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Match 14 l Complete Release
Duke (5-5-3, 1-3-3 ACC) at Virginia Tech (6-6-3, 3-4-0 ACC)
Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 – 7 PM (ET) – ACC Network Extra
Blacksburg, Va. (Thompson Field)
ACC Network Extra Talent: Bailey Angle (PXP), Josh Braun (Analyst)
NEED TO KNOW
• The Duke women’s soccer team (5-5-3, 1-3-3 ACC) looks to close the regular season on a high mark as the Blue Devils travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech (6-6-3, 3-4-0) on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., at Thompson Field.
• Thursday’s match versus the Hokies will be aired live on ACC Network Extra with Bailey Angle (PXP) and Josh Braun (Analyst) calling the action.
• Duke is looking to snap a tied for school-record six-match winless streak as the Blue Devils have not won a contest in over a month (Sept. 17 at Boston College).
• Over the last five matches, the Blue Devils have been without five different starters at one point due to injuries — Emily Royson, Olivia Migli, Baleigh Bruster, Carina Lageyre and Grace Watkins. Royson and Migli have missed four straight games.
• Over the last two seasons, Duke has lost six student-athletes that have gone on to play in the NWSL.
• Duke welcomed 11 newcomers to the 2023 roster as head coach Robbie Church is in his 23rd season in Durham.
STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES
• Duke senior Olivia Migli will head back to her home state of Virginia for Thursday’s match in Blacksburg. Migli, who is from Haymarket, Va., which is approximately three and a half hours away from Blacksburg.
• Duke’s defense has been impressive in the first half the last five matches. The Blue Devils have allowed only one goal (a penalty kick) and held opponents to 27 shots. Leah Freeman has totaled nine saves in the first half in those matches.
• Cameron Roller registered her first collegiate assist in the 1-1 draw with top-ranked North Carolina.
• Kat Rader leads Duke with seven goals on the season and she owns 19 over her short career. Since scoring goals in each of the first three matches, Rader has been limited to four goals over the last 10 contests. She is coming off registering goals in back-to-back games against Pitt and UNC.
• Rader has tallied 11 of her 19 goals against ACC opponents over her short career.
• Since the late loss to Notre Dame, the Duke offense has struggled. The Blue Devils have attempted only 14 shots on goal and scored three goals in five games. One of those goals was a penalty kick. In the last five matches, all three of Duke’s goals have come in the second half and four of the five opponents’ goals have also come in the second.
• In both of Duke’s home losses to 24th-ranked Southern California and 10th-ranked Notre Dame, the Blue Devils opened the match with a 1-0 lead.
• Carina Lageyre posted her first two collegiate goals at Boston College in the ACC opener. She went on to be named ACC Offensive Player of the Week as Duke won 2-0 on the road.
• Katie Groff and Devin Lynch have connected for two goals off corner kicks this season (West Virginia and East Carolina).
• In her first two seasons, when Kat Rader scores, the Blue Devils feature a 12-3-2 ledger. She became just the sixth Blue Devil to register goals in each of her first three matches to start a season.
THE SERIES WITH VIRGINIA TECH
• The Blue Devils and Hokies will meet for the 21st time in school history with Duke leading the series, 12-5-3.
• In matches played in Blacksburg, Va., the Blue Devils hold a 4-3-2 ledger.
• Duke has outscored Virginia Tech, 12-1, over the last six matches.
• Head coach Robbie Church holds a 12-5-3 record against the Hokies.
SCOUTING THE HOKIES
• The Hokies enter Thursday’s match with a 6-6-3 overall and 3-4-0 ACC mark.
• Virginia Tech has dropped the last two matches and been outscored by a 4-0 mark in those contests.
• Natalie Mitchell has led the Hokies with seven goals and 15 points.
• At home, Virginia Tech owns a 2-3-1 record.
IN THE LAST MEETING
• Duke and Virginia Tech last met on Sept. 26, 2021 in Blacksburg, Va., with the two teams finishing in a 1-1 draw.
• Nicky Chico collected her lone collegiate goal in the contest for the Blue Devils.
• Virginia Tech got on the board in the 22nd minute, but Chico collected her goal in the 35th minute off assists from Mackenzie Pluck and Tess Boade.
• Duke held a 17-6 shot advantage over 120 minutes.
HEY, I KNOW YOU
• Maggie Graham and Virginia Tech’s Averi Visage played at Tophat soccer together.
• Blue Devil freshman Phoebe Goldthwaite was teammates with Hokie freshman Ella Bjorklund for the last four years at NC Courage Girls Development Academy. Both were co-captains as well.
A WIN WOULD…
• Snap a six-match winless streak for the Blue Devils.
• Move the series record to 13-5-3 against the Hokies.
IN UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
• Duke is on a six-match winless streak, which is tied for the longest such streak for the Blue Devils in school history. In 2013 and 1996, Duke also had a six-match stretch.
RADER MOVING UP RECORD CHARTS
• Sophomore Kat Rader continues to move up the Duke record charts in her second year.
• Her 45 points ranks fourth on the Blue Devils’ most points through freshman/sophomore season.
• Rader’s 19 goals ranks tied for third on the list as well.
MOST GOALS THROUGH SOPHOMORE SEASON
1. Michelle Cooper (2021-22) 31
2. Caitlin Connolly (1989-90) 24
3. Kat Rader (2022-23) 19
Casey McCluskey (2001-02) 19
5. Laura Weinberg (2010-11) 18
MOST POINTS THROUGH SOPHOMORE SEASON
1. Michelle Cooper (2021-22) 78
2. Caitlin Connolly (1989-90) 53
3. Ella Stevens (2016-17) 47
4. Kat Rader (2022-23) 45
5. Mollie Pathman (2010-11) 44
APPROACHING RECORD NUMBERS, UNFORTUNATELY
• Due to Duke’s struggle to get its offense going this season, the Blue Devils are approaching some numbers they never want to.
• Duke’s 14 goals is approaching a school record for fewest goals scored in a season for the Blue Devils, which is 22 in 2015 and 1998.
• In the Blue Devils’ first 35 years as a program, Duke has tallied fewer than 30 goals only four times — 22 in 2015 & 1998, 26 in 2001 and 29 in 2006.
• Duke has registered only 41 corner kicks, which is nearing the school record for fewest in a season as well. The previous low was 77 in 1999. The Blue Devils have totaled fewer than 100 corner kicks in a season only four times — 77 in 1999, 85 in 2015, and 92 in 1997 & 2019.
• The Blue Devils have totaled 16 assists on the year, which is the second-fewest in school history if the season ended today. The top-five lowest season assists have been — 11 in 2001, 18 in 1998, 22 in 2015 & 1991 and 23 in 1996.