Top-Ranked Duke Set for Third Match-Up with UNC in ACC Semifinals Thursday

Live Stats l Watch on ACC Network l Twitter l 2024 Media Guide l Media Hub l Media Assets Box Folder l Bracket l Championship Central l Match Notes

Match 17
ACC Championship Semifinals
#8 North Carolina (15-4-0, 7-3-0 ACC) vs. #1 Duke (14-1-1, 9-0-1 ACC)
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024 - 8 PM (ET) - ACC Network
Cary, N.C. (WakeMed Soccer Park)
ACC Network Talent: Alex Perlman (PXP), Lori Lindsey (Analyst), Marion Crowder (Sideline)

NEED TO KNOW

The No. 1 ranked Duke women's soccer team (14-1-1, 9-0-1 ACC) opens play in the ACC Championship semifinals Thursday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m., live on the ACC Network against eighth-ranked North Carolina (15-4-0, 7-3-0) inside WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Thursday's contest will be aired live on ACC Network with Alex Perlman (PXP), Lori Lindsey (Analyst) and Marion Crowder (Sideline) on the call.
Duke is seeded No. 1 overall in the ACC Championship, while North Carolina is seeded No. 4 and defeated No. 5 seed Virginia Tech Sunday, 2-0, to advance to the semis. The Blue Devils are seeded No. 1 for only the fourth time in program history. Duke is still looking for its first ACC Championship in its 33rd overall appearance.
On the season, Duke has scored 53 goals by 13 different players. Eleven Blue Devils have totaled two or more goals. Duke has also scored two or more goals in 12 straight contests.
Robbie Church announced on July 22, 2024 he will be retiring at the end of the season and Duke will be promoting associate head coach Kieran Hall to head coach in 2025. Current assistant coach Carla Overbeck will move to associate head coach in 2025 as well.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES

Duke is making its 17th appearance in the ACC Championship semifinals.
Duke currently features an 8-win turnaround from a season ago, which is the biggest win difference nationally this season and the tied for third-longest in Duke history.
Mia Oliaro has scored or assisted in nine consecutive matches, which tied a Duke record by Casey McCuskey (2004). Overall, Oliaro owns six goals and nine assists during that stretch. Her nine-game streak is the highest current mark in the ACC.
Blue Devil sophomore Mia Oliaro (2, 11) fifth year Ella Hase (T4, 9), and junior Devin Lynch (T4, 9) all rank in the top four of the ACC in assists and top 13 nationally.
The Blue Devils' 14 victories on the season mark the 16th time out of Robbie Church's 24 years he has led Duke to double-digit wins. Duke registered nine ACC victories for only the second time in program lore (2017).
Maggie Graham has registered 10 goals over her last 14 matches, while adding five assists. She owns a career-high 25 points on the season. Graham has scored or assisted in 10 out of the last 14 contests.
Duke holds a +191 advantage in shots and +42 in goals on the season.
Devin Lynch scored or assisted in eight-straight matches prior to the Boston College match, which were also Lynch's first eight starts of the year. She totaled four goals and eight assists during that stretch. Lynch has scored or assisted in nine out of the last 12 contests.
Duke has scored 53 goals the last 15 matches, while the Blue Devils scored a total of 15 goals a season ago in 16 contests.
The last time the Blue Devils dropped a season opener was in 2017. Duke went on to win 19 straight after the loss and made an appearance in the NCAA College Cup.
Duke was shutout in the season opener for the first time since 2014, which was also a loss to Ohio State (1-0).
The last time Duke head coach Robbie Church dealt with a losing season was in 2014 and the next year he led the Blue Devils to the 2015 NCAA College Cup.

