No. 1 Blue Devils Open NCAA Tournament Against UNCG

No. 1 Blue Devils Open NCAA Tournament Against UNCG

11/10/2017 3:04:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Duke Game Notes UNCG Game Notes 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket 2017 Season Stats Ticket Info Live Stats WatchESPN

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The road to Orlando and the 2017 College Cup officially kicks off Saturday night for No. 1 Duke (19-2-0), as the Blue Devils host the UNCG Spartans (11-7-3) Saturday night in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Kickoff from Koskinen Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET, with James Alverson on the call. The contest will be live streamed on WatchESPN, which fans can access through WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.

The Blue Devils begin their quest for the first national championship in program history against an in-state foe they have faced once before in postseason play. Duke and UNCG met in the opening round of play in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, with the Spartans winning 3-1. A win Saturday will give Duke a win in its NCAA opener for the seventh-straight appearance.

Saturday's winner will advance to the second round to face the winner of the Missouri State-Oklahoma State matchup on Friday, Nov. 17.

No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (19-2-0, 10-0-0 ACC)
Roster | Coaches | Statistics | Schedule & Results | Game Notes

UNCG Spartans (11-7-3, 5-2-2 SOCON)
Roster | Coaches | Statistics | Schedule & Results | Game Notes

Match Day Info…

Sunday, Nov. 5
No. 1 Duke vs. UNCG – 7:00 p.m. ET
WatchESPN
Durham, N.C.
Koskinen Stadium

Last Time Out…
The Blue Devils took down the fourth seed Virginia Cavaliers on Friday to advance to their first ACC Tournament Final in 17 seasons thanks to a goal from Ella Stevens early in the second half, with assists going to Schuyler DeBree and Chelsea Burns. However, Duke would fall in the championship match to No. 2 North Carolina, who scored in the opening minute of the second half and fought off a number of Blue Devil attempts to secure the victory.

Friday, Nov. 3
No. 1 Duke def. No. 4 Virginia, 1-0 (Recap, Stats)

Sunday, Nov. 5
No. 2 North Carolina def. No. 1 Duke, 1-0 (Recap, Stats)

A Blue Devil Win Would…

Give Duke a win in its NCAA Tournament opener for the 7th-straight appearance
Be the 20th win of the season, putting the Blue Devils two wins from tying the school record
Improve Duke's NCAA Tournament record to 34-20-9
Be Duke's first NCAA Tournament win against UNCG (0-1-0)

In the Rankings...

Duke
United Soccer Coaches: 3rd
Soccer America: 3rd
TopDrawerSoccer: 5th

UNCG
United Soccer Coaches: NR
Soccer America: NR
TopDrawerSoccer: NR

Scouting The Spartans...
UNCG is looking to improve its winning streak to seven-straight matches after capturing the SoCon Tournament title last week. UNCG is led by Cienna Rideout, who tops the team with seven goals and 16 points. Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper has been the mainstay in goal, allowing 18 scores (0.93 GAA) in 1747:59 minutes of work with 97 saves.

The Series with UNCG...

Overall: Duke leads 13-5-0
In Durham: Duke leads 9-1-0
In NCAA Tournament: UNCG leads 1-0-0
First Meeting: UNCG def. Duke, 2-1 [OT] (Oct. 26, 1988 in Greensboro, N.C.)
Last Meeting: Duke def. UNCG, 2-0 (Sept. 11, 2011 in Durham, N.C.)
Current Streak: Duke +1

Leading The Blue Devils…

Points: Kayla McCoy, 28
Goals: Kayla McCoy, 11
Assists: Imani Dorsey & Ella Stevens, 7
Shots: Imani Dorsey, 65
Shots On Goal: Imani Dorsey, 37
Game-Winning Goals: Kayla McCoy, 4
Goals Against Average: EJ Proctor, 0.44
Saves: EJ Proctor, 44
Save Percentage: EJ Proctor, .846

