Blue Devils Host Elon in NCAA Tournament First Round Friday

Friday, November 14

Durham, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

Elon

Photo by: Peter Raider, Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Host Elon in NCAA Tournament First Round Friday

11/13/2025 4:12:00 PM | Women's Soccer

** Please be aware there is a Duke men's basketball game scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday at Duke so parking will be very limited.

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Match 19
NCAA Tournament First Round
Elon (11-2-7) at #11 Duke (13-4-1)
Friday, November 14, 2025 - 6 PM (ET) – ESPN+
Durham, N.C. (Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium)
ESPN+ Talent: Dean Linke (PXP)

NEED TO KNOW

Second-seeded Duke will open NCAA Tournament action Friday, Nov. 14 as the 11th-ranked Blue Devils (13-4-1) host Elon at 6 p.m., on Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.
Friday's match will be aired live on ESPN+ with Dean Linke calling the action.
Duke is making its 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and enters as a top-16 national seed for the ninth time out of the last 10 seasons.
Duke features a 49-24-11 overall record in 29 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
In NCAA Tournament matches being played in Durham, N.C., the Blue Devils boast a 32-3-1 record. Duke has won 13 straight opening NCAA matches played in Durham, N.C.
The winner of Friday's first round match will face the winner of the Maine (6-7-4) versus Central Florida (11-3-5) contest on Thursday, Nov. 20 at the higher seed.
Duke's duo of Kat Rader and Mia Minestrella were named to the Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch. They were two of 35 players selected for the prestigious award.
First year head coach Kieran Hall has kicked off his career with the Blue Devils with a 13-4-1 ledger.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES

Duke is 21-3-5 all-time in its opening match of the NCAA Championship, including a 16-1-4 mark in the first round since the tournament expanded to its current 64-team format in 2001.
The Blue Devils have won nine straight opening matches in the NCAA Tournament and has not dropped a match in the opening round since 2009 on the road.
Duke has won 21 out of its last 24 home contests.
The Blue Devils feature a 9-1-1 ledger at home this season with Kat Rader and Mia Minestrella scoring 14 of Duke's 33 goals.
Duke has scored a goal in the first half in five matches in a row and a total of 12 contests this season.
Senior Devin Lynch has scored or assisted in seven out of her last nine matches.
Duke ranks second nationally in assists with a 3.56 per game average, eighth in corner kicks per match (7.17) and fifth in points per game (8.67).
Over the last five matches, freshman Jocelyn Travers has averaged 74.4 minutes a contest, has started four of those matches and registered an assist against Clemson.
Kat Rader has scored or assisted in 13 of the 17 matches played this year.
Mia Minestrella registered her 11th and 12th career goals against an ACC opponent versus Clemson. She notched eight goals in 10 ACC matches in 2025.
Mia Minestrella and Kelly Walbert (1994-95) are the only Duke players in program history to score in three or more straight ACC games in back-to-back seasons. Walbert is a Duke Hall of Fame selection. These came 30 seasons apart.

THE SERIES WITH ELON

Duke and Elon will meet for the seventh time in program history when the Phoenix come to town on Friday for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke is 6-0-0 all-time against Elon. Each match in the series has been played at home in Durham. The Blue Devils hold a 26-1 goal advantage over the Phoenix across the six matches.
The teams last faced each other on August 26, 2018, when Duke won 3-0 in Durham.
This will be the second time the Blue Devils have faced Elon in the NCAA first round. The teams met in the 1999 Tournament, when Duke won 3-1 in Durham. The match marks the last time the Blue Devils allowed a goal against Elon.

SCOUTING ELON

The Phoenix enter the match with an 11-2-7 record after defeating Stony Brook on penalty kicks in the CAA title game on Sunday. The victory marked Elon's second straight 6-5 victory on penalties, as they defeated UNC Wilmington in identical fashion in the CAA Semifinals.
Elon enters the match riding a nine game unbeaten streak. The Phoenix have not lost since their defeat at William & Mary on September 27. The team has outscored opponents 15-7 during this streak.
The Phoenix are 6-2-4 in road matches this season.
Elon is led in scoring by redshirt junior forward Isa Murdock and junior defender Grace Gelhaus (seven goals each). The Phoenix are anchored in goal by sophomore keeper Katie Bisgrove, who holds a 0.67 GAA on the season.
Elon is in its eighth season under head coach Neil Payne. The team is coming off a 13-4-1 season in 2024. This is Elon's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2021.

