Blue Devils Travel to Wake Forest for ACC Quarterfinal Matchup Sunday

Sunday, November 8

Winston-Salem, NC

6 p.m.

Duke University

Wake Forest (ACC Quarterfinals)

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Duke Athletics

11/7/2026 1:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Duke Notes ACC Championship Central

Watch l Live Stats l Tickets l Duke Media Hub l Duke Media Assets l Duke Notes l ACC Championship Central

Match 17
No. 15 Duke (9-2-3, 4-2-2 ACC) at No. 4 Wake Forest (14-2-1, 7-2-1 ACC)
November 8 – 6 PM (ET) – ESPNU
Winston-Salem, N.C. (Spry Soccer Stadium)
ACCNX Talent: Jessica Charman (PBP), Kacey White (Color)

NEED TO KNOW

No. 15 Duke will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., Sunday, Nov. 8 as the sixth-seeded Blue Devils face fourth-ranked and third-seeded Wake Forest in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship at 6 p.m., live on ESPNU from Spry Soccer Stadium.
The match will air live on ESPNU with Jessica Charman (PXP) and Kacey White (Analyst) calling the action.
Duke is making its 36th appearance in the ACC Championship and its third consecutive appearance.
With its next victory, Duke would reach the 10-win mark for the 30th time in program history. It would also mark the 500th win in Blue Devil history.
The Blue Devils are currently No. 16 in the latest NCAA RPI, while the Demon Deacons are No. 3.
Mia Minestrella needs one goal to tie Kelly Walbert's Duke career goals record of 47.
The winner of the Duke–Wake Forest match advances to the ACC Championship semifinals Nov. 12 to face second-seeded North Carolina at either 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. Fourth-seeded Florida State hosts fifth-seeded Virginia, with the winner advancing to face top-seeded Notre Dame.
Seniors Cameron Roller and Mia Oliaro were named captains for 2026.

STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES

The Blue Devils are vying to advance to the ACC Championship semifinals for a third consecutive season for the first time since reaching that round four straight years from 2002-05. A victory would secure Duke's 19th semifinal appearance.
Mia Minestrella has scored against 14 different ACC teams over her career. Wake Forest is one of only two other current ACC programs she has not scored against. She has faced the Demon Deacons twice.
Mia Minestrella is averaging 1.00 goals per game this season. She is just two goals shy of matching last season's career-high total of 18.
Duke has held opponents to 10 or fewer shots in seven consecutive matches. During that stretch, the Blue Devils own a 133-50 advantage in shots and a 61-13 edge in corner kicks.
In 11 matches against ranked opponents in 2025, Mia Minestrella totaled eight goals and two assists. In her last 28 matches against ranked opponents, she has recorded 13 goals and seven assists. Minestrella has three goals and one assist this season against ranked foes.
Junior Katie Shea Collins has recently missed four full matches and the second halves of two others due to injury.
Cameron Roller has started 69 matches in a row at Duke.
Four Blue Devils were named to the Hermann Trophy midseason watch list announced recently -- Sam Courtwright, Katie Shea Collins, Mia Minestrella and Cameron Roller. The four Blue Devils were the most of any team nationally.
Mia Minestrella became the first Blue Devil to record at least 10 goals in three consecutive seasons. She has scored 46 goals over her last 61 matches. During that span, Minestrella has recorded 14 assists and 106 points.
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 FC).

THE SERIES WITH WAKE FOREST

Duke and Wake Forest will meet for the 39th time in program history when the Blue Devils hit the road for Winston-Salem Sunday.
The Blue Devils are 22-11-5 all-time against Wake Forest, including a 9-5-2 record in Winston-Salem.
The teams last faced each other on Sept. 25, 2025, with Wake Forest collecting a 3-2 victory. The Demon Deacons took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute, but Duke responded with goals from Kat Rader and Julia Saunicheva in the 48th and 65th minutes. Wake Forest added goals in the 69th and 72nd minutes to earn the win in Durham. Mia Oliaro added two assists in the defeat for Duke.
Duke and Wake Forest have met six times in the ACC Championship with the Demon Deacons leading the series 4-1-1. Sunday marks their first tournament meeting since Oct. 31, 2021, when Wake Forest defeated Duke 2-1 in Durham.
Wake Forest has won each of the last three meetings in the ACC Championship against Duke.

