Duke Hosts Wake Forest Friday; Travels to W&M Sunday

About the Weekend

Duke welcomes Wake Forest to campus at 6 p.m., Friday evening for the first field hockey "Bleed Blue Live Green" environmental awareness game. The game will feature giveaways for those who bring gently used athletic equipment and apparel, which will go directly to the Boys and Girls Club of Durham. Each item will grant you a raffle ticket to win prizes, including a mini field hockey stick signed by the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils travel to William & Mary for a crucial regional contest at noon on Sunday on FloSports ($). The road contest is the start of a three-game road stretch for Duke.

The Opening Hit

The Blue Devils are riding a six-game win streak, which includes four top-15 wins and a pair of ACC victories. Duke is 8-1 overall and sports its best nine-game record since it was 8-1 in 2019. The eight wins are more than it had in each of the previous three seasons.
Wake Forest is coming off an 0-2 weekend with losses to No. 2 North Carolina and Miami. The Demon Deacons are 3-4 overall and 0-1 in ACC play. They are averaging just 0.86 goals per game this season.
William and Mary is 3-4 overall and 2-0 in CAA play. The Tribe's setbacks have come against James Madison, Virginia, Liberty and Old Dominion. They own a win over Wake Forest. W&M plays at conference foe Delaware Friday evening.

By the Numbers
6 - Consecutive wins for the Blue Devils heading into the weekend, dating back to the lone loss Sept. 3 against No. 2 Northwestern
2.33 - Points per game average for Alaina McVeigh, first in the ACC and 11th nationally
7.3 - Shots allowed per game average for the Blue Devils this season
10.6 - Shots allowed per game average for the Blue Devils after nine games in 2022
1.07 - Piper Hampsch's goals against average, ranking 10th nationally
3.11 - Goals per game average for the Blue Devils, second highest in the league and seventh in the nation
2.11 - Goals per game average for the Blue Devils through nine games last season
5-1 - Duke's record against top-15 opponents this season
Movin' On Up

Duke moved up another spot to No. 4 following its weekend sweep. The Blue Devils are 16 spots up from their preseason ranking of 20th. Duke is in fourth for the first time since November of 2019. The Blue Devils climbed to No. 1 in the latest RPI rankings, reflecting their success and tough schedule combination.

Series Histories

Duke and Wake Forest face each other for the 83rd time. The Blue Devils hold a slight 44-38 edge in the series, but are just 2-4 since 2019.
Duke travels to William & Mary to play the Tribe for the 40th time in the programs' histories. The Blue Devils lead the series 29-9-1 with William & Mary winning last year's matchup in Durham. It was the first win for the Tribe since 2001.

A Win Friday Would

Make Duke 3-0 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 seventh consecutive win, marking the longest win streak since starting the 2019 season, 7-0.
Push Duke to 9-1 this season, matching the second-best 10-game record since being 9-1 in 2017. Duke has been 9-1 only three other times in program history - 2017, 2016 and 1990.

A Weekend Sweep Would

Push Duke's win streak to eight games, the longest since the team started the 2016 season, 8-0. Duke won nine straight in 2003.
Give Duke its 30th 10-win season and the ninth under head coach Pam Bustin.

Being Stingy

Duke is allowing just 1.11 goals per game this season, giving up 10 goals in nine games. The Blue Devils have three shutouts this season and are allowing only 7.3 shots per game.
Duke's 1.05 goals against average is fourth in the ACC and ninth nationally and is the lowest by a Blue Devil squad after nine games since allowing only four goals in the first seven games of the 2019 campaign. Only three goalies in Duke field hockey history have finished a season with under a 1.14 goals against average.
In comparison - in 2022 Duke allowed 20 goals in the first nine games. Duke's lowest final GAA in the past 10 seasons was 1.13 in 2019.

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