Category: Soccer

UNC women’s soccer program wins record 23rd National Championship

The UNC women’s soccer team snapped its long championship drought on Monday night, beating a fellow ACC rival.

Despite being the winningest program in women’s college soccer history, the North Carolina Tar Heels last won a National Championship in 2012.

That quickly changed on Monday night.

Only needing a free kick from sophomore Olivia Thomas in the 62nd minute, UNC captured their record 23rd National Championship in program history, winning 1-0 against in-state ACC rival Wake Forest.

North Carolina (22-5, 7-3 ACC) didn’t gain a ton of opportunities against a stout Demon Deacons (16-4-4, 7-2-1 ACC) defense, but made the most of its chance midway through the second half.

Thomas collected herself, curled a shot over Wake’s wall and past the outstretched arms of goalie Valentina Amaral. The Demon Deacons entered Monday’s championship match allowing just three combined goals in the NCAA Tournament, making Thomas’ goal against them a rarity – but one the North Carolina faithful expected of Thomas.

Speaking of goalkeepers, Tar Heels goalie Clare Gagne was a brick wall between the goal posts. Gagne made three saves on the night, including a couple point-blank ones early in the first half.

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UNC almost added a second goal in the closing seconds, but Amaral averted the threat.

Many outside of Chapel Hill wondered if North Carolina would even make the NCAA Championship, with longtime head coach Anson Dorrance retiring on August 11, after 45 seasons at the helm. The Tar Heels quickly tagged soccer mind Damon Nahas, an assistant coach with the program since 2015, as their interim head coach.

With Nahas leading UNC to a National Championship his first season as head coach, it’s time for him to be named the permanent head coach.

After yet another successful year, the Tar Heels are back at the top where they belong: the queens of college soccer.

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UNC Women’s Soccer advances to National Championship with second-straight win over Duke

It’s always a great day when North Carolina beats Duke.

Back on November 7, the UNC women’s soccer team dealt archrival Duke just its second loss of 2024.

On Friday, Dec. 6, North Carolina beat Duke again – but this time for a berth in the National Championship.

The Tar Heels overwhelmed the top-seeded Blue Devils, 3-0, in Friday’s College Cup semifinal from Cary, N.C. and advanced to their 28th National Championship game in program history.

How did second-ranked North Carolina (21-5, 7-3 ACC), win in such dominant fashion?

It all started early, with UNC scoring its first goal on Kate Faasse‘s penalty kick just 9:25 in. Faasse’s connection was her team-high 20th on the year. The Tar Heels didn’t even have to wait 15 minutes for their next goal, with Olivia Thomas scored her eight at the 23:55 mark in the first half.

North Carolina received its third goal from an unlikely source, Maddie Dahlein, who shot to the lower-left hand corner of the next for goal number three, tallied her second score on the year.

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UNC beat Duke, even with two key disadvantages: total shots and corner kicks. The Tar Heels registered nine total shots against Blue Devils goalkeeper Leah Freeman, while Claire Gagne saved all five Duke shots she face.

North Carolina only had one corner kick throughout Friday’s semifinal matchup, while the Blue Devils generated seven. Corner kicks are typically great ways to generate instant offense, so the fact UNC held Duke scoreless, is impressive in it own feat.

On Monday, Dec. 9, the Tar Heels will be playing for another National Championship, this time against in-state, ACC rival Wake Forest.

Can North Carolina leave Cary with its 21st National Championship in program history?

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Duke women’s soccer gets title dreams denied by North Carolina in national semifinal

Duke women’s soccer saw its remarkable 2024 season come to a close on Friday night with a X-X semifinal loss to North Carolina.

The Duke women’s soccer team came up just 180 minutes short of a national title after its 3-0 national semifinal loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday.

The Blue Devils entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed with a 14-2-1 record, and they shut out their first four tournament opponents to clinch their fifth-ever trip to the NCAA College Cup. With one game between them and a chance at the championship, they drew their rivals for the fourth time this season.

Duke defeated UNC in both regular-season meetings between the schools, but the Tar Heels knocked them out of the ACC Tournament last month, and they swept set on sweeping the postseason from the early stages of Friday’s match.

Kate Faasse beat Duke keeper Leah Freeman on a penalty kick in the 10th minute, sending her effort in the right direction for Freeman’s first goal allowed since November 7. The Blue Devils couldn’t even the match for the next 14 minutes, but UNC’s Bella Gaetino produced a dagger in the 24th with a phenomenal pass over the top of the Duke defense.

Her cross-field kick hung in the Cary sky for five full seconds before dropping at the feet of teammate Olivia Thomas, who managed to outrace Duke’s Nicky Chico and rifled a shot into the back of the net.