THE SERIES WITH NORTH CAROLINA

Duke holds an all-time ledger of 6-43-4 against the Tar Heels. The Blue Devils are 0-9-1 in neutral site matches versus North Carolina.
In the ACC Tournament, UNC leads the series 12-0-1, including a 2-0-1 ledger in Cary, N.C.
Duke and North Carolina will meet for the third time in a single season for only the third time in the series history (1992 and 1994).
Head coach Robbie Church has faced North Carolina 32 times and is responsible for five of the six wins the Blue Devils hold against the Tar Heels.
In the last meeting, Duke totaled its second win over UNC in the same season for the first time in program history. It was just the sixth all-time win against North Carolina and the fifth in Chapel Hill.
Duke's win on Halloween at North Carolina marked two straight wins against UNC for the first time in program history and only the fifth time in program history the Tar Heels have lost twice to a team in one season -- Florida State (2013, 2015, 2018) and UCLA (2022).
The Blue Devils won the first meeting this season, 1-0, in Durham on Sept. 5. It was a non-conference matchup with Maggie Graham totaling the game-winner for Duke. It marked the first win in program history over UNC in Durham.
In the second meeting on Oct. 31 in Chapel Hill, Hannah Bebar registered her first brace at Duke and Maggie Graham collected the game-winner once again in a 3-2 victory for the Blue Devils to close the regular season.

SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS

North Carolina enters the match with a 15-4-0 overall and 7-3-0 ACC ledger. The Tar Heels defeated Virginia Tech, 2-0, in the ACC quarterfinals to advance to the semis.
On the year, the Tar Heels have been led by Kate Faasse with 14 goals and one assist, while Bella Sember owns seven goals and Olivia Thomas has five.

HEY, I KNOW YOU!

Duke sophomore Mia Oliaro attended North Carolina in 2023 as a freshman. She played in 20 matches. Oliaro is from Chapel Hill and went to Chapel Hill High School
North Carolina graduate student Olivia Migli is a 2024 Duke graduate. She appeared in 71 matches, while making 52 starts and logging 3,809 minutes. Migli scored 11 goals and added five assists for 27 points.
Duke assistant coach Carla Overbeck will face her alma mater as she is a 1990 graduate of North Carolina. She collected an 89-0-6 record at UNC and won four NCAA Championships under Anson Dorrance. Overbeck's daughter, Carson, is a senior on the UNC volleyball team.
Duke freshman Mary Long and UNC freshman Trinity Armstrong were members of the U.S. U-17 Women's National Team that just finished competing in the FIFA World Cup in Dominican Republic. The duo helped lead the squad to a bronze medal, which was the first medal in the event since 2008.
Duke graduate student Maggie Graham and senior Baleigh Bruster played with UNC's Evelyn Shores at Tophat Club Soccer team. Shores also attended Westminster with Graham.
Phoebe Goldthwaite played with Abby Gundry at NC Courage Girls Development Academy for three years and also played with Aven Alvarez of UNC.
Duke's Cameron Roller and Mia Oliaro traveled to Spain with the U.S. U-19 Youth National Team this past summer. UNC's Aven Alvarez also played on the team.
Goldthwaite and Oliaro along with numerous UNC players helped lead the USL W-League U-23 squad to the championship over the summer.
Sophia Recupero and North Carolina's Caitlin Mara were 4-year high school teammates at BB&N in Cambridge, Mass. Both were High School All-Americans and senior co-captains. They also played on the same club on FC Stars.

ACC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS

Duke collected a 9-0-1 ledger in the ACC during the regular season to clinch the ACC Regular Season title.
It marked the fourth regular season crown in Blue Devil history -- 1994, 2011, 2017 and 2024.
Robbie Church has led Duke to three of the four titles.
Duke was preseason voted seventh by the head coaches. Duke's run from seventh to first in the regular season is the biggest jump in ACC history (research back to 1998). Notre Dame and Duke went from sixth to first in 2016 and 2011, respectively, for the previous largest jumps.

IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT

Duke is seeing action in the ACC Tournament for the 33rd time in school history and owns a 16-31-4 record.
Robbie Church owns a 14-25-3 ledger in the ACC Tournament.
If Duke were to win on Thursday, the Blue Devils would make their sixth ACC Championship finals appearance and the first since 2017.
Duke's 17 semifinal appearances ranks fourth behind North Carolina (33), Virginia (23) and Florida State (20).

