Duke Faces No. 2 Notre Dame in ACC Semis Thursday in Cary

Thursday, November 6

Cary, N.C.

5:30 p.m.

Duke University

Notre Dame (Semifinals)

Tickets

Women's Soccer Celebrate vs. Wake Forest

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Faces No. 2 Notre Dame in ACC Semis Thursday in Cary

11/5/2025 6:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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Match 18
#2 Notre Dame (13-1-2) vs. #11 Duke (13-3-1)
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025 – 5:30 PM (ET) - ACC Network
Cary, N.C. (WakeMed Soccer Park)
ACC Network Extra Talent: Glenn Davis (PXP), Kacey White (Color)

NEED TO KNOW

Third-seeded and 11th-ranked Duke will face second-seeded and second-ranked Notre Dame Thursday, Nov. 6 in the semifinals of the ACC Championship at 5:30 p.m., at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Thursday's match will be aired live on ACC Network with Glenn Davis (PXP) and Kacey White (Color) calling the action.
The winner of the Duke/Notre Dame match advances to the ACC Championship Nov. 9 against the winner of the No. 5 seed Virginia versus No. 1 seed Stanford. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m., on ESPNU.
The Blue Devils are currently No. 8 in the latest NCAA RPI with Duke's three losses coming against No. 1 (Virginia), No. 2 (Notre Dame), and No. 24 (Wake Forest).
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 13-3-1 ledger.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES

The Blue Devils are competing in the semifinals of the ACC Championship in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005. Duke is making its 18th appearance in the semifinals.
Senior Devin Lynch has scored or assisted in seven out of her last eight matches.
Duke ranks second nationally in assists with a 3.65 per game average, fourth in corner kicks per match (7.53) and fifth in points per game (8.94).
With her assist against Louisville, Mia Oliaro registered back-to-back seasons with 10 or more assists to become just the second Blue Devil to accomplish it.
Over the last four matches, freshman Jocelyn Travers has averaged 75 minutes a contest, has started three of those matches and registered an assist against Clemson.
Duke had a streak of scoring two or more goals in eight games in a row broken against Louisville in the quarterfinals as the Blue Devils won 1-0.
Kat Rader has scored or assisted in 12 of the 16 matches played this year, but hasn't had a point in the last two contests.
Duke is 5-3 this season against ranked foes with Mia Minestrella totaling seven goals and one assist for 15 points. Devin Lynch has registered three goals and four assists for 10 points and Kat Rader has totaled two goals and four assists.
Mia Minestrella registered her 11th and 12th career goal 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 NOTRE DAME

Duke and Notre Dame will meet for the 24th time in program history when they face off in Cary, N.C., on Thursday. It will be the first ever match between the teams in the ACC Tournament.
The Blue Devils are 8-11-4 all-time against Notre Dame with a 1-4-1 record in neutral site games. This will be the first neutral site match of the season for each team.
Duke is looking for its first victory against the Irish since October 21, 2021, when Michelle Cooper scored 50 seconds into overtime to defeat the No. 15 Irish 1-0.
In the last two matches against Notre Dame, Minestrella and Devin Lynch have combined for three goals and two assists.

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME

The No. 1 Irish enter the match with a 13-1-2 record after their 0-1 loss at Pitt last Thursday. The team is 8-1-1 in ACC play and seeded second in the tournament.
Notre Dame has outscored opponents 52-15 this season. The Irish have four wins over ranked opponents and rank second in RPI.
Notre Dame is led in scoring by sophomore forwards Izzy Engle (17 goals) and Annabelle Chukwu (11 goals). Engle's 17 goals lead the ACC by a margin of four.
Engle, who also leads the nation with 2.67 points per game, did not appear in Notre Dame's loss to Pitt. The Irish are unbeaten this season with Engle on the field.
Notre Dame is in its eighth season under head coach Nate Norman and coming off a 14-4-4 season in 2024 that ended in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

HEY, I KNOW YOU!

Duke senior Farrah Walters is friends with KiKi Turner of the Irish as they played soccer together in club and they both are from Scottsdale, Ariz.

