No. 6 Duke and No. 2 North Carolina Clash in Durham Friday

The Opening Hit

Duke closes out its regular season against second-ranked North Carolina Friday at 6 p.m., on ACC Network. A win gives the Blue Devils a share of the ACC regular season title for the second consecutive season while a loss gives North Carolina the crown and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.
Duke is on a seven-game shutout streak and has outscored its past seven opponents 18-0. Featuring one of the best defenses in the nation, Duke has allowed just five live action goals and leads the nation in goals against average and shutouts. Alaina McVeigh is the top scorer with 22 points from 10 goals and two assists. Seven different Blue Devils have at least two goals this season.
North Carolina comes to Durham on a 21-game win streak dating back to Oct. 27, 2023. The Tar Heels are 14-0 this season and sport the nation's highest scoring offense with four goals per game. Defensively, North Carolina is equally as stout with a 0.38 goals against average - second nationally behind Duke.

By the Numbers
59 - Career points for junior Alaina McVeigh, ranking 33rd in Duke history and just eight shy of moving into the top 25
27 - Career goals by McVeigh, 23rd in Duke history
0.28 - Goals against average for Duke goalie Frederique Wollaert, the lowest in the nation
0.70 - Duke's single-season record for goals against average set by Lori Stark in 1986
11 - Shutouts for the Blue Devils this season, tied for the most in the nation with Northwestern
4.00 - Goals per game average for North Carolina this season, the most nationally
13-1 - Goals scored versus goals allowed in ACC play this season
92.7 - Duke's success rate on defensive penalty corners, allowing just four goals on 55 opponent penalty corners
449:43 - Minutes its been since Duke has allowed a goal, dating back to a 1-0 loss to Virginia Sept. 27
55 - Penalty corners allowed by the Blue Devils in 15 games this season
122 - Penalty corners won by North Carolina in 14 games this season
1085 - Days since North Carolina has been shut out – Nov. 12, 2021 - a span of 56 games

A Glance At The Blue Devils

The Blue Devils are 11-4 overall with a 6-1 mark in ACC play. Duke sits at sixth in the national rankings and No. 4 in the RPI. All four setbacks are against top 20 foes and three versus top 10 teams. Duke has allowed just five goals in live action and has 11 shutouts. Alaina McVeigh is the top threat offensively with 10 markers this season. Ten different Blue Devils have scored a goal.
Defensively, Duke is allowing just 6.6 shots per game and 3.9 penalty corners per game. Duke leads the nation with 11 shutouts this season. In goal, Frederique Wollaert leads the nation with 0.28 goals against average. The Blue Devils own a commanding 52-12 edge in shots, an 19-3 advantage in penalty corners and 8-0 lead in goals in the third quarter.

Series Histories

Duke and North Carolina meet for the 97th time overall. The Tar Heels lead the series 84-12 and have won 10 straight. Duke's last win over North Carolina came in 2017 on Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.
Three of the past six games have been decided by one goal, including two heading to overtime during the 2020-21 campaign.

A Win Friday Would

Be Pam Bustin's 174th at Duke
Give Duke a share of the ACC regular season crown for the second straight season and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Championship
Be Duke's 71st ACC victory
Give Duke 12 wins in a season for the 23rd time overall and 10th time under Bustin

Another Top 10 Matchup

Friday's game against North Carolina will be the sixth top-10 matchup for the Blue Devils this season. Duke enters the weekend at No. 9 and the Tar Heels are first. The Blue Devils are 2-3 in top-10 matchups this season and 34-49 all-time under head coach Pam Bustin.
Duke's two top 10 wins are a 1-0 victories over No. 4 Maryland and No. 9 Boston College. The Terrapins remain in the top 10 at No. 7. The Blue Devils will have faced four of the nation's current top five teams by the conclusion of the regular season.

What Gives?

Duke has not allowed a goal since Sept. 27 and has only given up five all season. Offensively, North Carolina leads the nation at 4.00 goals per game.
The Blue Devils have found their scoring touch of late, registering 10 goals in the past four games and 17 in the past six after notching just six in a span of six contests. North Carolina has allowed just five goals all season and has nine shutouts.

UNC GPG	DU GAA	UNC SH/GM	DU Opp. SH/GM
4.00	0.32	20.8	6.6

DU GPG	UNC GAA	DU SH/GM	UNC Opp. SH/GM
1.93	0.38	12.7	5.6

DU PC/GM	UNC DPC/GM	UNC PC/GM	DU DPC/GM
6.29	2.64	8.71	3.93

Few Shots Fired Equals Fewer Goals Scored

Duke is allowing its opponents just 6.6 shots per game. The Blue Devils have allowed double-digit shots in just two games and have held each of their 15 foes to below their season average in shots. In Duke's seven ACC contests, the Blue Devils have allowed 46 shots (6.6/gm).
Duke's 6.6 shots allowed per game average is tied for fourth nationally, while the 2.4 shots on goal per game is tied for first. The Tar Heels lead the nation in giving up just 5.6 shots per game and only 2.4 on goal.

Mighty McVeigh

¡ Junior Alaina McVeigh is back for her second full season on the turf for the Blue Devils. After missing her freshman season to injury, McVeigh had a breakout season in 2023 to earn the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year award and First Team All-America honors.
¡ McVeigh hasn't missed a beat in season two on the turf with the Blue Devils. She has 10 goals this season and has at least a point in four of the past five games. McVeigh has three two-goal games this season and has scored in all but three games in which Duke has scored a goal.

Bravo Charlie

Graduate student Charlie van Oirschot is on a hot streak with a goal in four of the past five games. Each of her four tallies were game winners and two were unassisted scores.
van Oirschot has scored double-digit points in each of her three seasons as a Blue Devil and is three points away from tying her career high of 14 last season. She also had an assist on Duke's penalty corner goal against VCU - her third of the season.

Next Game

The ACC will announce the ACC Championship bracket following the conclusion of the Duke - UNC matchup. Hosted by Wake Forest, Duke opens ACC Championship action Nov. 5. The quarterfinals are Nov. 5, the semifinals Nov. 6 and the title game at 12 p.m., Nov. 8.