Blue Devils & Tar Heels to Meet in NCAA College Cup Friday in Cary

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Match 22 – NCAA College Cup Semifinals
#8 North Carolina (20-5-0, 7-3-0 ACC) at #1 Duke (18-2-1, 9-0-1 ACC)
Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 – 7:30 PM (ET) – ESPNU
Cary, N.C. (WakeMed Soccer Park)
ESPN+ Talent: Jenn Hildreth (PXP), Lori Lindsey (Analyst), Marion Crowder (Sideline)

NEED TO KNOW

The Cinderella season for Duke women's soccer continues Friday in the NCAA College Cup as the top-seeded Blue Devils (18-2-1) face eighth-ranked and second-seeded North Carolina (20-5-0) Friday, Dec. 6 in the semifinals at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., at 7:30 p.m.
Friday's contest will be aired live on ESPNU with Jenn Hildreth (PXP), Lori Lindsey (Analyst) and Marion Crowder (Sideline) on the call.
Duke is competing in the NCAA College Cup for the fifth time in program history -- 1992, 2011, 2015 and 2017.
All four teams in the 2024 College Cup are from the ACC for the first time in NCAA history.
Duke is making its 29th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and enter as a top-16 national seed for the eighth time out of the last nine seasons. It marked the first time Duke was the No. 1 overall seed.
Robbie Church announced on July 22, 2024 he will be retiring at the end of the season. Duke will be promote 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.
Church has taken his fourth Duke squad to the NCAA College Cup in his final season.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES

The Blue Devils feature a 3-0-1 ledger in the NCAA College Cup semifinals in four appearances.
Robbie Church is just the third NCAA Division I women's soccer coach to take a team to the NCAA College Cup in the final season before retirement -- Mark Krikorian (Florida State) and Clive Charles (Portland). Both Krikorian and Charles won the NCAA title in their final season.
Duke currently features a 12-win turnaround from a season ago, which is tied for the biggest win difference nationally this season along with Stephen F. Austin.
Katie Groff helped lead Duke to the 52nd shutout over her last five years on defense against Virginia Tech.
Duke head coach Robbie Church owns 398 wins all-time as a women's head coach and if he leads Duke to the NCAA Championship he would register his 400th victory.
Mia Oliaro has scored a goal or registered an assist in 12 of the past 14 matches. In 41 matches in college, when she nets a point in a game her team has not lost (16-0).
Maggie Graham totaled two goals in each of the first two matches of the 2024 NCAAs, becoming the first Blue Devil to accomplish it.
On the season, Duke has a school-record 68 goals by 13 different players. Eleven Blue Devils have totaled two or more goals. Duke has also scored two or more goals in 15 of the past 17 contests.
Blue Devil sophomore Mia Oliaro (2, 13) fifth year Ella Hase (2, 13), and junior Devin Lynch (7, 10) all rank in the top seven of the ACC in assists and top 17 nationally.
Duke has scored 68 goals in 21 matches this season, compared to the 15 goals in 16 contests a season ago.
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 shut out 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 6-44-4 against the Tar Heels. The Blue Devils are 0-10-1 in neutral site matches versus North Carolina.
In the NCAA Tournament, Duke holds a 0-3 record against North Carolina with meetings coming in 1992 (NCAA title match), 1993 (Quarterfinal) and 2001 (Second Round).
Duke and North Carolina will meet for the fourth time in a single season for the first time in series history. The two teams had met three times in a season (1992, 1994).
Head coach Robbie Church has faced North Carolina 33 times and is responsible for five of the six wins the Blue Devils hold against the Tar Heels.
Duke and UNC last met on Nov. 7 in the semifinals of the ACC Championship with the Tar Heels taking a 2-1 victory. Cameron Roller registered a penalty kick goal for the Blue Devils, while North Carolina added a corner kick goal in the second half for the winner in Cary.
In the second meeting on Oct. 31, 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 20-5-0 overall record and have outscored opponents 14-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
On the year, the Tar Heels have been led by Kate Faasse with 19 goals and three assists, while Bella Sember owns eight goals and Olivia Thomas has seven.

Duke VERSUS UNC in 2024

In the three matches this season between Duke and North Carolina, Duke has won two of the three.
Maggie Graham and Hannah Bebar have scored four of the five goals for the Blue Devils with Cameron Roller scoring the other goal. Graham owns both game-winning goals. Two of the five goals have been penalty kicks.
Leah Freeman has played all 270 minutes in goal and has 11 saves.
Duke has outshot the Tar Heels by a slim margin, 32-31.

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 - FC Stars.

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.

