No. 5 Blue Devils Travel to Face No. 22 Lady Vols Thursday

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Match 3

#22 Tennessee (0-1-1) at #5 Duke (2-0)

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022  – 7 PM  – SEC Network

Knoxville, Tenn.  – Regal Soccer Stadium

SEC Network Talent:  Mike Watts (PXP), Marion Crowder (Color)

NEED TO KNOW…

•    No. 5 Duke hits the road for the second time in three matches to open the season on Thursday at No. 22 Tennessee.  The match will be played at Regal Soccer Stadium and aired live on the SEC Network at 7 p.m.

•    Duke enters Thursday having won nine of its last 11 road contests.  The Blue Devils are 11-4-1 in their last 16 road games dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season and have outscored their opponents 26-11 in that stretch.

•    The Blue Devils are looking to open the season with a 3-0 ledger for the second straight year, but would mark only the third time since the 2011 campaign.

•    Duke has won two out of its last three road matches against ranked opponents with wins against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 7 Clemson, while falling to No. 7 Virginia.

•    The Blue Devils return eight starters and 18 letterwinners from last season’s 16-4-1 squad that advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.

•    Duke was preseason ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, which equals the highest preseason ranking in school history (2015 & 2011).  Overall, the Blue Devils have been placed in the top-10 of the United Soccer Coaches preseason ledger in seven of the last eight years under the direction of head coach Robbie Church.

• Sophie Jones, Ruthie Jones and Emmy Duerr were voted captains for the 2022 squad.

•    Duke features two sets of sisters in 2022 with Delaney and Maggie Graham along with Emily and Jenna Royson.

•    The Blue Devils’ recruiting class was tabbed No. 5 nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.

STORYLINES/BLUE DEVIL NOTES

• Michelle Cooper and Olivia Miles made their 2022 debuts in the UNCG contest.  Both came off the bench and Cooper tallied an assist.

•    Duke has outshot its opponents by a 37-3 margin over the first two matches.

•    Senior Julia Burnell scored her first collegiate goal with one second remaining in the first half against UNCG to give Duke a 2-1 advantage at the break.  It turned out to be the game-winning goal for the Blue Devils.

•    In 19 matches played at Duke, Michelle Cooper has tallied at least a goal or assist in 15 of those contests.

•    Senior All-American Sophie Jones collected her fourth career goal and the first since the 2020-21 campaign with her game-winning tally at ECU in the opener.  She launched a 28-yard shot that went into the back post in the sixth minute.

•    Dating back to the 2019 campaign, Duke has won eight straight matches in the month of August.

•    Freshman Cat Rader attempted seven shots in the season opener at East Carolina and was one away from tying for third on Duke’s freshman record charts.

•    All four Duke sisters started the first two matches and played a combined 624 minutes — Delaney Graham (143), Emily Royson (167), Maggie Graham (148) and Jenna Royson (166).

• Ruthie Jones has started 43 straight matches in goal for the Blue Devils and has 20 shutouts, which ranks fifth all-time at Duke.

• Sophie Jones owns a streak of 54 straight starts since arriving at Duke.

DUKE VS. TENNESSEE

•    Thursday’s match will be the Blue Devil’s fifth all-time meeting with the Volunteers. Duke is 1-1-2 against Tennessee and are 0-1 when playing in Knoxville, Tenn.

•    In the last meeting, Duke faced Tennessee in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament and tied, 0-0, but did not advance on penalty kicks (3-4).

•    The Blue Devils are 36-19-9 all-time against SEC opponents.

•    Duke is on a current three-game winning streak against SEC opponents.

•    Head coach Robbie Church owns a 3-2-2 ledger against Tennessee over his career and is 0-2-1 in matches played in Knoxville.

A full set of notes are linked in this email.