SCOUTING WAKE FOREST

Wake Forest owns a 14-2-1 record and enters Sunday with a four-match winning streak. The Demon Deacons earned the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championship with a 7-2-1 record in the league.
Sierra Sythe (9 goals, 2 assists), Allie Flanagan (6 goals, 3 assists) and Kylie Maxwell (4 goals, 6 assists) lead Wake Forest in scoring.
In games played at home in 2026, Wake Forest is 9-1 with the lone loss coming to Florida State on Oct. 15, 2-0.
Duke and Wake Forest finished ACC regular-season play with identical scoring totals—18 goals scored and nine allowed. Duke recorded 164 shots and 71 corner kicks, compared with Wake Forest's 110 shots and 48 corners.

IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT

Duke is seeing action in the ACC Championship for the 36th time in school history and owns a 17-33-4 record.
Duke is the No. 6 seed for the fourth time in program history (2026, 2019, 2012, 2002). The Blue Devils own a 1-3 ledger when seeded No. 6.
The Blue Devils are 2-4 against No. 3 seeds in the ACC Championship.
Since winning a pair of matches in 2017, Duke holds a 3-7-1 record in the ACC Championship over the last 11 contests.
Duke boasts a 5-3-1 record in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship. The Blue Devils and Demon Deacons have split their two ACC Championship quarterfinal meetings.
The Blue Devils will play in the ACC Championship for the third year in a row. Cameron Roller has started all three of Duke's ACC Championship contests over the previous two seasons and is the only Blue Devil on the 2026 roster to have scored in the tournament. She netted a goal in the semifinals against North Carolina in 2024. In three matches, Mia Minestrella has never scored in the ACC Championship.

OLIARO AGAINST THE DEMON DEACONS

In two meetings with Wake Forest at Duke, Mia Oliaro has totaled two goals and two assists.
On Oct. 27, 2024, Oliaro scored both goals as Duke defeated second-ranked Wake Forest, 2-0, in Winston-Salem to clinch the ACC regular-season title.
Last year, Duke dropped a 3-2 decision to WFU as Oliaro assisted on both Duke goals in Durham.

A WIN WOULD...

Give Duke its 500th all-time win in program history!
Give the Blue Devils at least 10 wins for the 30th time in the program's 39 seasons, including both seasons under head coach Kieran Hall.

SCORING AGAINST THE ACC

Duke senior Mia Minestrella has scored against 14 different ACC teams in regular-season and postseason play. The only other ACC opponents she has faced without scoring against are Syracuse (one meeting) and Wake Forest (two meetings).
The next closest current ACC players are Izzy Engle (Notre Dame) with 12 and Wrianna Hudson (Florida State) with 11.
In 2026, Minestrella has scored in six of Duke's 10 ACC regular-season games, totaling eight goals in those matches.
In 2025, Minestrella scored in seven of her 10 ACC regular-season games, totaling eight goals.
In 2024 and 2025, Minestrella scored 13 goals across 20 ACC regular-season games, finding the net in 12 of those contests.
From 2024 through 2026, Minestrella has scored 21 goals across 30 ACC regular-season games, finding the net in 18 of those contests.

ON THE ROAD

Duke will play its ninth road match of the season. The Blue Devils have a 4-2-2 mark in road matches this year.
Mia Minestrella has scored eight goals in road matches this season, tallying goals against Southern California, Old Dominion, North Carolina, Boston College, SMU (3) and Florida State.
Minestrella has scored half of Duke's road goals in each of the last two seasons—six of 12 in 2025 and eight of 16 in 2026. Combined, she has totaled 14 goals in 14 away matches during that span.
Over the last 14 true road matches, Mia Minestrella has scored in 12 contests. The lone games in which she has not scored were at UCLA and Pittsburgh. She scored in all six true road games in 2025. Over the last three years, Minestrella has scored in 14-of-21 true road matches.
Five different Blue Devils have scored on the road this season -- Minestrella (8), Sam Courtwright (3), Katie Shea Collins (2), Avery Oder (2) and Rylee McLanahan (1).
Duke has outscored road opponents 16-10, including a 9-3 advantage in the first half.
The Blue Devils have outshot opponents 59-21 in the first half and 56-33 in the second half.

