NCAA SEMIFINALS - NO. 5 DUKE VS. NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA |
Time |
Home Team |
Visiting Team |
Location |
Links |
5:00 pm |
North Carolina |
Duke |
PPL Park l Philadelphia |
ESPN3 l Live Stats l Twitter |
DURHAM, N.C. – The Blue Devils will be making their seventh NCAA semifinals appearance and first since 2011 when they take on North Carolina Friday, May 22 at PPL Park in Philadelphia. Third-seeded and fifth-ranked Duke advanced with a 7-3 victory over No. 11 Princeton in last weekend's quarterfinals in Durham while the second-seeded Tar Heels topped Penn State, 11-8, in the quarterfinals. Friday's semifinal contest will be broadcast on ESPN3 at 5 p.m. with live stats available on GoDuke.com.
Duke in the NCAA Championship
The Blue Devils garnered the program's 18th consecutive selection to the NCAA Championship field ... Duke is 23-17 all time in the tournament and will be making its seventh trip to the national semifinals (1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015) ... The No. 3 seeding is the highest for the program since 2007 ... The Blue Devils are one of five programs with consecutive tournament appearances of 10 or more years, joining Maryland (26), Virginia (20), Northwestern (12) and North Carolina (11) ... The program is 0-6 historically in semifinal contests and 0-3 in NCAA games played in Philadelphia.
By the Numbers
1/2 - Senior attacker Kerrin Maurer's program ranking in career assists (117) and points (278)
76 - Draw controls won by Maurer this spring, marking the second-highest single-season total in program history
2 - Career IWLCA All-America selections for Maurer, who was named to the 2015 first team Monday
70 - Percent of the Blue Devils' goal scoring this season has come from the senior class (176 of 253 goals)
8 - Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea's national rank in goals against average (7.42) and save percentage (.484)
6 - Previous NCAA semifinal appearances for the Duke program (1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011)
2005 - Year of Duke and North Carolina's last NCAA Tournament meeting, a 15-7 quarterfinal win by the Blue Devils
North Carolina Series History
Tobacco Road rivals Duke and North Carolina will square off for the 31st time in Friday's NCAA semifinals ... The Tar Heels hold a 16-14 advantage in the series after winning the regular season meeting, 12-6, in Durham April 17 to edge the Blue Devils for the regular season ACC title ... North Carolina's Aly Messinger and Sammy Jo Tracy both posted hat tricks in the contest while Kerrin Maurer led Duke with two tallies ... Two of the last three meetings between the teams have been decided in overtime ... The Blue Devils are 1-0 when facing their conference rival in the NCAA Tournament and 2-1 historically when rematching the Tar Heels following a loss.
Scouting the Tar Heels
Second-seeded North Carolina (17-3) overcame a four-goal second-half deficit to defeat Penn State, 11-8, in the quarterfinals ... The Tar Heels also dispatched Florida in the second round, 11-6 ... Leading scorer Aly Messinger has 54 points on 38 goals and 16 assists and ranks 17th nationally in points and goals per game ... Sammy Jo Tracy, Maggie Bill and Sydney Holman have also topped the 40-point marks for the season while Sarah Scott paces the team at the draw (43) ... Defenders Margaret Corzel and Caleigh Sindall have tallied 22 caused turnovers each ... In goal, Caylee Waters owns the fourth-best save percentage in the nation at .500 ... As a team, North Carolina ranks 12th in the country in goals against average (7.95).
A Look at Duke
The third-seeded Blue Devils (16-4) are making their seventh NCAA semifinals appearance and first since 2011 ... Seven of the team's last eight opponents have been ranked ... Duke also went up against nine of the teams in the NCAA field this spring ... The Blue Devils feature a balanced attack that is outscoring opponents by over five goals a game ... Nine players have reached double figures in the goals column this spring, led by senior Kerrin Maurer, who guides the offense with 72 points (43g, 29a) ... Classmates Brigid Smith (37g, 19a) and Katie Trees (33g, 21a) have also topped the 50-point mark ... Maurer leads the team at the draw (76) and ranks 30th nationally and 36th in assists per game ... Defender Gabby Moise paces the team in caused turnovers (18) ... Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea has been solid in the net, ranked eighth in the nation in goals against average (7.42) and save percentage (.484).
Last Time Out
The Blue Devils turned in one of their strongest defensive performances of the year, holding Princeton to a season-low scoring output in a 7-3 quarterfinal win over the Tigers Saturday in Durham ... Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea posted five saves and the team notched four caused turnovers, while senior attacker Kerrin Maurer led a balanced attack with two goals ... Maurer also secured three draw controls to help Duke win the category, 8-4.
All-America Attacker
The IWLCA announced its three 2015 Div. I All-America teams Monday, with senior Kerrin Maurer being recognized for the second consecutive season ... Maurer was one of 16 student-athletes selected to the first team ... She garnered first team honors for the first time in her career after earning a spot on the second team in 2014.
Maurer Breaks Career Assist Record
Senior Kerrin Maurer continues to etch her name in the program records book, becoming Duke's all time career assist leader (117) against Southern California May 10 ... The Setauket, N.Y., native also moved into second on the Blue Devils' career points list in last weekend's quarterfinal round with 278 points over her four seasons ... Maurer paces Duke in goals, assists, points and draw controls this season ... She is seventh among all active Division I players in career assists and first among current ACC student-athletes in the category.