2017 Blue Devil Goal Tracker…

Taylor Racioppi (Ella Stevens & Imani Dorsey) at No. 6 North Carolina – Aug. 18, 2017 (24:46)
Kayla McCoy (Taylor Racioppi) vs. Xavier – Aug. 20, 2017 (16:17)
Chelsea Burns (Penalty Kick) vs. Xavier – Aug. 20, 2017 (73:10)
Imani Dorsey (Unassisted) vs. Xavier – Aug, 20, 2017 (89:40)
Chelsea Burns (Penalty Kick) vs. Bucknell – Aug. 25, 2017 (44:15)
Imani Dorsey (Kayla McCoy & Taylor Racioppi) vs. Bucknell – Aug. 25, 2017 (51:22)
Chelsea Burns (Penalty Kick) at Old Dominion – Aug. 27, 2017 (14:45)
Kayla McCoy (Unassisted) at Old Dominion – Aug. 27, 2017 (21:14)
Imani Dorsey (Unassisted) at Old Dominion – Aug. 27, 2017 (61:42)
Imani Dorsey (Unassisted) vs. UNCW – Sept. 1, 2017 (38:55)
Ella Stevens (Unassisted) vs. Auburn – Sept. 3, 2017 (23:59)
Imani Dorsey (Kayla McCoy) vs. Auburn – Sept. 3, 2017 (55:12)
Imani Dorsey (Rebecca Quinn) at West Virginia – Sept. 8, 2017 (28:27)
Kat McDonald (Unassisted) at West Virginia – Sept. 8, 2017 (37:44)
Kayla McCoy (Schuyler DeBree) at West Virginia – Sept. 8, 2017 (52:27)
Kayla McCoy (Ella Stevens) at West Virginia – Sept. 8, 2017 (62:09)
Kayla McCoy (Taylor Mitchell) vs. Utah – Sept. 11, 2017 (81:11)
Rebecca Quinn (Unassisted) vs. Utah – Sept. 11, 2017 (81:56)
Chelsea Burns (Penalty Kick) vs. Virginia Tech – Sept. 17, 2017 (42:41)
Ashton Miller (Imani Dorsey) vs. Virginia Tech – Sept. 17, 2017 (50:49)
Imani Dorsey (Karlie Paschall) vs. Virginia Tech – Sept. 17, 2017 (58:42)
Own Goal at Notre Dame – Sept. 21, 2017 (59:15)
Imani Dorsey (Taylor Racioppi) at Notre Dame – Sept. 21, 2017 (73:37)
Malinda Allen (Schuyler DeBree & Ella Stevens) at Notre Dame – Sept. 21, 2017 (75:13)
Ashton Miller (Unassisted) vs. Pitt – Sept. 24, 2017 (38:37)
Kayla McCoy (Ashton Miller & Ella Stevens) – Sept. 24, 2017 (66:16)
Ella Stevens (Unassisted) at Louisville – Sept. 29, 2017 (23:50)
Taylor Racioppi (Kayla McCoy) at Louisville – Sept. 29, 2017 (74:18)
Ashton Miller (Unassisted) at Louisville – Sept. 29, 2017 (102:11)
Kayla McCoy (Unassisted) vs. NC State – Oct. 5, 2017 (36:49)
Chelsea Burns (Ashton Miller & Ella Stevens) vs. NC State – Oct. 5, 2017 (49:42)
Ella Stevens (Chelsea Burns & Imani Dorsey) vs. Florida State – Oct. 8, 2017 (2:37)
Imani Dorsey (Kayla McCoy) vs. Florida State – Oct. 8, 2017 (21:35)
Kayla McCoy (Imani Dorsey) vs. Miami – Oct. 15, 2017 (51:24)
Rebecca Quinn (Unassisted) vs. Miami – Oct. 15, 2017 (57:06)
Malinda Allen (Olivia Erlbeck) vs. Miami – Oct. 15, 2017 (88:41)
Taylor Racioppi (Imani Dorsey) at Boston College – Oct. 19, 2017 (3:35)
Schuyler DeBree (Unassisted) at Boston College – Oct. 19, 2017 (61:27)
Kayla McCoy (Ella Stevens) at Syracuse – Oct. 22, 2017 (8:21)
Kayla McCoy (Imani Dorsey) at Syracuse – Oct. 22, 2017 (29:38)
Kat McDonald (Kayla McCoy) at Virginia – Oct. 26, 2017 (86:19)
Chelsea Burns (Ella Stevens) vs. Boston College – Oct. 29, 2017 (13:01)
Imani Dorsey (Kayla McCoy) vs. Boston College – Oct. 29, 2017 (26:18)
Kayla McCoy (Imani Dorsey) vs. Boston College – Oct. 29, 2017 (40:04)
Ella Stevens (Schuyler DeBree & Chelsea Burns) vs. Virginia – Nov. 3, 2017 (46:27)