MAKING MOST OF FIFTH YEAR

The Duke trio of Maggie Graham, Katie Groff and Nicky Chico returned for a fifth and final season with the Blue Devils in 2024. They had led Duke to NCAA Quarterfinal appearances in their first three seasons (2020-21, 2021, 2022).
By closing their collegiate careers with a NCAA College Cup appearance will be extra rewarding, while still hoping to play for a NCAA title on Monday.
Graham, Groff and Chico have appeared in 37 career NCAA Tournament contests over their careers.
Hannah Bebar, Ella Hase and Leah Freeman also will close their collegiate careers with a College Cup appearance, after transferring to Duke.

NCAA COLLEGE CUP APPEARANCES

Duke is one of 12 teams to advance to the NCAA College Cup five or more times -- North Carolina (32), Florida State (14), Notre Dame (12), Santa Clara (12), Stanford (12), UCLA (12), Portland (8), Connecticut (7), UMass (6), Colorado College (5), Penn State (5) and Duke (5).
Blue Devil head coach Robbie Church is one of 11 coaches to take their programs to four or more NCAA College Cups -- Anson Dorrance (31, North Carolina), Jerry Smith (12, Santa Clara), Mark Krikorian (11, Florida State), Paul Ratcliffe (11, Stanford), Jill Ellis (8, UCLA), Randy Waldrum (8, Notre Dame), Clive Charles (7, Portland), Len Tsantiris (7, UConn), Ken Banda (5, Massachusetts), Robbie Church (4, Duke), Chris Petrucelli (4, Notre Dame), Dang Pibulvech (4, Colorado College).

FAST START IN 2024 NCAA TOURNAMENT

Duke has scored 14 goals in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, which is the third-most by the Blue Devils in school history.
Both Duke and North Carolina lead the field remaining with 14 goals scored in the tournament.
Maggie Graham and Mia Minestrella each totaled four goals over the first two matches, which were tied for third for a NCAA Tournament in Duke history.
Graham was the first Blue Devil to register two goals in each of the first two NCAA Tournament matches. Graham's 10 points over the two matches were tied for the third-most in a NCAA Tournament for Duke.
Ella Hase owns four assists over the four matches, which is tied for the eighth most for Duke in a NCAA Tournament and currently leads the 2024 field.

IMPRESSIVE DEFENSE IN NCAAS

Duke has totaled four straight shutouts to open the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in program history (2017). The Blue Devils had not posted three straight shutouts since early September.
Duke has allowed only 14 shots, including four on goal, in four NCAA Tournament matches in 2024.
In the four games, Duke has outshot opponents 92-14 and holds a 31-6 advantage in corner kicks.
The Blue Devils have allowed zero goals, while the Tar Heels have allowed only one goal.
Since 2003, it marked the 31st time in the NCAA College Cup that a team has not allowed a goal over the first four rounds of the tournament. The Blue Devils are one of only six teams to accomplish this multiple times during that stretch -- North Carolina, Stanford, UCLA, Florida State, Virginia and Duke.
Duke has not allowed a goal in the first half over the last seven matches.
Looking at the 2024 NCAA tournament stats
Duke's goal differential (14), goals-against average (0.00), points (44) and goals (14 - tied) rank first in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Ella Hase's four assists rank first, while Mia Oliaro, Phoebe Goldthwaite and Mia Minestrella are tied for sixth with two assists.
Maggie Graham and Minestrella rank second with four goals.
Leah Freeman is first with three shutouts.
Minestrella leads the field with 10 points, while Graham is fourth with eight points. Both Minestrella and Graham totaled all of their points in the first two rounds.

ROBBIE CHURCH IN FINAL NCAAS

Duke head coach Robbie Church is competing in his 21st NCAA Tournament with the Blue Devils and 22nd overall as a head coach.
He owns a 45-17-10 ledger for a 69.4 winning percentage in those games.
Church's 22 NCAA appearances rank tied for ninth nationally behind Anson Dorrance (42, North Carolina), Jerry Smith (34, Santa Clara), Len Tsantiris (31, UConn), Steve Swanson (29, Virginia), G Guerrieri (28, Texas A&M), Jennifer Rockwood (25, BYU), Tony da Luz (23, Wake Forest), Nikki Izzo-Brown (23, West Virginia), Robbie Church (22, Duke), Paul Ratcliffe (22, Stanford).
Church's 46 NCAA Tournament wins rank eighth among all-time coaches (includes one win at Charlotte).

IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Blue Devils are competing in their 29th all-time NCAA Championship and hold a 52-24-11 overall record in 87 tournament matches.
The Blue Devils are 45-17-10 under Robbie Church in the NCAA Championship. He has led Duke to the big dance in 21 of his 24 seasons in Durham.
Duke has competed in the NCAA College Cup five times -- 1992, 2011, 2015 and 2017. The Blue Devils feature a 3-3-1 ledger in the College Cup.
Duke has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship 10 times over the past 14 seasons (since 2011).
The Blue Devils have advanced to the quarterfinals in four out of the last five seasons.