The deficit proved insurmountable from there. The Blue Devils managed to get 17 shots off before the end of the game, but only five ended up finding their target, and UNC keeper Clare Gagne managed to intercept all of those. Faasse set Maddie Dahlien up for another goal in the 59th minute, and the Tar Heels cruised to the title game from there.

Longtime Duke head coach Robbie Church, who announced ahead of the 2024 season that it would be his last with the program, ends his tenure with a 311-150-67 record and three College Cup trips over 24 years with the Blue Devils

Clemson men’s soccer falls in the third round of the NCAA Tournament

Clemson soccer falls in the third round.

Winston-Salem, N.C. – Wake Forest’s Dylan Borso scored just over one minute into overtime to give the Demon Deacons the 2-1, golden-goal victory on Sunday night in the third round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. With the win, Wake Forest advances to the quarter finals, while the loss ends the Tigers’ title defense.

ACC Freshman of the Year Ransford Gyan got the Tigers on the board first, perfectly striking a ball from Arthur Duquenne with his left foot to give Clemson the 1-0 lead in the 21’. The Tigers took nine shots in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize and extend the lead before Wake Forest evened the score in the 43’.

The teams were evenly matched in the second half, with Clemson taking three shots to Wake Forest’s four and both squads earning four corner kicks. After 45:00 of scoreless action, the match went to overtime where the first team to score wins.

On an assist from Basit Umar, Borso was able to end the match at the 91:07 mark to win it for the Demon Deacons.

Clemson finished the 2024 season at 15-3-4, 12-1-0 at Historic Riggs Field. This marked the Tigers’ 37th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and the fifth time in six seasons the Tigers made it to one of the final 16 (third round).

– Via Clemson Athletic Communications 

Duke women’s soccer set to face North Carolina Tar Heels in national semifinals

Duke women’s soccer booked its first ticket to the national semifinals since 2017 on Saturday night, and an old rival awaits next weekend.

The Duke women’s soccer team punched its fifth ticket to the NCAA College Cup on Saturday night, a 1-0 victory over Virginia Tech that sent the Blue Devils back to the national semifinals for the first time since 2017.

While head coach Robbie Church’s final season in Durham has felt like something from a fairy tale thus far, the team from Chapel Hill wants a word before the journey takes another step. Duke will face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday, December 6, with a spot in the national title game on the line.

The Blue Devils defeated UNC in Durham for the first time ever on September 5, a 1-0 victory punctuated by a Maggie Graham goal in the final minute of the first half. Duke followed that up with a 3-2 victory over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on October 31, but North Carolina bounced the Blue Devils from the ACC Tournament with a 2-1 win on November 7.

That game is Duke’s only outright loss since August 15.

The Blue Devils have shut out each of their first four postseason opponents, defeating Howard, Texas Tech, the Michigan State Spartans, and the Hokies by a combined margin of 14-0.

Friday’s game starts at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Duke women’s soccer clinches fifth NCAA College Cup appearance in program history

The Duke Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the fifth time ever on Saturday night thanks to a 1-0 win over Virginia Tech.

The winning goal in Saturday night’s game literally hit fifth-year Duke defender Katie Groff in the chest.

The Virginia Tech Hokies managed to deflect a corner kick in the 33rd minute, but Cameron Roller sent the ball flying back toward the net with a solid kick. Thanks to a redirection from a Hokie in the way, it ended up bouncing off Groff and landing directly at her feet for a game-changing opening.

Groff reacted immediately, spinning on her heel and pelting the ball toward the net behind her. Virginia Tech keeper Lauren Hargrove dove toward her in a blind effort to stop the go-ahead goal, but Groff’s effort found a gap to reach its destination.

The surreal story of Duke women’s soccer coach Robbie Church’s final season continued on Saturday night when the Blue Devils took down the Virginia Tech Hokies 1-0 in the national quarterfinals to reach the NCAA College Cup.

The Blue Devils again commanded possession against their conference foe, getting off 13 shots while only surrendering four openings to the Hokies, but Groff was the only player on either roster to convert.

Duke goalkeeper Leah Freeman, the ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, continued her absolutely dominant postseason form. The Blue Devils have shut out all four of their NCAA Tournament foes thanks to her five saves, including three against Virginia Tech.

As luck would have it, the Blue Devils will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the national semifinals on December 6. Duke swept UNC in the regular season, including its first-ever win over the Tar Heels in Durham, but the Blue Devils’ bitter rivals beat them in the ACC Tournament for one of Duke’s two losses this year.

Duke women’s soccer reaches national quarterfinals after Michigan State victory

The Duke women’s soccer team shut out its third straight NCAA Tournament opponent on Sunday night, advancing to the quarterfinals.