Need To Know…

Duke enters the 2017 NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed for the second time in school history, the other coming in 2011. This is the 23rd NCAA appearance and 14th in the last 15 seasons for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils captured its third ACC regular season championship and first since 2011 with a perfect 10-0-0 record in conference play. Duke is the first program since Virginia went 13-0-0 in 2013 to finish with a perfect record in the league.
Duke took home four of the five ACC individual awards and a league high nine All-ACC honors last week. Robbie Church was named Coach of the Year, while Imani Dorsey (Offensive POTY), Schuyler DeBree (Defensive POTY) and Rebecca Quinn (Midfielder of the Year) pulled in the other three honors.
Duke won a program best 19-straight matches from Aug. 20 - Nov. 3. The previous record was eight straight in 2000.
The Blue Devils' 19 wins in 2017 are second in DWS history. The school record is 22, set in 2011.
Robbie Church's squad shut out eight of its 10 ACC opponents, which set a new school record, breaking the previous one set in 2011 with seven.
Leading the Duke attack are junior Kayla McCoy and senior Imani Dorsey, who lead the squad with 28 and 27 points along with 11 and 10 goals, respectively. Dorsey has tallied a point in 14 matches, while McCoy has five goals and four assists in the last 10 contests.
On the defensive end for Duke has been the standouts of Chelsea Burns, Schuyler DeBree, Morgan Reid and Taylor Mitchell. Burns, DeBree and Reid have have started all 21 contests and recorded 13 clean sheets. Reid has gone the distance in 19 matches this year, while DeBree has 18 such performances and Burns and Mitchell have 12.
Senior EJ Proctor has been nothing short of dominant in goal this year. She has drawn 19 starts (1634:09 minutes) and leads the ACC in goals against average (0.44) and save percentage (.846). She is second in the league with 10 shutouts and is third in the Duke record book with 31 for her career.

No. 1 On The Dance Floor…
For just the second time in school history, the Blue Devils will enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the field's four No. 1 seeds. Duke's stellar season, which featured a program record 19-match winning streak and the third ACC regular season title in school history, propelled the squad to a top seed. The only other time this feat was accomplished was in 2011, when Duke made one of its three College Cup appearances in school history.

The selection marks the 23rd time in history that the Blue Devils have made the Big Dance and the 14th time in the last 15 seasons.

We Are The Champions…
Thanks to a Notre Dame-UNC draw and a 1-0 victory at No. 10 Virginia on the final night of the regular season, the Blue Devils captured the third ACC regular season championship in program history and first since 2011. Duke capped a perfect 10-0-0 conference season, becoming the first team since Virginia in 2013 to finish perfect in ACC play. The conference crown makes the Blue Devils the second school in ACC history to capture at least three regular season titles, joining North Carolina.

All ACC, All Duke…
Last Thursday's announcement of the 2017 All-ACC Awards just kept reaffirming what we already know. Duke has been nothing short of dominant. There were 13 total honors for the Blue Devils, with four individual awards and a league-high and program record nine All-ACC selections. Robbie Church was named ACC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career (2011) and becomes the sixth coach in ACC history to earn the award multiple times.

Imani Dorsey (Offensive POTY), Schuyler DeBree (Defensive POTY) and Rebecca Quinn (Midfielder of the Year) pulled in the individual honors. Dorsey, DeBree and Quinn were also named All-ACC First Team, along with Kayla McCoy and EJ Proctor. Ella Stevens and Taylor Racioppi were tabbed All-ACC Second Team, while Ashton Miller earned third team laurels and Taylor Mitchell was named to the conference's freshman team.

Showing Out In The Classroom…
Duke women's soccer has a long tradition of excellence in the classroom and on Thursday, that tradition carried on. Imani Dorsey, Schuyler DeBree, EJ Proctor, Kayla McCoy and Chelsea Burns were tabbed CoSIDA Academic All-District III First Team, putting them on the ballot to be named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in December.

Long Time, No See…
Friday's win catapulted Duke to the ACC Tournament Finals for just the fifth time in history, the first time in 17 seasons and the first time in the Robbie Church era.

A Streak For The Record Books…
When the 2017 season is looked back upon, one of the major headlines will be the incredible 19-match winning streak the Blue Devils put together from Aug. 20 – Nov. 3. During the longest winning streak in DWS history, Duke defeated six ranked opponents, shut out 13 foes and went 2-0 at its home tournament for the first time since 2012. The 19-game stretch of wins was the longest in Duke athletics history since the men's basketball program reeled off 25-straight wins from 2010-11 and finished tied for the 12th-longest streak in the athletic department's history.