NCAA QUARTERFINAL APPEARANCES SINCE 2011
Rk          Team                   Appearances (last)
1.           Florida State      11 (2023)
2.           Duke                   10 (2024)
3.           Stanford              9 (2024)
              North Carolina 9 (2024)
5.           UCLA                   7 (2022)
              Penn State          7 (2024)
7.           Virginia               6 (2022)

RECORD WATCH

Duke scored 50 goals at home this season, which snapped the Blue Devils' previous mark of 40 from the 2017 campaign.
Duke has featured the best offensive attack in Blue Devil history with school records in points, goals and assists in a season.

              MOST POINTS IN A SEASON
              1.           2024 (68 goals, 79 assists)          215
              2.           2012 (65 goals, 77 assists)           207
              3.           2004 (65 goals, 73 assists)           203

              MOST GOALS IN A SEASON
              1.           2024      68
              2.           1989      67
              3.           2012      65
                             2004      65

              MOST ASSISTS IN A SEASON
              1.           2024      79
              2.           2012      77
              3.           2004      73

A WIN WOULD...

Send Duke into the NCAA Championship match for the fourth time in program history -- 1992, 2011 and 2015.
Move the Blue Devils to 4-0-1 all-time in the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup.
Give head coach Robbie Church 399 victories as a head women's coach over his career.
Would mark the third win over North Carolina this season in four matches. It would also be the seventh all-time win for Duke against UNC.
Make Duke just the third program to defeat North Carolina three times and the first in the same season (Santa Clara from 1999-2002, Maryland from 2010-12 and Florida State from 2013-15).
Be the first against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament in program history (1-3).

GRAHAM NAMED HERMANN TROPHY SEMIFINALIST

The United Soccer Coaches and the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) announced the 15 women's soccer semifinalists for the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy with Duke graduate student Maggie Graham among those selected.
Graham has featured a breakout season offensively for the top-ranked Blue Devils with a team-high 14 goals along with five assists and 33 points. On the season, she owns five game-winning goals and three matches with two or more tallies. Graham has played her best against the top competition with seven of her 14 goals coming against ranked opponents.

MULTIPLE DOUBLE-DIGIT ASSISTS

For only the second time in program history, Duke features three players with 10 or more assists on the season -- Mia Oliaro (13), Ella Hase (13) and Devin Lynch (10).
Other seasons with multiple players with 10-plus assists were 2017 (Imani Dorsey, Ella Stevens), 2012 (Laura Weinberg, Cassie Pecht, Gilda Doria) and 2004 (Rebecca Moros, Carolyn Ford).

LAST TIME OUT

Katie Groff connected on the game-winner at the 32:12 mark of the first half to help lead Duke to a 1-0 win against Virginia Tech in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
Duke held a 13-4 advantage in shots and registered a goal in the first half for the 19th time out of 21 matches this season, including nine straight.
The goal by Groff was her second game-winner in the NCAA Tournament as she also had one against Texas in 2023, both coming in Durham.
Duke's defense was once again impressive limiting the Hokies to zero first half shots and only four for the match.
Leah Freeman netted three saves in the contest.

SCORING TANDEMS

The Duke duo of Mia Minestrella and Maggie Graham currently rank as tied for the fifth-highest scoring tandem in Blue Devil history with 26 goals combined.

TOP SCORING TANDEMS IN DUKE HISTORY
32          Laura Weinberg (16), Kim DeCesare (16), 2012
31          Michelle Cooper (19), Kat Rader (12), 2022
28          Imani Dorsey (14), Kayla McCoy (14), 2017
27          KayAnne Gummersall (15), Elisabeth Redmond (12), 2008
26          Kelly Walbert (18), Andi Melde (8), 1994
26          Mia Minestrella (12), Maggie Graham (14), 2024
25          Casey McCluskey (16), Carolyn Riggs (9), 2004

ACC & OVERALL WIN TURNAROUND

Duke currently features a school-record 12-win turnaround from a season ago, which is tied for the biggest win difference nationally this season. The Blue Devils are tied with Stephen F. Austin with the best in 2024 with a 12-win improvement.
The Blue Devils went from six wins in 2023 to 18 in 2024.
In Duke history, the previous best win turnaround was 11 from 2010 (11 wins) to 2011 (22 wins). The second largest 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 seven-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).

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Blue Devils & Tar Heels to Meet in NCAA College Cup Friday in Cary

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Bebar

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

Kat Rader

Sophia Recupero

Cameron Roller

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