Blue Devils to Face Stanford in NCAA College Cup Friday

Friday, December 5

Kansas City, Mo.

8:45 p.m.

Duke University

Stanford

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Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils to Face Stanford in NCAA College Cup Friday

12/3/2025 8:45:00 AM | Women's Soccer

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Match 23
NCAA College Cup Semifinals
No. 1 Seed Stanford (20-1-2) vs. No. 2 Seed Duke (17-4-1)
Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 – 8:45 PM (ET) – ESPNU
Kansas City, Missouri (CPKC Stadium)
ESPN+ Talent: Jenn Hildreth (PXP), Lori Lindsey (Color), Marion Crowder (Sideline)

NEED TO KNOW

For the second consecutive year, the Duke women's soccer team (17-4-1) has advanced to the NCAA College Cup and will face top-ranked Stanford (20-1-2) Friday, Dec. 5 at 8:45 p.m. (ET) in the semifinals at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Friday's match will be aired live on ESPNU with Jenn Hildreth (PBP), Lori Lindsey (Color) and Marion Crowder (Sideline) calling the action.
The winner of the Duke/Stanford match advances to the national championship to face either Florida State or TCU on Monday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m., on ESPNU.
The Blue Devils enter the NCAA College Cup winners of 11 out of their last 12 contests.
Duke is making its 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and entered as a top-16 national seed for the ninth time out of the last 10 seasons.
Duke features a 56-25-11 overall record in 30 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
Mia Minestrella has scored eight goals in 10 matches this season against ranked foes.
First-year head coach Kieran Hall has kicked off his career with the Blue Devils with a 17-4-1 ledger.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES

Kieran Hall is just the third Division I women's soccer coach in NCAA history to take a team to the NCAA College Cup in their first team as a head coach -- Damon Nahas (UNC in 2024) and Margueritte Bates (Aozasa) of UCLA in 2022.
The Blue Devils are competing in the NCAA College Cup for the sixth time in program history and the first time in back-to-back seasons -- 1992, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2024 and 2025. Duke is one of only 12 programs to make back-to-back NCAA College Cup appearances.
Duke features a 3-1-1 ledger in the NCAA College Cup semifinals in five appearances.
The Blue Devils (55) and Cardinal (95) are two of the top scoring teams in the nation. Stanford ranked No. 1 and Duke tied for seventh.
Mia Minestrella owns 18 goals this season, which ranks tied for sixth nationally. Her six goals in the 2025 NCAA Tournament ranks first. Minestrella is the only player in the field that has scored at least one goal in all four contests.
Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Dysart ranks tied for first in the ACC with 11 shutouts. Kat Rader and Mia Oliaro rank tied for third in assists (12).
Kat Rader has moved into seventh in Duke career goals (32) and points (84), while Mia Minestrella is ninth in goals (30).
The Blue Devils have scored a goal in the first half in nine matches in a row and in a total of 16 contests this season.
Kat Rader has scored or assisted in 17 of her 21 matches played this year.
Kat Rader is the fourth Blue Devil in program history to notch 10 or more goals and assists in a season -- Michelle Cooper (2022), Imani Dorsey (2017) and Laura Weinberg (2012).

THE SERIES WITH STANFORD

Duke and Stanford will meet for the 14th time in program history when the teams face off in the NCAA College Cup semifinals on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.
Duke is 3-9-1 all-time against Stanford and 1-6 in neutral site games. Stanford holds an 18-13 goal advantage across all matches.
The Blue Devils have won two of their last three matches against the Cardinal, including a 4-1 victory at Stanford last year. Former Blue Devil Maggie Graham scored a hat trick in the match and Devin Lynch recorded a goal and an assist. Farrah Walters and Mia Oliaro also recorded assists in the road win.
This will be the third time Duke has faced Stanford in the NCAA Tournament and the second meeting between programs in the College Cup. Stanford defeated Duke, 1-0, in the 2011 College Cup final.
The Blue Devils and Cardinal last met in the NCAA Tournament November 28, 2015, when Duke won a penalty kick shootout 3-2. Former goalkeeper EJ Proctor stopped three Cardinal penalties to send Duke to the College Cup.

