Duke Opens ACC Play with Pair of Top 15 Matchups

Parking Alert
For Sunday's contest against Syracuse, please be aware that the Durham Pride festival will be taking place in the surrounding streets near Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium. This will impact parking for anyone attending the game.

Main Street, Broad Street, and 9th Street will be shut down beginning at 10:30 AM. According to parking services and police, main ingress of parking traffic is expected to begin around 9 a.m. Fans and staff are encouraged to arrive before this time for the best chance at getting a parking spot close to the stadium. Parking lots surrounding east campus will be staffed beginning at 8 a.m. for the pride festivities. Fans and staff can use these lots until they are fully occupied.
Fans and Staff: Once again, fans and staff are encouraged to arrive before 9 a.m. for the best chance of securing a parking spot near the stadium. A backup option has been designated by parking services in the Erwin Mill Parking Lot at 723 9th Street, which will be accessible from either Hillsborough Road or Main Street west of the corner of 9th and Main Street.

The Opening Hit

Ninth-ranked Duke opens ACC play this weekend with a conference double header. The Blue Devils host No. 3 Virginia Friday at 4 p.m., and welcome No. 15 Syracuse Sunday at noon on ACC Network.
Duke looks to regain its winning ways after falling in a shootout to No. 10 Saint Joseph's. The Blue Devils have had struggles offensively, not scoring a goal in 148:12 . Alaina McVeigh is the top scorer with five goals and seven points overall. Defensively, Duke has allowed just four goals all season and is one of five teams nationally to have at least four shutouts.
Virginia comes to Durham as one of four unbeaten teams, sporting a 7-0 record, including a 2-0 mark in the ACC. Two of the seven victories are top-20 wins. Suze Leemans is the top scorer with five goals. Syracuse, ranked 15th, is 5-2 overall with losses to now No. 4 Ohio State and No. 2 North Carolina by matching 5-0 scores. The Orange owns one top-20 win versus then-No. 16 Penn State.

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
0.48 - Goals against average for Duke's Frederique Wollaert, ranking second in the ACC and third nationally
4 - Shutouts for the Blue Devils this season, tied for the second most nationally
3.43 - Goals per game average for No. 3 Virginia, seventh nationally and one of 14 teams to average at least three per game
10 - Goals allowed by Syracuse in its two setbacks
2 - Goals allowed by Syracuse in its five wins
39-73 - Duke's record against top-10 opponents under head coach Pam Bustin
33-6 - Shot margin for the Blue Devils in the third quarter this season

A Glance at the Blue Devils

The Blue Devils are 4-3 and ranked ninth following a shootout loss to Saint Joseph's. All three setbacks are against top-15 foes. Duke has allowed just four goals, with two coming against No. 1 Northwestern. 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, scoring just two in the past 200 minutes.
Defensively, Duke is allowing just seven shots per game and has been outstanding in the third quarter in giving up just six shots overall. Duke is one of five teams to have at least four shutouts this season. The Blue Devils own a commanding 33-6 edge in shots and an 11-3 advantage in penalty corners in the third quarter.

Series Histories

Duke and Virginia meet for the 65th time overall with the Cavaliers holding a solid 41-23 lead in the series. The ACC foes split in a pair of regular-season contests last season and square off as top-10 opponents for the 35th time. Duke is 5-9 in top-10 matchups with UVA and 3-10 when the Cavaliers are in the top five.
The Blue Devils and Orange match up for the 17th time overall. Duke owns the most recent victories, upending Syracuse 4-0 in the 2023 regular season and 2-1 in the NCAA quarterfinal. However, the Orange is 12-4 all-time against the Blue Devils and won seven straight from 2019-22.

Close Calls

If recent history is correct, Friday's contest against Virginia will be a close one. Eight of the past 11 meetings have been decided by one goal with four of those going into overtime.
Both matchups last season went into overtime with Duke clipping the Cavaliers in overtime in Charlottesville and Virginia winning in double overtime in Durham. The largest margin of victory by either team in the past 10 seasons was a 5-1 win for UVA in 2015.

A Win Friday Would

Be Pam Bustin's 167th at Duke
Give Duke its third top-20 win and second top-five victory of the season
Be Duke's 65th ACC victory

A Weekend Sweep

Give Pam Bustin 168 Duke wins
Make Duke 4-3 against top-20 teams this season
Give Bustin 32 career ACC wins
Put Duke in a share for first in the ACC standings

Top-10 and Top-20 Matchups Await

Friday's game features the nation's No. 3 and No. 9 squads. This is the Blue Devils' 81st top-10 matchup under head coach Pam Bustin. Duke is 1-2 this season and 32-46 all-time since 2011 when the Blue Devils and their opponent are ranked in the top 10.
Sunday's contest against No. 15 Syracuse marks Duke's seventh top-20 contest this season and 190th since the 2011 season. Entering the weekend, the Blue Devils are 98-90 against top-20 foes under Bustin.

Let's Go DPC

Duke's defensive penalty corner unit has been outstanding this season. Of the 29 penalty corners given up, the Blue Devils have given up just three goals - two of which came at Northwestern. The DPC has blocked 16 shots and allowed just nine on goal with seven being stopped by Frederique Wollaert. On four penalty corners, Duke's opponent was unable to even get a shot off.

Next Game

Duke makes the trek to the West Coast next to take on new ACC members California and Stanford. The Blue Devils take on the Bears Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. (ET) and the Cardinal Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. (ET).

To stay up to date with Blue Devils field hockey, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeFH".

Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu

#GoDuke

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Duke Opens ACC Play with Pair of Top 15 Matchups

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alaina McVeigh

Frederique Wollaert

Duke information

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at Syracuse on September 26, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at VCU on September 28, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at Virginia on October 3, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at James Madison on October 5, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus Louisville on October 10, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at Boston College on October 17, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey at UConn on October 19, 2025 at 12 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus Wake Forest on October 24, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Completed Event: Field Hockey versus California on September 21, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 0

Completed Event: Field Hockey versus Stanford on September 19, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 0

Completed Event: Field Hockey at William & Mary on September 12, 2025 , Win , 9, to, 0

Completed Event: Field Hockey versus #4 Maryland on September 7, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 1

Completed Event: Field Hockey versus #1 Northwestern on September 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1

Completed Event: Field Hockey at American on August 31, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 1

Completed Event: Field Hockey versus #17 Liberty on August 29, 2025 , Loss , 3, to, 4

Completed Event: Field Hockey at #1 North Carolina on November 17, 2024 , Loss , 0, to, 3

Duke Opens ACC Play with Pair of Top 15 Matchups

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alaina McVeigh

Frederique Wollaert

Related Videos

Duke information