Blue Devils Host California Saturday for Alumni Weekend

Saturday, October 3

Durham, N.C.

5 p.m.

Duke University

California

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Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Host California Saturday for Alumni Weekend

10/2/2026 2:39:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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Match 11
California (4-4-4, 1-2-1 ACC) at No. 6 Duke (6-1-3, 1-1-2 ACC)
Saturday, Oct. 3 – 5 PM (ET) – ACC Network Extra
Durham, N.C. (Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium)
ACCNX Talent: Dean Linke (PBP), Andrew Tait (Color)

NEED TO KNOW

The sixth-ranked Duke women's soccer team (6-1-3, 1-1-2 ACC) will open the month of October with an ACC contest against California (4-4-4, 1-2-1) Saturday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m., inside Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.
Saturday will mark alumni weekend for the Blue Devils as all alumni returning will be recognized at halftime.
The match will air live on the ACCNX with Dean Linke (PXP) and Andrew Tait (Color) calling the action.
Over the last three years, Duke owns a 29-1-3 record at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils are undefeated over the last 14 home matches with a 13-0-1 ledger.
Duke has outscored opponents, 22-2, at home in five matches in 2026.
Seniors Cameron Roller and Mia Oliaro were named captains for 2026.
Head coach Kieran Hall is in his second year as head coach of the Blue Devils, after leading Duke to the NCAA College Cup in his first season in 2025 with a 17-5-1 record.
The No. 3 preseason ranking for Duke marks the fourth time in the last five seasons the Blue Devils have been a preseason top-five team and the 10th time in school history.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES

Four Blue Devils were on the Hermann Trophy midseason watch list announced this week -- Sam Courtwright, Katie Shea Collins, Mia Minestrella and Cameron Roller. It was the most of any team nationally.
Jocelyn Travers was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week after totaling a goal and helping lead the Duke defense to allowing one goal in two matches.
In 42 matches at home over her career, Mia Minestrella has scored 29 goals.
Duke allowed only 28 shots over its first six matches, but has allowed 50 over its last four contests.
The Blue Devils have scored only one goal the last two contests after scoring 29 the first eight matches.
After playing 419:02 minutes over her first three years at Duke, senior Sam Bodensteiner has played in 581:49 minutes in 2026.
Duke currently features nine different players who have scored at least one goal this season.
Mia Minestrella became the first Blue Devil to notch three straight seasons with 10 or more goals. She has scored 39 goals over her last 50 matches. During that span, Minestrella has recorded 13 assists and 91 points.
In 11 matches against ranked opponents in 2025, Mia Minestrella totaled eight goals and two assists. Over the last two years, she has notched 12 goals and seven assists against 26 ranked opponents.
Cameron Roller has started 63 matches in a row as a Blue Devil.
Last year, Kieran Hall became just the third Division I women's soccer coach in NCAA history to take a team to the NCAA College Cup in his first year as a head coach -- Damon Nahas of UNC in 2024 and Marguerie Bates of UCLA in 2022.
Over the last two years, Duke has sent eight alumnae to the NWSL -- Hannah Bebar (Bay FC), Leah Freeman (San Diego Wave FC), Maggie Graham (Houston Dash), Ella Hase (Racing Louisville FC), Mary Long (Kansas City Current), Carina Lageyre (Angel City FC), Kat Rader (Houston Dash) and Devin Lynch (Denver Summit).

THE SERIES WITH CALIFORNIA

Duke and California will meet for the sixth time in program history with the Blue Devils leading the series, 4-1.
The two teams last met on Oct. 13, 2024 in Berkeley, Calif., with Duke posting a 2-1 victory in California's first season in the ACC.
The only previous meeting in Durham came on Sept. 6, 2015, when California registered a 3-1 victory.
Duke has won four of the five all-time meetings with the Golden Bears.

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA

California enters Saturday with a 4-4-4 overall and 1-2-1 ACC mark. The Bears have won each of their last two matches against Boston College (1-0) and Fresno State (2-0).
So far in true road matches, California is 1-3-1 in 2026.
The Bears have been led by Miriam Hils and Reese Doherty with two goals each.

LAST MEETING AGAINST CALIFORNIA

On Oct. 13, 2024, Duke faced 17th-ranked California in Berkeley, Calif. The Blue Devils came-from-behind to notch at 2-1 victory.
The Bears took the lead 38:36 into the match, but Duke started to make its charge in the second half.
Mia Minestrella registered a goal in the 71st minute to even the score and then Cameron Roller provided the game-winner in the 87th minute off an assist from Devin Lynch.

HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST

Duke featured four Blue Devils on the midseason Hermann Trophy Watch List, which was released Sept. 30 -- Sam Courtwright, Katie Shea Collins, Mia Minestrella and Cameron Roller.
The four Blue Devils are the most of any team in the nation.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

The Blue Devils boast an 89-15-12 record at Koskinen Stadium since the start of the 2017 campaign.
In the first half, the Blue Devils allowed only four goals at home in 2025 and so far in five matches in 2026, have allowed only one goal.
Duke has outscored its opponents 114-17 at home over the last three seasons. The Blue Devils totaled a program-record 50 goals at home in 2024, passing the previous mark of 40 from 2017. Duke notched 42 goals at home in 2025.
In 2025, Duke outscored opponents 42-10 at home with Mia Minestrella (12), Avery Oder (5) and Mia Oliaro (2) leading the way.
Mia Oliaro collected 11 assists in home matches in 2025.
Mia Minestrella has played in 42 matches at home over her career and notched 29 goals, 12 assists and notched 70 points. She had 12 goals, four assists and 28 points in 15 games a season ago. Minestrella has registered seven goals in five home games so far in 2026.