AGAINST ACC OPPONENTS

In ACC games only, Mia Minestrella currently ranks fourth in shots (41), fourth in shots per game (4.10), first in goals (8), second in goals per game (0.800), first in points (17) and second in points per game (1.70).
Sam Courtwright, Mia Oliaro and Lauren Martinho are tied for seventh with three assists.
Avery Oder is tied for eighth in goals (4) and tied for ninth in goals per game (0.400).
Molly Vapensky is tied for first with five shutouts and tied for first in shutouts per game (0.500).

TOUGH DEFENSE

Duke's defense has been solid down the stretch, allowing only two goals over its last four matches.
In that stretch, the Blue Devils have recorded three shutouts.
Duke's two goals allowed over its final four regular-season matches are tied for the second-fewest in the ACC behind Virginia (1). The Blue Devils' three shutouts are tied for the most.
Duke has allowed five goals over its last eight matches, posting four shutouts and a 0.63 goals-against average. The Blue Devils have surrendered multiple goals only once during that span.

VAPENSKY LEADING ACC

Sophomore Molly Vapensky continues to settle in as Duke's goalkeeper in 2026. She has collected five shutouts on the year with all five coming against ACC opponents.
Her five shutouts in ACC play are tied for the league lead.
She has recorded shutouts in four of Duke's last seven matches.
In the Virginia contest, she recorded two crucial second-half saves to preserve the shutout.
Vapensky matched her career high with five saves against NC State on Oct. 24.
Vapensky has recorded three shutouts over Duke's last four matches, making 14 saves while allowing only two goals. She owns a .875 save percentage and a 0.50 goals-against average during that stretch.

VARIOUS NOTES

Duke has held opponents scoreless in the first half in 13 of its 16 matches this season.
Duke has outscored opponents 23-4 in the first half this season while holding a 143-41 advantage in shots. The Blue Devils have scored 57.5 percent of their goals before halftime.
Phoebe Goldthwaite has produced more points and assists this season than in her first three collegiate seasons combined. Her seven points and five assists in 2026 surpass her previous combined totals of six points and four assists. Goldthwaite has also made 10 starts this fall after totaling four across her first three seasons.
Daya King has started all 38 matches in which she has appeared during her Duke career, logging more than 3,000 minutes.
Cameron Roller surpassed 6,000 career minutes against Florida State and now has logged 6,147 minutes, 47 seconds.

CONSECUTIVE STARTS

Duke senior Cameron Roller has started 69 consecutive matches. Her streak is currently the longest in the ACC and ranks fifth nationally.

LONGEST STREAK NATIONALLY (Through 11/5)
85           Caroline Castans (Kansas)
74           Jayden Sharpless (Duquesne)
74           Sydni Whitehead (Kennesaw State/Bellarmine)
72           Amaya Garrett (North Dakota State)
69           Cameron Roller (Duke)
67           Kennedy Brown (New Mexico)

MOVING UP RECORD CHARTS

Duke senior Mia Minestrella currently ranks second on Duke's all-time goals scored list with 46 goals. She needs one more to move into a tie for first with Kelly Walbert (47).
Minestrella became just the third Blue Devil to reach 100 career points and ranks second on Duke's list, only nine points behind Kelly Walbert (117).
With her hat trick against SMU, Minestrella increased her career total to eight multi-goal performances, tying her for third in Duke history with Laura Weinberg.
Mia Oliaro totaled two assists at SMU to give her 28 over her career, which is sixth overall and only one away from fourth.