Duke Travels West to Take on Cal and Stanford

The Opening Hit

No. 12 Duke heads to the West Coast to take on new ACC members California and Stanford. Friday's contest against the Bears is at 7 p.m. (ET) and Sunday's at 5 p.m. (ET). It is the first meeting for the Blue Devils with their Pacific Coast partners since 2019. Both games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Duke looks to find the back of the goal cage this weekend. The Blue Devils are 5-4 overall and 1-1 in ACC play. Featuring one of the best defenses in the nation, Duke has allowed just six goals and ranks third in goals against average and second in shutouts. Alaina McVeigh is the top scorer with 11 points from five goals and an assist.
Cal enters its home weekend against Duke and UNC with a 6-1 record and looking for its first ACC win. The Bears, No. 12 in the RPI, are averaging 2.84 goals per game. Stanford is 5-3 overall and 0-2 in league action. The Cardinal's game against UNC Oct. 4 will be their first game in 11 days - dating back to a loss to UVA Sept. 22.

By the Numbers
2 - Points needed by junior Alaina McVeigh to become the 43rd Blue Devil to record 50 career points

3 - Goals needed by McVeigh to become the 25th Blue Devil to record 25 career goals

0.47 - Goals against average for Duke's Frederique Wollaert, ranking second in the ACC and third nationally

3 - Duke goalkeepers who have posted a goals against average under 1.00 in a season

5 - Shutouts for the Blue Devils this season, tied for the second most nationally

2.86 - Goals per game average for Cal, fourth in the ACC and 12th nationally

1.57 - Goals per game average for Cal's Liz Kiompmaker, the highest in the ACC and third nationally

33-7 - Shot margin for the Blue Devils in the third quarter this season

A Glance at the Blue Devils

The Blue Devils are 5-4 and ranked 12th following a 1-1 ACC weekend. All four setbacks are against top-15 foes and two versus top three teams. Duke has allowed just six goals in the nine games and owns five shutouts. Alaina McVeigh is the top threat offensively with five markers this season. Six different Blue Devils have scored overall. Goals have been hard to come by recently for Duke as the Blue Devils haven't scored in 288 minutes.
Defensively, Duke is allowing just 7.3 shots per game and 4.2 penalty corners per game. Duke is one of four teams to have at least five shutouts this season. The Blue Devils own a commanding 37-7 edge in shots and an 14-3 advantage in penalty corners in the third quarter.

Series Histories

Duke heads to the state of California for the first time since playing at Stanford in 2015. Opening this weekend at Cal, the Blue Devils meet the Bears for the ninth time and first since 2019 in Iowa City - a 4-1 win. Duke is 8-0 overall against Cal and 2-0 in Berkeley, taking on the Bears on their home field in 1993 and 1994.
The Blue Devils face Stanford for the eighth time and first time since 2019 in Durham. Duke's lone loss against the Cardinal came in Palo Alto in 2015 - a 3-2 overtime setback. Duke is 6-1 all-time against the Cardinal with the most recent win coming in the 2019 regular season.

D-Fense! D-Fense!

Duke's defense has been outstanding this season, giving up just five goals in the run of play. The sixth goal allowed was the shootout goal that lifted Saint Joseph's to victory. The five goals allowed are tied for the fewest given up by the Blue Devils through nine games under head coach Pam Bustin and tied for the second fewest in program history. The 1990 team gave up just four goals in its first nine games.
Duke has allowed just one goal in live action in the past 220 minutes and only two in the past 420 minutes. Since letting in two goals at Northwestern, Duke sports a 0.33 goals against average.

A Win Friday Would

Be Pam Bustin's 168th at Duke
Give Duke its second ACC win of the season
Be Duke's 66th ACC victory

A Weekend Sweep

Give Pam Bustin 169 Duke wins
Put Duke to 3-1 against ACC foes
Give Bustin 33 career ACC wins
Be Duke's second weekend sweep of the season

Another Top-20 Matchup Awaits

Friday's game at Cal is another top 20 matchup for the Blue Devils, featuring the nation's No. 12 and No. 20 squads. This is the Blue Devils' 191st top 20 game under head coach Pam Bustin. Duke is 3-4 this season against ranked foes and 99-91 all-time since 2011.

Let's Go DPC

Duke's defensive penalty corner unit has been outstanding this season. Of the 38 penalty corners given up, the Blue Devils have given up just four goals - two of which came at Northwestern. The DPC has blocked 22 shots and allowed just 12 on goal with nine being stopped by Frederique Wollaert. On four penalty corners, Duke's opponent was unable to even get a shot off.

What Gives?

California is scoring 2.86 goals per game and 10 games in the past three outings, including three against No. 3 Virginia. The Bears will be facing arguably the toughest defense they have seen in the Blue Devils. Will Cal be able to figure out Duke's stifling press and stingy defense around the circle?
Cal is averaging 16 shots per game and has registered at least 11 in all seven games this season. Duke has allowed double-digit shots in just twice this season.

CAL GPG	DU GAA	CAL SH/GM	DU Opp. SH/GM
2.86	0.52	16.3	7.3
CAL PC/GM	DU DPC/GM	DU PC/GM	CAL DPC/GM
6.29	4.22	5.67	6

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Duke Centennial
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