The Duke women’s soccer team played its third NCAA Tournament game of the year at Koskinen Stadium on Sunday night, and Leah Freeman still hasn’t allowed a goal.

The Blue Devils smothered the Michigan State Spartans for a 2-0 victory in the third round, clinching a berth in the Elite Eight in head coach Robbie Church’s final season.

In similar fashion to its second-round win over Texas Tech, Duke spent most of the opening half in a scoreless draw. Midfielder Carina Lageyre and forward Devin Lynch, both juniors, eventually solved that problem with two goals on opposite sides of the break, but the Blue Devils’ defense gave them a massive margin for error.

The Spartans never got a shot going toward the goal, only getting three off during the entire night.

“I think that starts from our front line,” fifth-year midfielder Katie Groff said after the game. “We don’t talk about defending the goal that much, we talk about defending the halfway line and probably communicating…We just try to be disciplined and organized. You know, sometimes there’s a time for last ditch defending, but we like to eliminate everything else leading up to that.”

Michigan State keeper Kaitlyn Parks ended the game with 10 saves, but with the Blue Devils firing off 29 shots for the game, the Spartans never stood a chance.

Sunday night’s victory was the Blue Devils’ third consecutive shutout to open the NCAA Tournament. Duke defeated Howard 8-0 in the opening round before a 3-0 victory over the Red Raiders on Friday, giving the team a 13-0 cumulative score through the postseason.

Church and the Blue Devils get nearly a week off before a Saturday game against the Virginia Tech Hokies, another battle within Koskinen Stadium. A victory would send them to the College Cup for the first time since 2017 and the fifth time in program history.

Duke women’s soccer shuts out Texas Tech to reach third round of NCAA Tournament

Duke women’s soccer shut out yet another NCAA Tournament foe on Friday, beating Texas Tech 3-0 to reach the third round.

The Duke women’s soccer team held their postseason opponent scoreless at Koskinen Stadium for the second straight game, defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders 3-0 on Friday night to reach the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils entered Friday’s game with nothing but momentum. Duke entered the postseason as the top overall seed after a 14-2-1 regular season record, and it delivered on that reputation with an 8-0 victory over Howard after sophomore Mia Minestrella scored four goals. However, the Red Raiders held their own for nearly half the game with no score through the first 43 minutes.

However, as the opening half drew to a close, a familiar name came through for the Blue Devils. Fifth-year midfielder Maggie Graham, who scored twice against Howard, managed to beat a defender to control a deflected ball near the top of the box with about 70 seconds left on the clock.

Graham surged forward and booted an effort toward the far corner of the net, just beating the outstretched hand of Red Raiders goalie Faith Nguyen for the opening goal.

Less than eight minutes after play resumed, Ella Hase raced down the pitch toward the goal before firing a crosser toward Graham. With a Texas Tech defender on her right arm, the Blue Devils star managed to pop a touch shot over Nguyen’s right shoulder for her second goal of the night.

In the blink of an eye, the Red Raiders went from holding their own against the best team in the country to a near-insurmountable deficit. Graham’s four postseason goals have her up to 14 for the season, 10 more than her previous career high.

Mia Oliaro tacked on the third goal of the evening in the final five minutes, and Duke keeper Leah Freeman only needed to save one attempt from the Red Raiders. Duke ended with 19 shots to Texas Tech’s five.

The Blue Devils will face Michigan State in the next round of the postseason after the Spartans took down the Texas Longhorns, 3-2.

Auburn bows out of NCAA Tournament in second round

The 2024 Auburn Tigers soccer season came to a disappointing end on Friday afternoon.

The 2024 Auburn Tigers soccer season came to a disappointing end on Friday afternoon.

Once the most dominant team in the sport, the Tigers struggled down the stretch of the regular season before backing into the NCAA Tournament. Karen Hoppa’s Tigers opened up the postseason with a victory at home against FIU last week, but failed to reach the Sweet 16 after a 2-1 loss at the hands of Ohio State in the Round of 32.

Auburn looked like the better team for the majority of the first half on a cold Friday in North Carolina, but a failure to put away scoring opportunities led to a deadlocked score for much of the opening frame. Ohio State finally broke through with forward Kailyn Dudukovic’s 19th goal of the season. The Buckeyes would go onto score another goal, which turned out to be the deciding score, on an Amanda Schluete header with just a minute to play in the first half.

The pair of first half scores from the Buckeyes proved too much to overcome, as even a late goal by Olivia Woodson in the 85th minute was too little too late for Karen Hoppa’s squad. Auburn will now look towards 2025 in hopes of returning to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in nearly two decades.

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