LAST TIME DUKE/UNC MET IN THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

Duke and North Carolina last met in the ACC Championship semifinals on Nov. 3, 2022 in Cary. It was a thrilling 0-0 draw that concluded with the Tar Heels advancing on penalty kicks, 7-6.
The match featured two red cards -- Maggie Graham by Duke and Talia Dellaperuta of North Carolina. Graham's red card came at the 44:44 mark and Dellaperuta's at 72:36.
UNC held a 22-7 shot advantage, including 13-1 in the second half, but Ruthie Jones was key with 10 saves.
Current Blue Devils Kat Rader, Maggie Graham, Katie Groff, Devin Lynch, Elle Piper and Nicky Chico played in the contest.

FAMILIAR TERRITORY

Fifth year Katie Groff will return to WakeMed Soccer Park where she has played numerous times growing up. A product of Raleigh, N.C., Groff played there with her club team, NC Courage Girls Development Academy, and over the summers of 2022 and 2023 with U-23 NC Courage.
Other Blue Devils -- Phoebe Goldthwaite, Lauren Martinho, Mia Oliaro, Hannah Bebar, Leah Freeman and Maggie Graham -- all played for the U-23 NC Courage in the summers at different times.

DUKE'S ACC HONORS/AWARDS

The ACC office released the ACC Honors for women's soccer on Wednesday with Duke earning four major awards, while six Blue Devils were named to the All-ACC team.
Graduate student Maggie Graham was selected ACC Midfielder of the Year, sophomore Cameron Roller earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Leah Freeman was tabbed ACC Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Robbie Church earned ACC Coach of the Year accolades. Duke received four of the five major awards presented.
On the All-ACC team, Graham, Roller and Freeman earned first team honors, while graduate student Hannah Bebar, sophomore Mia Oliaro and fifth year Ella Hase received second team accolades.
The six All-ACC selections led the league with Wake Forest was second with five. Duke's six honorees marks the fourth time the Blue Devils have received six or more selections (2017 – 8, 1994 – 7, 2011 – 6). The Blue Devils have now earned 116 All-ACC selections in league history to rank third all-time.
With Graham earning All-ACC honors, she joins her sister, Delaney, as family members to be named All-ACC over their career. They are just the ninth sister tandem in league history to earn the distinction. Delaney was a three-time selection during her career (2019, 2020-21, 2022).
Graham joins Quinn (2017) as the only other Blue Devil to be named ACC Midfielder of the Year. Roller joins only Christina Gibbons (2016) and Schuyler DeBree (2017) as ACC Defensive Players of the Year from Duke.
With the honor for Freeman, she became the first player in NCAA history to earn Goalkeeper of the Year accolades from two different conferences. She was tabbed Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022 and ACC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2024.
The Coach of the Year honor for Church marked the third by the ACC over his 24 seasons at Duke. He also earned the nod in 2011 and 2017.

OLIARO HAVING SPECIAL SEASON

In her first season as a Blue Devil, Mia Oliaro is having a special year across the board.
Oliaro owns a tied for team-best 25 points, seven goals and a team-best 11 assists, while adding three game-winning goals.
She has collected a tied for school record nine straight matches with a goal or assists, which is also the longest streak in the ACC.
Her 11 assists ranks second in the ACC and ranks tied for sixth on Duke's single-season charts.
Oliaro ranks fifth in the ACC and 26th nationally in points per game (1.56), 11th in the ACC in goals per game (.44) and sixth in points (25).

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A GOAL or assist
9 -           Casey McCluskey (2004)
                Mia Oliaro (2024)
8 -           Devin Lynch (2024)
7 -           Kayle McCoy (2018)

BEBAR HONORED THIS WEEK

Coming off collecting her first brace as a Blue Devil at eighth-ranked North Carolina last week, Hannah Bebar received TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention accolades Tuesday.
In the regular season finale in Chapel Hill on Halloween, Bebar registered a pair of goals, one in each half, to give Duke a 2-0 advantage in the rivalry match. The Blue Devils eventually closed the match with a 3-2 victory to finish off an undefeated ACC regular season with a 9-0-1 ledger.
Bebar totaled her fifth career brace over her collegiate career and her third goal as a Blue Devil. One of the top midfielders in the nation, Bebar has been a key catalyst for No. 1 ranked Duke's success on the pitch this season. She has started all 16 matches and logged 1,218 minutes, while adding four assists for 10 points.
With her two tallies at North Carolina, she became just the fifth Blue Devil to register two goals against North Carolina in program history – Sherrill Kester (1999), Carolyn Riggs (2004), Rebecca Moros (2005) and Mollie Pathman (2010).

