Tag: Duke Soccer

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

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.

Mia Minestrella finishes with four goals in Duke’s first-round NCAA Tournament victory

Duke women’s soccer, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, cruised to a 8-0 victory over Howard in the first round on Friday.

The Duke women’s soccer team looked the part of the first overall seed against Howard on Friday night thanks to six combined goals from Mia Minestrella and Maggie Graham.

Minestrella, a sophomore who entered the postseason with eight goals for the year, put her first two on the board in short succession midway through the first half. She somehow found a gap between three Bison defenders in the 18th minute, firing a laser into the net from the edge of the penalty box, and she punched another kick past the Howard goalie from close range just eight minutes later to make it a 2-0 game.

Graham, the team’s leading scorer through the regular season with 10 goals, tacked on two herself in the opening minutes of the second half, but it was Minestrella’s turn again soon after. The sophomore clinched her first career hat trick in the 55th minute, pelting the ball toward the right corner of the goal and raising her arms in triumph before it even hit the net.

Her fourth goal, a header, put the game even farther out of reach as the Duke continued to hold Howard scoreless for the night. The Blue Devils eventually won 8-0.

The Blue Devils advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with the victory, where they will face either the LSU Tigers or Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Duke draws the No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship bracket

The Duke Blue Devils were announced as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship bracket on Monday.

The Duke women’s soccer team was announced as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship bracket on Monday evening.

The Blue Devils, who won the ACC regular-season title for the third time this century, finished with a 14-1-1 record before losing to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Duke still owns the season series against their in-state rivals, beating them in Durham for the first time ever in September before winning in Chapel Hill on October 31.

Before the ACC Championship, the Blue Devils hadn’t lost a game since the season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes on August 15th.

Head coach Robbie Church announced ahead of the season that this year would be his last with the program, and it seems like Duke has rallied around him. Fifth-year senior Maggie Graham earned ACC Midfielder of the Year honors after scoring 10 goals and adding five assists in 17 games, and sophomore Mia Oliara (a Chapel Hill native) paced the team with 11 assists.

Cameron Roller and Leah Freeman were named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively.

The Blue Devils face Howard in the opening round on Friday, and should they advance, either the LSU Tigers or Texas Tech Red Raiders would be waiting for them in the next round.

Duke women’s soccer picks up first 2024 win against Nebraska

The Duke women’s soccer team broke into 2024’s win column on Thursday with a 3-0 triumph over Nebraska.

The Duke women’s soccer team is finally in the win column for 2024.

The Blue Devils (1-1) took down Nebraska (1-2) on the road on Thursday, a 3-0 win headlined by two goals in a nine-minute span during the second half.

Longtime head coach Robbie Church previously revealed that 2024 would be his final season at the program’s helm, but his swan song got off on the wrong foot last week against Ohio State. Despite nearly quadrupling the Buckeyes’ total shots on target (11-3), Duke fell short by a 1-0 margin for an opening loss.

The team refused to allow the same outcome against the Cornhuskers. Duke forward Ella Hase scored the team’s first goal of the season in the 14th minute, one of 10 shots on goal as the Blue Devils continued their offensive onslaught.

However, late in the second half, the dam finally broke. Farrah Walters broke through for the team’s second goal in the 69th minute. Eight minutes later, Mia Minestrella put the game out of reach with another goal, the second of two assists from teammate Mia Oliaro.

With the opening Big Ten road trip now in the rearview mirror, Duke returns to Durham for its next five games. The Blue Devils take the field again next Thursday against UNC Wilmington.

Duke women’s soccer loses to Ohio State in 2024 season opener

The Blue Devils women’s soccer team hit the road for the school’s first 2024-25 event on Thursday, unfortunately a 1-0 loss to Ohio State.

The Duke athletic calendar is finally here as the Blue Devils women’s soccer team kicked off its schedule on Thursday with a road trip to Ohio State.

Unfortunately, the Buckeyes got the better of Duke with a goal in the 55th minute, the only score in a 1-0 game.

After a 6-7-3 season last fall saw the Blue Devils win just one of their last nine matches (five losses and three ties), Duke coach Robbie Church hoped to get the team headed in the right direction for his final season at the helm.

Despite the result, underlying statistics offered some promise for the program going forward. The Blue Devils fired off 21 shots over the course of the game against the Buckeyes’ nine, including a 15-6 differential in the second half. 11 of Duke’s shots found their target, including a staggering seven just from midfielders Carina Lageyre and Hannah Bebar, but Ohio State goalkeeper Molly Pritchard saved all 11 attempts.

The Buckeyes only connected for three shots on target, all of which came from forward Kailyn Dudukovich, but she snuck one by Duke keeper Leah Freeman early in the second half for the difference-maker.

The Blue Devils get another chance to notch their first win against Nebraska on August 22.

The 2024 Duke men’s soccer schedule includes North Carolina and Notre Dame

The Duke Blue Devils released their 2024 men’s soccer schedule earlier this week.

The Duke Blue Devils released their 2024 men’s soccer schedule earlier this week with key ACC matchups against North Carolina, NC State, and Notre Dame.

The Blue Devils get their season underway against Coastal Carolina on August 8. Duke plays 19 regular-season matches, including eight ACC opponents.

The team hosts the Tar Heels on September 13, travels to Raleigh to play the Wolfpack on September 27, and hosts the Fighting Irish at home for the last game of the regular season on November 1.

The Blue Devils also face Wake Forest at home on October 12, the last of four in-state battles. UNC Asheville will be the first on August 13.

Stanford and SMU, two new additions to the ACC, also made their way onto Duke’s schedule. The Blue Devils travel to the Cardinal on September 22, a brutal road trip to California between games against North Carolina and NC State. The Mustangs come to Durham on October 4.

The ACC Tournament did not have an official date on the announcement.

Duke soccer coach Robbie Church announces that 2024 will be his final season

Robbie Church, who has coached the Blue Devils since July of 2001, announced on Monday that 2024 will be his final season at the helm.

For the first time in more than two decades, the Duke women’s soccer team will have a new coach in 2025.

Robbie Church, who first took over the program in July 2001, revealed on Monday that the 2024 season would be his last with the team. He cited spending more time with his family, including his wife and two children, as motivation for the decision.

“I feel like the past 23 years I’ve been the luckiest person in the world,” Church said in a release announcing the decision. “It’s been a great career and ride. I’ve enjoyed it, but like everything it must come to an end and I feel personally for myself, it’s just time.”

Church won 293 games over the last 23 seasons, including 41 NCAA Tournament victories and two ACC regular-season titles (2011 and 2017). He earned ACC Coach of the Year honors for both seasons and was named the Soccer America National Coach of the Year in 2011.

Just because Church already has one eye on his post-Duke life doesn’t mean he’s less invested in the 2024 season, however. He made that very clear in his statement.

“My retirement will start after our final match of the 2024 season and I hope that isn’t until December,” Chuch said. “I am all in this year and I’m excited about this team. I think we have great potential and we can be one of the best teams in the country.”

The team didn’t need to look far for Church’s replacement. Associate head coach Kieran Hall, who joined the program six seasons ago, will take over once Church steps aside.