Another Day, Another Record Broken…
The winning streak was not the only record the Blue Devils own this year. Duke racked up a program record 10 ACC wins, defeating Virginia Tech, No. 18 Notre Dame, Pitt, Louisville, NC State, No. 16 Florida State, Miami, Boston College, Syracuse and No. 10 Virginia.

Early Goal Emphasis…
Heading into the Florida State contest, head coach Robbie Church put a heavy emphasis on scoring within the first 15 minutes of play and his squad responded. Prior to that game, Duke had just one score within the first 15 minutes, but since then Ella Stevens (2:37 vs. Florida State), Taylor Racioppi (3:35 at Boston College), Kayla McCoy (8:21 at Syracuse) and Chelsea Burns (13:01 vs. Boston College, ACCT) have netted early goals.

A majority of Duke's 45 goals have come midway through the first half and in the early portion of the second, as the it has tallied 10 in the 45:01 – 60:00 stretch and nine from 15:01 – 30:00. Twenty-three scores have come in the second half.

Perfect Year At Koskinen…
Duke is a perfect 11-0-0 at home this year. That currently stands second in school history in single-season home wins, three away from tying the record of 14 set in 2011.

Set Em Up, Shut Em Down…
There have been a number of storylines to this year's Duke women's soccer squad, but one of the best has been the play of the Blue Devil defense. On the year, Duke has allowed just 10 goals, outscoring opponents 45-10, and has posted 13 total shutouts after the Virginia win last Friday. Over the last 10 matches, the Blue Devils have outscored foes 20-5 and shut out six opponents, including picking up three ranked victories.

Duke leads the ACC with a .472 goals against average and a .619 shutout percentage, which stand 11th and 13th in the NCAA, respectively. The Blue Devils kept the performance going strong through ACC play, as they earned clean sheets against eight of their 10 conference opponents. That mark is the most in program history.

A big part of that success has been the play of the Blue Devil backline of Chelsea Burns, Schuyler DeBree, Taylor Mitchell and Morgan Reid. Burns, DeBree and Reid have started every match for Duke and earned all 13 clean sheets, while Mitchell has drawn the start in 17 contests. Reid has played the full time in 18 matches this year, while DeBree has gone the distance in 17 games, Burns 12 and Mitchell 11.

Goals On Goals On Goals…
The Blue Devils continue to dominate on the offensive side of the ball as well, as they have 16 multi-goal matches on the season. Duke has scored 45 goals, which leads the ACC and is sixth in the NCAA, up from 14th last week. Ten Blue Devils have scored this year, showing the array of weapons coach Robbie Church has at his disposal, led by junior Kayla McCoy (11 goals) and senior Imani Dorsey (10 goals).

Proctor Nearly Flawless Between The Posts…
It's been business as usual for EJ Proctor, as Duke shut down Virginia on Friday and made a season-high-tying five saves to help the Blue Devils advance to the ACC Finals. She has been solely responsible for 10 of Duke's 13 shutouts this year, putting her career total at 31, which is third in Duke history.

On the year, Proctor leads the ACC in goals against average (.410) and shutouts (10), standing 10th and 20th in the nation entering the weekend. She is also tops in the conference with a .851 save percentage.

Duke In The Top 25…
The Blue Devils enter the opening week of NCAA Tournament play ranked third in the nation. Duke has been ranked in the top five across the board for eight-straight weeks.

A Look At The RPI…
The first official NCAA women's soccer RPI was released seven weeks ago, with Duke opening the year at No. 6. That is the highest Duke has begun a season in the RPI since starting out at No. 3 in the first rankings of 2011. Duke moved up to No. 4 six weeks ago and held strong there in the latest release. UNCG is ranked 104th.

Live Broadcast…
Saturday's match will be live streamed on WatchESPN. Fans can access the live stream through WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app.

No. 1 Duke vs. UNCG WatchESPN Broadcast

Live Stats…
Duke will provide live stats for Saturday's match. Fans can access them by going to GoDuke.com/wsoccer or clicking the link below.

No. 1 Duke vs. UNCG Live Stats

Up Next…
The winner of Saturday's contest will advance to play the winner of Oklahoma State and Missouri State on Friday, Nov. 17 in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Social Media…
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for “DukeWSoc”. You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for “dukeathletics”.

#GoDuke