ACC & OVERALL WIN TURNAROUND

Duke currently features an 8-win turnaround from a season ago, which is the biggest win difference nationally this season and the tied for third-longest in Duke history.
The Blue Devils went from six wins in 2023 to currently featuring 14 in 2024.
In Duke history, the biggest win turnaround was 11 from 2010 (11 wins) to 2011 (22 wins). The second-biggest was nine from 1991 (8) to 1992 (17) and third was eight in 2016 (15) to 2017 (23) along with 2024.
The ACC record is Duke's 11, while Clemson's 10-win change from 2022 to 2023 was second (8 to 18 wins).
In looking at ACC regular season turnarounds, Duke's 7-win (2 to 9 wins) movement in 2024 is tied for the best change from one season to another along with Virginia from 2013 (6 to 13 wins).

AGAINST RANKED FOES

So far this season, Duke owns a 6-0-1 ledger against ranked opponents, including four wins against top 10 foes (Stanford, North Carolina twice, and Wake Forest).
Maggie Graham owns five goals and three assists for 13 points in those contests. Mia Oliaro has tallied three goals and five assists for 11 points, while Devin Lynch owns three goals and four assists for 10 points.
The Blue Devils have outscored the opponents, 18-8 and hold a 98-73 shot advantage.

NOTING THE BLUE DEVILS

Sophomore Sam Bodensteiner made her first collegiate start on the road at No. 2 Wake Forest on Oct. 27 as graduate student Nicky Chico was not available due to receiving a red card in the match before. Bodensteiner played the entire 90 minutes on defense and helped Duke shutout one of the best teams nationally.
After not scoring last season for the Blue Devils, Devin Lynch and Mia Minestrella have combined for 14 goals and 14 assists on the season for 42 points.
Robbie Church finished his Duke career with 121 ACC wins over his career, which is the third-most in league history behind Steve Swanson (151) and Anson Dorrance (244).
Leah Freeman ranks second in the ACC with a .792 save percentage and third with a .740 goals-against average.
Freeman eclipsed the 7,000-minute mark at Wake Forest and now owns 7,179:17 minutes over the last five seasons.
Katie Groff totaled her second goal of the season against Louisville and has registered two goals in each of the last four years.
Cameron Roller has played the full 90 minutes in nine out of the last 10 contests. Groff has played the entire match in eight consecutive matches and nine out of the last 10.
Duke finished the month of September with a 5-0 ledger, which marked only the second undefeated month of September in program history (2017 - 8-0).
Maggie Graham has started a team-best 38 straight matches at Duke.

MINESTRELLA EARNS FIRST STARTS

For the first 14 matches this season, Blue Devil sophomore Mia Minestrella provided key production off the bench with eight goals and four assists for 20 points. This earned the forward her first start of the season at No. 2 Wake Forest and she netted an assist off the game-winning tally.
Overall, this season she owns eight goals and five assists for 21 points.
Minestrella's eight goals have all come off the bench, which is a new program record. The previous record was seven by Emily Bigelow and Sarah Friend in 1989.
After playing 16 matches a season ago as a freshman and not scoring on 23 shots, Minestrella has come alive this season.
She scored a goal in three straight contests (Notre Dame, Boston College and California) and four out of the last seven contests.
Minestrella wasn't really herself as a freshman, after missing all of the preseason following surgery.