SCORING AT HOME

In five home games in 2026, Mia Minestrella has seven goals, while Katie Shea Collins and Avery Oder each have four. Sam Courtwright has scored two, while Yuna Marui, Phoebe Goldthwaite, Jocelyn Travers and Natalie Chudowsky have one each.
Duke is averaging 23.2 shots at home, while outscoring opponents 14-0 in the first and 8-2 in the second half.
The Blue Devils hold a 59-10 shot advantage in the first half.

TRAVERS NETS IMPRESSIVE GOAL, EARNS HONORS

Duke sophomore defender Jocelyn Travers netted her first goal of the season and second career tally in the second half against Notre Dame to tie the match, 1-1. She struck an impressive left-footed attempt from the top of the box.
She then helped the Duke defense shutout Pittsburgh on the road in the next contest as Travers played the full 90 minutes.
Travers was named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week for her efforts.

SCORING AGAINST THE ACC

Duke senior Mia Minestrella has scored a goal against 13 different ACC teams (regular season and postseason). The only teams she has not scored a goal against are – Syracuse (only played once), Florida State (only played once) and Wake Forest (only played twice)
In 2026, Minestrella has scored in two of Duke's four ACC regular-season games and had two goals in those matches
In 2025, Minestrella scored in seven of her 10 ACC regular-season games and had a total of eight goals in those matches
In 2024 and 2025, Minestrella played 20 ACC regular-season games and scored in 12 of those for a total of 13 goals.
In 2024, 2025 and 2026, Minestrella has played 24 ACC regular-season games and has scored in 14 of those for a total of 15 goals.

MINESTRELLA'S QUICK START

Duke senior Mia Minestrella has scored 10 goals over the first 10 contests, which is tied for the second-most in Duke history.

MOST GOALS THROUGH 10 GAMES
1.            Casey McCluskey, 2004 11
2.            Mia Minestrella, 2026   10
                Caitlin Connolly, 1990    10
                Kelly Walbert, 1994         10
                Laura Weinberg, 2012    10

AT THE TOP OF THE ACC

Duke currently features Mia Minestrella near the top of the ACC in points per game (4th, 2.00) and goals per game (3rd, 1.00). Katie Shea Collins ranks eighth in points per game (1.60) and eighth in goals per game (0.60).
Sam Courtwright ranks third in the league with a 0.60 assists-per-game average.
Duke ranks second in the ACC in goals per game (3.00), first in assists per game (3.30) and first in points per game (9.30).
In the NCAA rankings, the Blue Devils are fifth in assists-per-game and sixth in points-per-game, while being 14th in total goals (30).
Minestrella ranks fifth in the nation with a 1.00 goals per game average and is 10th with a 2.30 points-per-game mark.

MCLANAHAN NETS FIRST GOAL

A highly regarded scorer coming out of high school, freshman Rylee McLanahan registered her first collegiate goal on the road at seventh-ranked North Carolina last week.
She tallied the goal at the 41:06 mark of the first half to even the score, 1-1.
McLanahan scored 107 goals in 45 matches in high school.

MINESTRELLA NETS MORE HISTORY

Duke senior Mia Minestrella currently owns 10 goals so far in 2026 to become the first Duke student-athlete to total three straight seasons with 10 or more goals.
Three different Blue Devils notched back-to-back seasons with 10+ goals, but none have done it three times -- Kelly Walbert (1994 & 1995), Kayla McCoy (2017 & 2018) and Michelle Cooper (2021 & 2022).

GAME WINNERS

Over the last three years, Duke's Katie Shea Collins owns 13 game-winning goals, which is tied for first nationally.
Among the active career leaders in the NCAA, Collins is tied with Ginny Lackey of James Madison with 13 game-winners. Kayla Briggs of Michigan State, Larkin Thomason of Alabama, Summer Denigan of North Carolina and Reagan Kotschau of Colorado have totaled 12.

FILLING THE STAT SHEET...

Duke currently features Mia Minestrella, who has either scored or assisted in seven of the Blue Devils' 10 matches.
Avery Oder and Katie Shea Collins have scored or assisted in six of Duke's 10 contests.
Sam Courtwright has scored or assisted in five of the 10 matches as well.

FIRST HALF GOALS

Duke has outscored its opponents by a 19-1 ledger in the first half this season. North Carolina became the first opponent to score in the first half this season on Sept. 17.
In the second half, the Blue Devils hold an 11-8 advantage.
Duke has totaled seven goals this year in the first 10 minutes of the match and 10 goals in the first 15 minutes of matches.

GOALS LAST THREE YEARS

According to the NCAA D-I stats, over the last three years (2024, 2025, 2026), Mia Minestrella has scored the second-most goals nationally. Izzy Engle (41, Notre Dame) leads the nation, followed by Minestrella (40, Duke).
So far in 2026, Minestrella ranks tied for seventh nationally with 10 goals. Kayla Keefer of Oklahoma (15), and Jade Bordeleau of NC State (13) currently lead the nation.

A WIN WOULD...