SCOUTING STANFORD

The No. 1 Cardinal enters the match with a 20-1-2 record after defeating No. 9 Michigan State 5-1 at home in the quarterfinals. This is Stanford's third consecutive trip to the College Cup.
Stanford won 3-1 versus Cal Poly in the first round, 7-3 versus Alabama in the second round and 6-0 versus BYU in the round of 16. The Cardinal's 21 goals lead the tournament.
Stanford carries a 16-game unbeaten streak into the match and a 9-0-1 ledger against ACC opponents. The team won both the regular season and postseason ACC Championships.
The Cardinal is 6-1-1 against ranked opponents this season and 1-0-1 in neutral site games. In games against common opponents, Stanford is 7-0-2 and Duke is 5-3-1.
Jasmine Aikey (20) and Andrea Kitahata (17) lead the Cardinal in goals, while Charlotte Kohler leads the team and the nation with 17 assists. Stanford's 95 goals top the country and lead the next closest program by a margin of 14.

HEY, I KNOW YOU

Elle Piper, Bianca Dominguez, Julia Saunicheva, Kaylee Kim and Jocelyn Travers played club soccer with Stanford's Elise Evans, Jasmine Aikey and Andrea Kitahata. They all won at least one championship together with Bay Area Surf coached by Heath Piper.
Piper, Dominguez and Saunicheva also played with Mia Bhuta in the summer with the San Francisco Glens USL W League.
Duke's Caroline Dysart played club soccer with Stanford's Ella Emri, Lizzie Boamah, Maryn Wolf and Ava Harrison. Emri and Boamah were on her San Diego Surf team when they won the ECNL national championship in 2024.

A WIN WOULD...

Improve the Blue Devils to 18-3-1 overall and send Duke into the national championship for the third time in program history (2011, 2015). The Blue Devils would face either Florida State or TCU.

NCAA COLLEGE CUP APPEARANCES

Duke is one of nine teams to advance to the NCAA College Cup six 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) and Duke (6).
The Blue Devils are one of only 12 programs to take teams to the NCAA College Cup in back-to-back seasons -- North Carolina, Notre Dame, UCLA, Florida State, Stanford, Portland, Santa Clara, Colorado College, George Mason, Virginia and Massachusetts.

AGAINST RANKED FOES

Duke has a 6-4 ledger this season against ranked foes.
Mia Minestrella owns eight goals and two assists for 18 points in 10 matches. Kat Rader and Devin Lynch have collected four goals and four assists each.

GOALS LAST TWO YEARS

After scoring 68 goals in 2024 and 55 goals so far in 2025, the Blue Devils have amassed 123 goals over the last two years.
Duke ranks third nationally in tallies over the last two seasons -- Florida State (125), Stanford (124), Duke (123), Xavier (122), Utah Valley and Notre Dame (115), UNC (114), TCU (107), Arkansas (105) and Milwaukee (104).
The Blue Devils and Seattle University are the only two teams nationally that have scored at least one goal in every match this season. It is the first time in program history so far Duke hasn't been shutout in a match.

SO FAR IN THE 2025 NCAA TOURNAMENT

Duke's Mia Minestrella has totaled six goals and one assist for 13 points in four matches, while Kat Rader owns two goals and four assists for eight points.
Minestrella ranks first in the tournament with six goals, three game-winners and tied for first with 13 points. Rader ranks second with four assists. Caroline Dysart leads the tournament with four shutouts, save percentage (1.000) and goals against average (0.00).
The Blue Devils have outshot opponents, 89-25.
Duke has scored five first-half goals and four in the second.
Duke has averaged 22.3 shots, while opponents are averaging 6.3.
Duke has totaled four straight shutouts to open the NCAA Tournament for only the third time in program history (2017, 2024). The Blue Devils are the only team in the 2025 NCAA Tournament to not allow a goal.
The Blue Devils have not allowed a goal in the NCAA Tournament, leading teams in the College Cup — FSU (2 GA), TCU (2 GA), Stanford (5 GA).
Duke's four-game shutout streak is its longest this season. The Blue Devils have not allowed a goal in the last 362 minutes of play.
Since 2003, it marked the 32nd 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.