RECORD-BREAKING ACC REGULAR SEASON

Duke turned in a record-breaking ACC regular season in 2024.
The Blue Devils posted an undefeated ledger in ACC action for only the third time in Duke history (1994, 2017).
The Blue Devils scored Duke records for goals (33), assists (41) and points (107) in ACC play.
The previous highs were 23 goals in 2017, 31 assists in 2022 and 71 points in 2022 in 2022, 2004 and 2013.
Mia Oliaro's nine assists were also a Duke record, snapping Elisabeth Redmond's mark from 2007. Oliaro's 21 points snapped Michelle Cooper's mark of 20 in 2022.
The Blue Devils posted a 10-0-0 ledger in 2017 to win the ACC regular season title.
Duke averaged an ACC-best 3.3 goals a game in ACC play scoring 33 in 10 matches.
Duke averaged 10.7 points a game in ACC play with an ACC-best 41 assists as well.
The Blue Devils' 17.6 shots a game in ACC play was second behind Notre Dame (21.1).
Mia Oliaro ranked first with nine assists, while Devin Lynch was second with seven dishes and Ella Hase ranked third with six assists. Mia Minestrella was tied for seventh with four along with Maggie Graham.
Graham's seven goals were tied for first in the ACC, while Oliaro was tied for fourth with six.
Oliaro's 21 points led the league and Graham ranked tied for second with 18 points. Lynch (15) and Minestrella (14) were tied for fourth and tied for sixth, respectively, in points as well.
Four Blue Devils ranked in points per game -- Oliaro (1st, 2.22), Graham (4th, 1.78), Lynch (5th, 1.67) and Minestrella (6th, 1.56).

MIA SQUARED

The Duke duo of Mia Oliaro and Mia Minestrella continue to be one of the top tandems nationally this season as they have combined to notch 16 goals and 16 assists.
Mia squared have a knack for helping each other score as well as Oliaro has assisted on five of Minestrella's eight goals (Nebraska, SMU, Louisville, Boston College, Notre Dame)
Minestrella assisted one of Oliaro's goals against the Eagles on Oct. 19 and assisted on the game-winner at Wake Forest on Oct. 27.
The duo are also roommates this year.

WINGBACKS SHINING

Duke wingbacks Ella Hase and Mia Oliaro are shining in their role this season. Since moving to those positions against Nebraska in the second match of the season, they have combined for 10 goals and 20 assists.
Hase has totaled three goals and nine assists on the left side of the pitch, while Oliaro owns seven goals and 11 assists on the right side.
The duo has also helped lead Duke to eight shutouts on the defensive end and allowed a tied for ACC-best 11 goals.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Top-Ranked Duke Set for Third Match-Up with UNC in ACC Semifinals Thursday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah Bebar

Sam Bodensteiner

Baleigh Bruster

Nicky Chico

Leah Freeman

Phoebe Goldthwaite

Maggie Graham

Katie Groff

Ella Hase

Mary Long

Devin Lynch

Lauren Martinho

Olivia Migli

Mia Minestrella

Mia Oliaro

Elle Piper

Kat Rader

Sophia Recupero

Cameron Roller

Duke information

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Wake Forest on September 25, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Pitt on October 2, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus North Carolina on October 12, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at Virginia Tech on October 18, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Syracuse on October 23, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at NC State on October 26, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Clemson on October 30, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at #6 Notre Dame on September 18, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Miami on September 14, 2025 , Win , 1, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at #5 Virginia on September 11, 2025 , Loss , 1, to, 3

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Alabama on September 7, 2025 , Tie , 1, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus VMI on September 4, 2025 , Win , 9, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Creighton on August 31, 2025 , Win , 1, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at #8 Arkansas on August 28, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Northwestern on August 21, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 0

Top-Ranked Duke Set for Third Match-Up with UNC in ACC Semifinals Thursday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah Bebar

Sam Bodensteiner

Baleigh Bruster

Nicky Chico

Leah Freeman

Phoebe Goldthwaite

Maggie Graham

Katie Groff

Ella Hase

Mary Long

Devin Lynch

Lauren Martinho

Olivia Migli

Mia Minestrella

Mia Oliaro

Elle Piper

Kat Rader

Sophia Recupero

Cameron Roller

Related Videos

Duke information