LAST TIME OUT VERSUS NOTRE DAME

Duke traveled to Notre Dame on Sept. 18 and dropped a 3-2 decision.
The Irish led 2-0 in the first half and went ahead, 3-0, at the 63:53 mark. Duke battled back with goals from Kat Rader and Mia Minestrella in the 65th and 75th minute, but couldn't get the equalizer in the final 15 minutes.
Notre Dame held a 24-9 shot advantage, including a 14-1 lead in the first half.
Caroline Dysart finished the match with a career-high seven saves.

A WIN WOULD...

Improve Duke to 14-3-1 overall and send Duke into the ACC Championship.
Send the Blue Devils to their sixth ACC Championship finals appearance and the first since 2017.

IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT

Duke is seeing action in the ACC Tournament for the 34th time in school history and owns a 17-32-4 record.
Duke's 18 semifinal appearances ranks fourth behind North Carolina (33), Virginia (24) and Florida State (20).
In the semifinals, the Blue Devils feature a record of 5-11-1. In ACC Tournament matches in Cary, Duke owns a record of 5-11-1 as well.

ACC TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE

Over the last four years, Duke has competed in four ACC Tournament contests. The Blue Devils defeated Virginia on Oct. 31, 2022, did not advance against North Carolina on penalty kicks on Nov. 3, 2022, dropped a 2-1 decision to North Carolina on Nov. 8, 2024 and defeated Louisville on Nov. 3, 2025.
Devin Lynch, Kat Rader and Cameron Roller have scored ACC Tournament goals for the Blue Devils. Mia Oliaro, Elle Piper and Rader have notched assists.
Lynch is the only Blue Devil to play in all four contests.

ROAD WARRIOR

Duke's Mia Minestrella is the first Blue Devil in program history to score at least one goal in every away or neutral site match in a single season.
The 2025 squad is the second team in Duke history along with the 1988 team to score at least one goal in every away or neutral site match.
There are three teams in the ACC who have scored at least one goal in every away or neutral site game this season -- Duke, Florida State and Notre Dame.
Minestrella is the only player in the ACC to score at least one goal in every away or neutral site match this season.

BLUE DEVILS FINISH THIRD IN ACC

The Blue Devils finished third or better in the ACC for only the seventh time over the last 28 years. Overall, Duke has finished in third or better in the ACC a total of 12 times in 38 seasons.
Head coach Kieran Hall registered the best finish in the ACC regular season out of Duke's two other women's soccer head coaches in their first season as the head coach -- Robbie Church (7th in 2001), Bill Hempen (4th in 1988).

WINNING STREAKS

Duke's current seven-match winning streak ranks tied for fifth in the nation -- Dayton (12), Georgetown (10), Memphis (9), Stanford (9), Duke (7), Fairfield (7), Liberty (7), Boise State (7) and Boston U (7).

LYNCH COMING UP BIG

Over the last eight matches, senior Devin Lynch has come on strong as she has totaled four goals five assists for 13 points. This includes three game-winning goals (Pitt, UNC and Louisville).
Over the last two years, Lynch has collected 12 goals and 17 assists for 41 points.
Lynch was rewarded for her efforts this week as she was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week, after notching one goal and two assists against Clemson and Louisville.

SIX BLUE DEVILS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS

The ACC office announced Wednesday the 2025 All-ACC women's soccer teams with six Duke student-athletes selected following a vote of the league's head coaches.
Duke's junior Mia Minestrella earned first team recognition, while redshirt junior Kat Rader (Second Team), senior Carina Lageyre (Third Team), junior Cameron Roller (Third Team), Avery Oder (All-Freshman) and Daya King (All-Freshman) received accolades.

OLIARO NETS IMPRESSIVE MILESTONE

Mia Oliaro has reached an impressive milestone against Louisville as she became just the second Blue Devil to post 10 or more assists in consecutive seasons joining Ella Stevens (2017 & 2018).
In the ACC, only nine players have posted back-to-back 10+ assist seasons since 2013 -- Taylor Huff (FSU), Jody Brown (FSU), Makenzy Doniak (Virginia), Danielle Colaprico (Virginia), Morgan Brian (Virginia), Megan Campbell (FSU), Ella Stevens (Duke) and Sam Coffey (Boston College).