Tag: Duke Women’s Soccer

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 takes home ACC regular-season crown

In head coach Robbie Church’s final season, the Duke women’s soccer clinched the ACC regular-season title on Sunday night.

The Duke women’s soccer team capped off a special 2024 season by clinching the ACC regular-season title on Sunday night for the first time in seven years.

The Blue Devils made it official with a 2-0 victory over Wake Forest, their eighth win in nine conference matches.

Duke still has another ACC opponent left on the schedule, a Thursday road trip to Chapel Hill against the North Carolina Tar Heels, but a 13-1-1 overall record and an 8-0-1 conference mark through 15 matches make that result irrelevant for the final standings. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish battled the Blue Devils to a 3-3 tie on October 24, but no one has beaten them outright since the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first game of the regular season on August 15.

The Blue Devils already authored one special moment against UNC earlier this season with a 1-0 victory back on September 5, their first home win over the Tar Heels in school history.

This historic year becomes even sweeter when fans remember that 2024 will be the final season with longtime head coach Robbie Church at the helm. This is the third regular-season conference title under Church, who first took over the program back in July 2001. Duke also won the ACC crown in 2011 and 2017.

Duke women’s soccer defeats North Carolina at home for the first time ever

For the first time in program history, Duke women’s soccer took down North Carolina in Durham on Thursday night.

The Duke women’s soccer team made program history on Thursday night in the sweetest way possible, defeating the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels in Durham for the first time ever.

UNC entered the rivalry battle with a perfect 6-0 record this season, but after a nearly scoreless first half, the Blue Devils were the ones who struck first.

Duke defender Cameron Roller cleared the ball across the pitch with just under a minute to play in the half. Forwards Mia Minestrella and Maggie Graham waited down at the other end, but with a trio of Tar Heels defenders surrounding them, any chance at breaking the tie seemed unlikely.

In the kind of bounce that defines such a historic upset, Roller’s contested pass careened off of a UNC defender, bounced off Minestrella’s leg, and popped out of the crowd by Graham’s waiting feet with nothing but green grass between her and the goal.

Graham forged ahead with a North Carolina defender closing over her left shoulder and UNC goalkeeper Clare Gagne charging forward to meet her. Just before the two Tar Heels converged on her, Graham slipped her go-ahead effort toward the right corner of the goal.

Her shot found the net in what proved to be the only score of the evening.

https://twitter.com/NCAASoccer/status/1831864757646979393

The Blue Devils kept their one-goal lead for the entire second half thanks to a perfect five-for-five game from keeper Leah Freeman. When the time ran out, for the first time in school history, Duke came out on top.

“I feel ecstatic,” Graham said in an interview after the game. “This has been the best game ever. To score the goal was something else, but just to see my team pull together and play the best we have all season, it’s just so inspiring.”

“It makes me believe we can really do something this year and hopefully win a national championship.”

https://twitter.com/DukeWSOC/status/1831867224312951059

Duke, in what will be legendary head coach Robbie Church’s final season with the team, improves to 3-1-1 for the young season.

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.