Match 22
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
#13 South Carolina (15-3-5) at #8 Duke (14-4-3)
Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 – 6:00 PM (ET) – ESPN+
Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
ESPN+ Talent: Dean Linke (PXP)NEED TO KNOW
• Eighth-ranked and second-seeded Duke (14-4-3) will host 13th-ranked and third-seeded South Carolina (15-3-5) on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m., in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 in Durham, N.C.
• Dean Linke will be calling the action for ESPN+.
• If the Blue Devils advance to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, it would mark the ninth time since 2011, which would be the second-most appearances in the NCAA since 2011.
• Duke is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and enter as a top-16 national seed for the seventh time out of the last eight seasons.
• It marks the first time in school history Duke has earned a No. 2 seed, after receiving a No. 1 seed three times and No. 3 seed on five occasions.
• Duke is 4-0-1 in NCAA Round of 16 matches played in Durham, N.C. In those matches, the Blue Devils have outscored opponents by a 16-4 ledger.
• In NCAA Tournament matches being played in Durham, N.C., the Blue Devils boast a 27-3-1 record. On the 2022 season, Duke has collected an 8-3 ledger at home.
In 38 matches played at Duke, Michelle Cooper has tallied at least a goal or assist in 27 of those contests.
STORYLINES/OTHER BLUE DEVIL NOTES
• Junior Katie Groff played with Camryn Dixon and Abby Hugo of South Carolina for the NC Courage Girls Development Academy prior to heading to college.
• With South Carolina arriving in Durham for the NCAAs, Duke junior Nicky Chico has been reunited with her sister, Emily, who is a freshman on the Gamecocks squad.
• Delaney Graham needs 116 minutes played to become Duke’s all-time minutes played leader in the NCAA Tournament. She owns 1,247 minutes.
• Katie Groff owns four goals over her career and three of those are game-winners, after scoring the winner Friday against Texas.
• Duke has not dropped a match since Oct. 13 at FSU. Over those seven matches, the Blue Devils are 4-0-3 and outscored opponents 13-3.
• Michelle Cooper and Kat Rader have combined for 27 goals on the season.
• Duke features a 47-23-11 overall record in 28 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Michelle Cooper is the only player in the nation to rank in the top-10 in goals (15), assists (11) and points (41).
• A total of four teams that remain in the 2022 NCAA Tournament feature sister tandems — Arkansas, Duke, North Carolina, UC Irvine. Duke’s Jenna and Emily Royson along with Delaney and Maggie Graham own the most combined starts among sisters this season (81).
• Kat Rader and Michelle Cooper scored 10 straight goals for Duke over the last five matches prior to Elle Piper scoring against Radford. Either Rader or Cooper have scored in 11 of Duke’s 21 matches.
• Duke has faced eight top-10 teams this season.
• When Kat Rader scores this season, the Blue Devils feature a 9-0-1 ledger. Duke is 8-1-1 this season and 18-1-1 over the last two years when Michelle Cooper scores.
• In the NCAA RPI, Duke is No. 7 with its four losses coming to FSU (1), UCLA (3), UNC (5), Virginia (10). The Blue Devils’ schedule is ranked the toughest nationally by the NCAA.
THE SERIES WITH SOUTH CAROLINA
• Duke and South Carolina will meet for the fifth time in school history with the Blue Devils leading the series, 2-1-1.
• The two teams will meet in the NCAA Tournament for the second time as the two squads faced off on Nov. 16, 2007 in the first round in Athens, Ga. The Blue Devils advanced, 4-1, on penalty kicks.
• The last time the two teams faced off was Aug. 25, 2013 with the Gamecocks taking a 1-0 victory.
• In the 2022 preseason, the two teams met in an exhibition match in Durham on Aug. 12. Duke registered a 2-1 victory as Katie Groff and Julia Hannon posted goals. All three goals for the teams came in the second half and Duke played without Michelle Cooper and Carina Lageyre, who were with the U.S. squad.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
• South Carolina defeated Wake Forest (2-0) and Harvard (3-2) to advance to the round of 16.
• The Gamecocks have totaled a 15-3-5 ledger on the season and have not dropped a match since Oct. 14 versus Vanderbilt.
DUKE VS. THE SEC
• The Blue Devils are 37-19-9 all-time against SEC opponents. Duke is on a current four-game winning streak against SEC foes.
A WIN WOULD…
• Send Duke into the NCAA quarterfinals for the third straight year and the 10th time under head coach Robbie Church.
• The Blue Devils would feature their ninth quarterfinal appearance since 2011, which would rank second to FSU.
• Give Duke 15 wins under Church for the ninth time.
• Move the Blue Devils to 9-3 at home this season.
GROFF NETS WINNER…
• Duke received the game-winner at the 87:42 mark on Friday against 16th-ranked Texas in the NCAA second round as Mackenzie Pluck found Katie Groff for a header off a corner kick.
• Groff netted her fourth career goal and third game-winner.
• Pluck netted her 29th career assist to move her into a tie for fourth on Duke’s all-time charts.
TOUGH DEFENSE…
• The Blue Devil defense continues to shine in the postseason as Duke has allowed only one goal over the last four matches, including three straight shutouts.
• Overall, Duke has allowed only three goals over the last seven matches.
• Duke owns 11 shutouts on the season, while Ruthie Jones owns six in goal.
IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Blue Devils are competing in their 28th all-time NCAA Championship and hold a 47-23-11 overall record in 81 tournament matches.
• The Blue Devils are 40-16-10 under Robbie Church in the NCAA Championship. He las led Duke to the big dance in 20 of his 22 seasons in Durham.
• Duke has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship eight times over the last 11 seasons (since 2011).
NCAA QUARTERFINAL APPEARANCES SINCE 2011
Rk Team Appearances (last)
1. Florida State 9 (2021)
2. Duke 8 (2021)
3. Stanford 7 (2019)
T4. North Carolina 6 (2020-21)
T4. UCLA 6 (2019)
T6. Penn State 5 (2018)
T6. South Carolina 5 (2021)
T6. Virginia 5 (2020-21)
A full set game notes are available here