COLLEGE CUP EXPERIENCE

Duke features five student-athletes who started in the 2024 NCAA College Cup semifinals as the Blue Devils dropped a 3-0 decision to North Carolina.
Devin Lynch, Cameron Roller, Mia Minestrella, Mia Oliaro and Carina Lageyre all started, while Phoebe Goldthwaite and Sophia Recupero came off the bench.

DUKE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Blue Devils are competing in their 30th all-time NCAA Championship and hold a 56-25-11 overall record in 92 tournament matches.
Duke has competed in the NCAA College Cup six times -- 1992, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2024 and 2025. The Blue Devils feature a 3-4-1 ledger in the College Cup.
The Blue Devils have four NCAA College Cup appearances since 2025, which ranks fourth nationally -- Florida State (7), North Carolina (6), Stanford (6), Duke (4).
Duke has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship 11 times over the past 15 seasons (since 2011).
Since 2011, Duke owns 40 wins in the NCAA Tournament, which ranks fourth nationally -- UNC (49), Stanford (48), Florida State (46), Duke (40), Penn State (39), UCLA (36) and Virginia (36).
The Blue Devils have advanced to the quarterfinals in five out of the last six seasons. Over the last six years, Duke ranks tied for first with five NCAA Quarterfinal appearances -- Duke (5), Florida State (5), North Carolina (4) and Stanford (3).
Duke has hosted 39 matches at home in NCAA Tournament play and allowed only 17 goals. Since 2017, the Blue Devils have allowed only four goals in 21 home NCAA Tournament contests.
The Blue Devils have not allowed a goal at home over the last 721:20 minutes dating back the last eight contests.

NCAA QUARTERFINAL APPEARANCES
Rk           Team     Appearances (last)
1.            Florida State 12 (2025)
2.            Duke                     11 (2025)
3.            Stanford               10 (2025)
                North Carolina 9 (2024)
5.            UCLA                     7 (2022)
                Penn State           7 (2024)
7.            Virginia     6 (2022)

DUKE VERSUS NO. 1 RANKED TEAMS
The Blue Devils have totaled a 2-20-3 record against No. 1 ranked teams over the history of the program, but is coming off a 1-1 draw against North Carolina and a 1-0 win in two out of the last three contests.

FRESHMEN MINUTES PLAYED

Duke rookie Daya King has logged 1,826 minutes played on the season, which ranks as the second-most in the ACC among freshmen.
North Carolina's Bella Devey (1,910), King (1,826), Clemson's Neely Kerr (1,659), Syracuse's Bree Bridges (1,581) and Virginia Tech's Ellie Robertson (1,562) rank in the top five in the league in minutes played by freshmen.
King's 1,826 minutes on the season ranks as the sixth-most in Duke history for a freshman -- Christina Gibbons (2,228 in 2013), Taylor Mitchell (2,074 in 2017), Lizzie Raben (2,007 in 2013), Taylor Racioppi (1,999 in 2015), Cassie Pecht (1,893 in 2012) and King (1,826 in 2025).

DEFENSE HOLDING STRONG

Duke's defense has been solid down the stretch allowing only two goals over the last six matches, including five shutouts.
Overall, the Blue Devils have collected 12 shutouts on the year, which ranks tied for sixth on Duke's record charts.
Caroline Dysart has totaled 11 shutouts to rank tied for third on Duke's season record book.
Freshman Daya King has played the entire 90 minutes in 17 consecutive matches, while Cameron Roller has played the entire match in 21-of-22 contests.

TRAVERS GETTING BIG MINUTES

Over the last nine matches, freshman Jocelyn Travers has averaged 79.7 minutes a contest, started eight of those matches and registered three assists.
She has helped lead Duke to five shutouts over the last six matches.
Travers has seen action in 1,200 minutes on the season and the Blue Devils have conceded only eight goals when she has been on the pitch.

MINESTRELLA'S GAME WINNERS

Duke junior Mia Minestrella has totaled seven game-winning goals this season to rank third on Duke's single-season record charts.
Her seven game-winning goals leads the ACC and ranks tied for second nationally.
Casey McCluskey and Kelly Walbert posted the school record of nine in 2004 and 1994, respectively.