Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at #5 Virginia on September 11, 2025 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Women's Soccer
at #5 Virginia
Thursday, August 21
Durham, N.C.
6 p.m.
Duke University
vs
Northwestern
Photo by: Duke Athletics
No. 1 Duke Hosts Northwestern Thursday
8/20/2025 3:22:00 PM | Women's Soccer
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Match 2
Northwestern (2-0-0) at #1 Duke (1-0-0)
Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 - 6 PM (ET) - ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
ACC Network Extra Talent: Zach Berly (PXP), Matt Stradley (Color)
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NEED TO KNOW
STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES
THE SERIES WITH NORTHWESTERN
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
DUKE VERSUS THE BIG TEN
HEY, I KNOW YOU!
A WIN WOULD...
VARIOUS BLUE DEVIL TIDBITS
LAST TIME OUT
MINESTRELLA EARNS HONORS
DUKE MOVES TO NO. 1
ODER SCORES IN DEBUT
FRESHMEN STARTING
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Match 2
Northwestern (2-0-0) at #1 Duke (1-0-0)
Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 - 6 PM (ET) - ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
ACC Network Extra Talent: Zach Berly (PXP), Matt Stradley (Color)
Â
NEED TO KNOW
- Top-ranked Duke (1-0) is set to host Northwestern (2-0) on Thursday, Aug. 21 for a 6 p.m., contest at Koskinen Stadium. Â
- Thursday's contest will be aired live on ACC Network Extra with Zach Berly (PXP) and Matt Stradley (Color) calling the action.
- The Blue Devils moved to No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week, after defeating No. 11 Penn State, 3-2 in the opener.
- Duke's match on Thursday will be a part of a tripleheader of soccer at Koskinen Stadium as UC San Diego men's soccer faces Furman at 3:30 p.m., Duke vs. Northwestern at 6 p.m., and Duke men's soccer hosts San Diego at 8 p.m. One ticket is good for both the Duke women and men's matches.Â
- After two home contests, the Blue Devils will next head on the road to face 13th-ranked Arkansas on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. (ET).Â
- Duke will face two ranked opponents (#11 Penn State & #13 Arkansas in two out of the first three matches).
- All of the Blue Devils' home matches will be aired on either ACC Network, ESPNU or ACC Network Extra.Â
STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES
- Duke boasts a 14-match unbeaten streak at home in Koskinen Stadium after the Blue Devils went 12-0-1 in 2024. The Blue Devils also feature a 12-match winning streak versus non-conference opponents at home.
- Over the last four years, Duke features a 13-2 record in the month of August.
- The Blue Devils open the season with only two matches the first two weeks of the year.
- Duke featured three players on the United Soccer Coaches watch lists -- Cameron Roller (Defenders), Mia Oliaro (Midfielders) and Kat Rader (Forwards).
- The Blue Devils will play five out their first six matches at home in 2025 with the lone road match at 13th-ranked Arkansas.
- Mia Oliaro has scored a goal or registered an assist in 12 of the past 16 matches. In 43 contests in college, when she nets a point in a game her team is undefeated (16-0).Â
- Duke's seven-member recruiting class was tabbed No. 3 nationally (was No. 1 at one point) heading into the 2025 campaign -- Avery Oder (No. 6 recruit), Jocelyn Travers (No. 16 recruit), Molly Vapensky (No. 22 recruit), Lexi Coughlin (No. 28 recruit), Daya King (No. 35 recruit), Kaylee Kim (No. 82 recruit) and Kosette Koons-Perdikis.
- The Blue Devils return seven starters from a season ago. Duke also welcomes back three of its top four scorers from a season ago – Mia Minestrella (12 goals, 7 assists), Mia Oliaro (8 goals, 13 assists) and Devin Lynch (7 goals, 10 assists) – and six of their top nine scorers from 2024 – Cameron Roller (4 goals, 4 assists), Carina Lageyre (two goals, 6 assists) and Farrah Walters (3 goals, 3 assists).
- Following the 2024 campaign, five Duke players signed professional contracts in the NWSL -- Hannah Bebar (Bay FC), Leah Freeman (Bay FC), Maggie Graham (Houston Dash), Ella Hase (Racing Louisville FC) and Mary Long (Kansas City Current).Â
THE SERIES WITH NORTHWESTERN
- Duke and Northwestern will meet for the second time in program history with Duke leading the series, 1-0.Â
- The only other meeting came on Nov. 20, 2016 as Duke posted a 1-0 victory in Durham.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
- Northwestern enters the contest with a 2-0 record on the season with victories against Loyola Chicago and Illinois State.
- Caterina Regazzoni, Kennedy Roesch and Mary Stroebel have scored goals for the Wildcats.
DUKE VERSUS THE BIG TEN
- Duke holds a record of 36-24-7 against Big Ten schools. The Blue Devils last faced a Big Ten team in the season opener and Duke defeated 11th-ranked Penn State, 3-2.
HEY, I KNOW YOU!
- Duke junior Mia Minestrella played club (Beach FC) along with Northwestern's Keira Wagner. They also are both from Redondo Beach, Calif., and attended Redondo Union H.S.
