Duke Opens ACC Championships Wednesday Versus North Carolina

Wednesday, April 22

Charlotte, N.C.

11 a.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Duke Opens ACC Championships Wednesday Versus North Carolina

4/21/2026 11:18:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

Live Stats Watch (ACCN)Game Notes (PDf)

THE OPENING DRAW:

No. 19 Duke shifts its attention to the postseason, starting with the ACC Championships this week in Charlotte, North Carolina. The No. 8 seed Blue Devils will face No. 1 seed and top-ranked North Carolina in the quarterfinals Apr. 22 at 11 a.m. The game will air live on the ACC Network.
The Blue Devils are 13-27 all-time at the ACC Championships and 0-4 in the quarterfinal round.
Eva Pronti paces the Duke offense with 18 goals along with a team-high and school single-season record of 50 assists for 68 points. Ava Biancardi is the Blue Devils' top goal scorer with 47 markers, pairing that with 11 assists for 58 points on the year. Avery Doran (40g, 18a) and Bella Goodwin (31g, 22a) round out the top four with 58 and 53 points, respectively.
Ellie White is the Blue Devils' top draw taker, winning an ACC-best 161 draw controls for an average of 10.06 per game (sixth in the NCAA). Her 161 wins at the draw circle are currently No. 4 on the Duke single-season charts.
Duke enters the game at 9-7 overall and finished ACC play 5-5. The Blue Devils have lost their last three games - all to top-15 opponents.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1 -- Ellie White's ACC ranking in total draw controls (161) and average draw controls per game (10.06)
3 -- Blue Devils ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA individual statistics. Eva Pronti sits sixth in assists per game and seventh in total assists, Ellie White is sixth in draw controls per game and Avery Doran is 14th in shot percentage
4 -- Blue Devil rankings in the top 25 of the NCAA team statistics. Duke is eighth in draw controls per game, 12th in draw control percentage, 15th in assists per game and 23rd in points per game
5 -- Rookie Quinn Whitaker's listing on the Inside Lacrosse Early Season Freshman Impact Rankings
6 -- Blue Devils with double-digit goals this season: Ava Biancardi (47), Avery Doran (40), Bella Goodwin (31), Quinn Whitaker (31), Eva Pronti (18) and Sadie Stafford (14)
7 -- Duke players with double figure points this year: Eva Pronti (68), Ava Biancardi (58), Avery Doran (58), Bella Goodwin (53), Quinn Whitaker (36), Sadie Stafford (23) and Caitlin Barrett (11)
18 -- Duke's Week 11 Inside Lacrosse ranking
19 –- Duke's Week 11 IWLCA ranking
19 -- Duke's Week 11 USA Lacrosse Magazine Ranking
50 -- Eva Pronti dimes this season, a Duke single-season record
108 -- Career assists by Eva Pronti, third all-time on the Duke charts
161 -- Draw controls by Ellie White in 2026, fourth all-time on the Duke single-season chart
261 -- Career draw controls by Ellie White, fourth all-time in Duke lore
373 -- Career victories for head coach Kerstin Kimel, with 369 of those wins coming at Duke

DUKE IN THE ACC WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Duke earned the No. 8 seed in the ACC Championships for the second time in program history. The Blue Devils are 0-1 as the eighth seed, falling to North Carolina, 18-6, in 2017.
The Blue Devils are 13-27 all-time at the ACC Championships and 0-4 in the quarterfinal round.
Duke looks to make its first ACC Championships finals appearance since 2009. The Blue Devils won their only ACC Championship title in 2005 as the No. 1 seed, defeating No. 2 seed Virginia, 9-6.

DUKE IN THE POLLS:

Duke is ranked in multiple top-25 polls. The Blue Devils currently check in at No. 19 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll. Duke is also ranked 18th by Inside Lacrosse and 19th by USA Lacrosse Magazine.

MILESTONE WATCH:

Head coach Kerstin Kimel is two wins shy of 375 career victories.
Caitlin Barrett is 11 points away from reaching 50 career points.
Avery Doran is eight dimes from 50 career assists.
Bella Goodwin is five tallies away from 100 career goals, three dimes from 50 career assists and eight points shy of 150 career points.
Eva Pronti is seven points away from reaching 150 career points.
Ellie White is four draw-circle wins away from moving into a tie for third all-time at Duke in career draw controls (265).

DUKE VERSUS NORTH CAROLINA / SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS:

Duke and North Carolina meet for the 46th time Wednesday and the 13th time in the ACC Women's Lacrosse Championships. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 31-14 and are 6-3 at neutral sites.
UNC, the consensus No. 1 in all three women's lacrosse polls, enters the postseason at 13-1 overall. The Tar Heels went undefeated in ACC play, finishing with a 10-0 record.
Chloe Humphrey paces the Tar Heels' stout offense, leading the ACC and the NCAA in both goals (79) and points (112). Humphrey has also dished a team-best 33 assists.
Defensively, Humphrey is the team leader in caused turnovers with 19, followed closely by Kate Levy (18), GraceAnn Leonard (16) and Addison Pattillo (14).
Three Tar Heels have seen action this season in goal, led by Betty Nelson, who has started all 14 games between the pipes. Nelson boasts 54 saves, a .400 save percentage and a 7.87 goals against average.

UP NEXT:
Should the Blue Devils defeat North Carolina, they will advance to the semifinals to face the winner of No. 4 seed Syracuse and No. 5 seed Virginia, Friday, Apr. 24. Opening draw is set for 5 p.m., live on ACC Network.

For more information on Duke women's lacrosse, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "DukeWLAX."

#GoDuke