DUKE VERSUS THE COASTAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

Duke holds a record of 24-6-1 against CAA schools. The Blue Devils last faced a CAA team on August 29, 2024, in Durham, in a 4-0 win against UNC Wilmington. Kat Rader, Cameron Roller and Devin Lynch each recorded goals in the victory.

HEY, I KNOW YOU!

Duke redshirt junior Taylor Evans played club soccer at Real Colorado with Isa Murdock at Elon.
Elon's Gabby Hoschek played at the same club -- NC Courage Academy -- as Duke's Phoebe Goldthwaite, Lauren Martinho and Mia Oliaro.

A WIN WOULD...

Improve Duke to 14-3-1 overall and send Duke into the NCAA Tournament second round. The Blue Devils would host either Maine or Central Florida Thursday, Nov. 20.

IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Blue Devils are competing in their 30th all-time NCAA Championship and hold a 52-25-11 overall record in 88 tournament matches.
Duke has competed in the NCAA College Cup five times -- 1992, 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2024. The Blue Devils feature a 3-4-1 ledger in the College Cup.
Duke has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship 10 times over the past 14 seasons (since 2011).
The Blue Devils have advanced to the quarterfinals in four out of the last five seasons.
Duke has hosted 35 matches at home in NCAA Tournament play and allowed only 17 goals. Since 2017, the Blue Devils have allowed only four goals in 17 home NCAA Tournament contests.

LOVE BEING AT KOSKI

Over her three seasons at Duke, Kat Rader has enjoyed playing at home inside Koskinen Stadium as the redshirt junior has totaled 15 goals, five assists and 35 points in 21 matches.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

The Blue Devils boast an 81-15-11 record at Koskinen Stadium since the start of the 2017 campaign.
In the first half, the Blue Devils have allowed only 32 shots and four goals at home in 2025.
The Blue Devils are allowing only 7.6 shots per game against opponents at home in 11 matches in 2025.
Duke has outscored its opponents 85-15 at home over the last two seasons. The Blue Devils totaled a program-record 50 goals at home last season, passing the previous mark of 40 from 2017.
So far in 2025, Duke has outscored opponents 33-10 at home with Kat Rader (8), Avery Oder (5), Mia Minestrella (6), Devin Lynch (3), Carina Lageyre (2), Mia Oliaro (2) and Farrah Walters (2) leading the way.
Mia Oliaro has collected nine assists in 11 home matches in 2025.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST YEAR

Duke made an impressive run to the NCAA College Cup in 2024 and returns 14 players that saw action in at least one match a season ago.
Mia Minestrella tied an NCAA record with four goals in the opening round against Howard, while Mia Oliaro, Devin Lynch, Sophia Recupero and Carina Lageyre all scored goals for the Blue Devils.
Duke outscored its opponents, 14-3, and didn't allow a goal in four home matches a year ago.

DUKE VERSUS THE FIELD

Duke features a 6-4-1 record against the NCAA field in 2025 -- North Carolina (1-0), Virginia (0-1), Wake Forest (0-1), Notre Dame (0-2), Clemson (1-0), Louisville (1-0), Northwestern (1-0), Alabama (0-0-1), Arkansas (1-0) and Penn State (1-0).
Of the six Duke non-conference opponents, four of them made the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

RADER, MINESTRELLA REACH 10+ GOALS

Duke redshirt junior Kat Rader (10) and junior Mia Minestrella (12) have scored double-digit goals in 2025.
It marks the seventh season in Blue Devil history to have multiple players score 10 or more goals in a season -- 2024 (Maggie Graham & Minestrella), 2022 (Michelle Cooper & Rader), 2017 (Imani Dorsey, Kayla McCoy), 2012 (Laura Weinberg & Kim DeCesare), 2011 (Kelly Cobb & Kaitlyn Kerr) and 2008 (KayAnne Gummersall, Elisabeth Redmond).
Duke has advanced to the NCAA College Cup in three of those seasons -- 2024, 2017 and 2011.
The Blue Devils feature eight players that have totaled multiple 10+ goal seasons -- Minestrella (2024, 2025), Rader (2022, 2025), Cooper (2021, 2022), McCoy (2017, 2018), Weinberg (2010, 2012), Gummersall (2008, 2009), Casey McCluskey (2002, 2004) and Kelly Walbert (1994, 1995).
Overall, 13 Duke players have scored 10 or more goals in a season.