- Blue Devil sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Dysart played club soccer with Northwestern's Gabby Anderson and Kennedy Roesch. Dysart and Roesch played together from U-10 through U-19. They won the ECNL U-19 National Championship together.Â
- In 2024, Duke brought in Northwestern transfer Ella Hase and she had a tremendous season totaling 13 assists, three goals and 19 points as she started 21-of-22 matches.Â
A WIN WOULD...
- Improve Kieran Hall to 2-0 as the head coach at Duke.
- Give the Blue Devils a 2-0 ledger in the series with Northwestern.
- Move Duke to 37-24-7 against Big Ten schools, including 2-0 this season.
- Give Duke a 15-match unbeaten streak at home and 13-match winning streak against non-conference foes at home.
- Move Duke to 14-2 over the last four years in August.
VARIOUS BLUE DEVIL TIDBITS
- Redshirt junior Kat Rader tied a career high with two assists against Penn State.
- Duke's 28 shots against Penn State were tied for the sixth-most in a season opener in program history -- 39 vs. Buffalo (1989), 36 vs. Gardner-Webb in 2009, 35 vs. Fresno State (2015), 34 vs. Catawba in 2000, 31 vs. Wake Forest in 1995 and tied with Campbell from 2003.
- Carina Lageyre and Kat Rader have started 37 consecutive matches in a Blue Devil uniform.
- Cameron Roller has started 31 matches in a row.
- The Blue Devils have scored two or more goals in 24 of the 38 season openers.
- Of Duke's 25 student-athletes on the 2025 roster, a total of 11 of those are from the state of California.Â
- Mia Minestrella has scored 12 of her 14 career goals at home inside Koskinen Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
- Duke registered a 3-2 come-from-behind victory in the season opener against 11th-ranked Penn State. First year head coach Kieran Hall opened his career with an impressive win.Â
- Freshman Avery Oder got things started less than four minutes into action with her first collegiate goal to put Duke ahead, 1-0.
- After Penn State scored back-to-back goals, Duke evened the score by a goal from Mia Minestrella off an assist from Kat Rader.
- Duke got the game-winner in the 57th minute as the Rader to Minestrella duo registered the go ahead goal off a corner kick.Â
- The Blue Devils outshot the Nittany Lions, 28-8, and held a 13-1 advantage in corner kicks.
MINESTRELLA EARNS HONORS
- Coming off her impressive 2025 debut, Duke junior Mia Minestrella received a pair of accolades this week. The forward was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week and also to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week.
- A native of Redondo Beach, Fla., Minestrella collected two goals along with an assist for a total of five points to help push fourth-ranked Duke past 11th-ranked Penn State on Thursday in the season opener.
- Minestrella teamed with redshirt junior Kat Rader at the 23:41 mark to even the score, 2-2, in the first half. Rader then found a leaping Minestrella for the game-winning header off a corner kick in the 57th minute to put the Blue Devils ahead for good, 3-2.
- Her five points were tied for the third-most by a Blue Devil in a season opener in program history.
- Coming off a breakout season as a sophomore with 12 goals, seven assists and 31 points, Minestrella totaled her third career multi-goal performance and her third game-winning goal.
DUKE MOVES TO NO. 1
- For the second time over the last two seasons, Duke is the No. 1 team in the nation, following the release of the United Soccer Coaches week one poll Tuesday.
- The Blue Devils went from No. 4 in the preseason to No. 1 nationally following an impressive, 3-2, victory over No. 11 Penn State this past week. Duke received three first-place votes and a total of 194 points.
- Coming in at No. 2 was Stanford with three first-place votes and 193 points, while Florida State (3), UCLA (4), Southern California (5), Tennessee (6), TCU (7), Notre Dame (7), Iowa (9) and Wake Forest (10) rounded out the top 10 teams.
- Duke was ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll over the final four weeks of the 2024 regular season and entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. It marks the fourth time in program history the Blue Devils have been ranked No. 1 during a season (2025, 2024, 2012, 1992).
ODER SCORES IN DEBUT
- Avery Oder opened her Duke career with a bang against Penn State by registering a goal 3:20 into play.Â
- She became the 19th Blue Devil freshman to score a goal in her first collegiate start and the first since Michelle Cooper in 2021.
- Oder's goal at the 3:20 mark of the first half was the fifth-quickest goal to open a season in Blue Devil history. It was the second-quickest tally by a Duke freshman in program history.
- Oder was the No. 6 overall recruit in the 2025 class.
FRESHMEN STARTING
- The No. 3 overall class in the nation was very impressive in the season opener against Penn State with four starting their first collegiate contest -- Lexi Coughlin, Avery Oder, Daya King and Jocelyn Travers.Â
- Overall, five freshmen started the first match with redshirt freshman Lauren Martinho also earning the nod.Â
- It marked only the second time in program history the Blue Devils have opened the season with five or more freshmen in the starting lineup (2014).
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
- The Blue Devils boast a 73-14-10 record at the venue since the start of the 2017 campaign.
- Duke has outscored its opponents 53-7 at home over the last two seasons. The Blue Devils totaled program-record 50 goals at home last season, passing the previous mark of 40 from 2017.Â
- Mia Minestrella scored 10 of her 12 goals last season at Koskinen, while Mia Oliaro posted six and Devin Lynch has totaled five on the year.
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