday Would

Make Duke 2-0 in ACC play for the first time since the 2016 campaign. The Blue Devils went 5-1 in 2018, but lost to North Carolina in the second ACC game that season.
Be the Blue Devils first win at Boston College since 2015.
Push Duke to 7-1 this season, matching the second-best start through eight games under head coach Pam Bustin.
Be Duke's fourth top-15 victory this season. The 2019 Blue Devils posted six top-15 victories. Duke had six top-10 wins in 2015 when it advanced to the NCAA semifinals.

What Gives?

Duke is averaging 3.29 goals per game this season to rank second in the ACC. The Blue Devils have scored at least two goals in six of the seven games. Duke also is averaging 16.6 shots and 6.71 penalty corners per game.
On the other side of the ball, Boston College leads the ACC and ranks third nationally with a 0.56 goals against average. The Eagles are giving up just 7.4 shots per game and 3.6 penalty corners per game.

Penalty Corner Productivity

Duke has been quite successful on penalty corners already this season, scoring 11 goals on 47 penalty corners. Last weekend, Duke scored twice on penalty corner situations, knocking in rebounds from a penalty corner shot.
Last season, Duke scored just eight goals on 111 penalty corners, registering a goal on 7.2 percent of the corners.

A Weekend Sweep Would

Push Duke's win streak to six games, the longest since the team started the 2019 season, 7-0.
Make Duke 5-1 against top-20 opponents this season.
Match Duke's best record through nine games in program history.

Being Stingy

Duke has not allowed a goal in 136:54 minutes dating back to the fourth quarter of the overtime win against Liberty. The Blue Devils have allowed just one goal in the past four games, earning shutouts in three of those.
Duke's 0.98 goals against average is second in the ACC and eighth nationally and is the lowest by a Blue Devil squad after seven games since allowing only four goals in the first seven games of the 2019 campaign. It marks only the third time under head coach Pam Bustin Duke has given up seven or fewer goals in the first seven games of a season and only the 16th time since the program's first season in 1971.
In comparison - in 2022 Duke allowed 18 goals in the first seven games. Duke's lowest final GAA in the past 10 seasons was 1.13 in 2019.

Next game

Duke returns home to host Wake Forest Sept. 29 at 6 p.m., and travels to William & Mary Oct. 1.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

No. 5 Duke Travels to No. 11 Boston College, No. 15 Harvard

Players Mentioned

Piper Hampsch

Alaina McVeigh

Duke information

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus Wake Forest on October 24, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus Old Dominion on October 26, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at North Carolina on October 31, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Completed Event: Field Hockey at UConn on October 19, 2025 , Win , 1, to, 0

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No. 5 Duke Travels to No. 11 Boston College, No. 15 Harvard

Players Mentioned

Piper Hampsch

Alaina McVeigh

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