Div. I Active Career Leaders - Points
Rank |
Name, School |
Year |
Gms |
G |
A |
P |
1 |
Shannon Gilroy, Florida |
Sr |
84 |
256 |
64 |
320 |
2 |
Covie Stanwick, Boston College |
Sr |
77 |
198 |
113 |
311 |
3 |
Jill Remenapp, Denver |
Sr |
75 |
110 |
192 |
302 |
4 |
Loren Generi, Navy |
Sr |
79 |
217 |
83 |
300 |
5 |
Kayla Treanor, Syracuse |
Jr |
69 |
207 |
91 |
298 |
6 |
Annie Thomas, Loyola |
Sr |
82 |
142 |
148 |
290 |
7 |
Kerrin Maurer, Duke |
Sr |
77 |
161 |
117 |
278 |
Div. I Active Career Leaders - Assists
Rank |
Name, School |
Year |
Gms |
Assists |
1 |
Jill Remenapp, Denver |
Sr |
75 |
192 |
2 |
Jackie Cifarellil, Ohio State |
Sr |
76 |
179 |
3 |
Annie Thomas, Loyola |
Sr |
82 |
148 |
4 |
Maggie McCormick, Penn State |
Sr |
78 |
137 |
5 |
Brittain Altomare, Hofstra |
Sr |
71 |
129 |
6 |
Emily Cooke, Davidson |
Sr |
71 |
123 |
7 |
Kerrin Maurer, Duke |
Sr |
77 |
117 |
Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament
Senior Kerrin Maurer leads all current Blue Devils with 33 career NCAA Tournament points (20g, 13a) ... She has also totaled a team-high 22 draw controls in the postseason ... Senior Taylor Trimble has notched 17 points in NCAA contests, including two game-winning goals ... Senior defender Gabby Moise has racked up seven ground balls, four draw controls and four caused turnovers while starting all 10 NCAA contests during her career ... In goal, Kelsey Duryea has compiled a 6-2 NCAA record and averaged 10.3 saves per game.
Hats Off
Senior Brigid Smith paces the Duke attack with seven hat tricks on the season ... Kerrin Maurer and Taylor Trimble follow with six hat tricks each ... Maurer leads all current Blue Devils with 24 hat tricks for her career.
Making the Extra Pass
The Blue Devils have recorded assists on 120 of their 253 goals this spring (47.4%), with the 120 assists good for fifth on the program's single-season chart ... The team entered the week ranked 13th in the nation in assists per game (6.00) and dished a season-high 12 in the NCAA second round win over Southern California ... Six Duke players have notched multiple assist games in 2015, led by Kerrin Maurer with 10 ... Maurer ranks fifth in the conference and 36th nationally with an average of 1.5 assists per contest.
Scoring Streaks
Senior attacker Kerrin Maurer has tallied at least one point in a career-best 46 consecutive games heading into the weekend ... The Setauket, N.Y., native has scored multiple goals in 15 of the 20 contests this spring and posted multiple assists 10 times ... Freshman Kyra Harney has notched a point in all but one contest while senior midfielder Taylor Trimble has a point in eight consecutive games entering the NCAA semifinals.
Duryea Anchors Stalwart Defense
Opponents are averaging just 7.6 goals per game against a tough Duke defense ... The unit led the ACC and ranked ninth nationally in goals against average this week ... The Blue Devils have held 16 of their 20 opponents to single-digit scoring ... The squad averages 7.1 caused turnovers a game ... Anchored by junior Kelsey Duryea in the net, Duke has kept opponents off the board for 20 or more minutes eight times this spring.
Opponent |
Scoring Drought |
Duke Run |
William & Mary |
44:21 |
14-0 |
No. 18 Ohio State |
32:52 |
7-0 |
Navy |
28:14 |
4-0 |
No. 11 Princeton |
27:39 |
3-0 |
Davidson |
24:33 |
7-0 |
No. 11 Princeton |
22:14 |
2-0 |
No. 7 Syracuse |
21:47 |
3-0 |
Richmond |
20:37 |
4-0 |
Senior Experience Paying Dividends
Duke is fielding one of its most experienced teams in recent history, led by an eight-member senior class ... The starting lineup features six seniors, including Chelsea Landon, Kerrin Maurer and Brigid Smith at attack, Katie Trees and Taylor Trimble in the midfield and Gabby Moise on defense ... Captain Erin Tenneson has seen valuable minutes on the second midfield line and Angel Thompson provides leadership as the team's backup goalie ... The group has guided the Blue Devils to a 53-25 ledger.
Rookies Producing in Lineup
Midfielder Maddie Crutchfield and attacker Kyra Harney have had an immediate impact on a veteran Duke lineup this spring ... A freshman from Concord, N.H., Crutchfield has started all but three contests and ranks fourth on the team in caused turnovers ... She tallied a season-high three points in the regular-season win over Syracuse ... Harney, who hails from Bay Shore, N.Y., has started 17of the 20 contests and ranks fourth on the team in assists ... Her 31 goals are tied for fourth in the Blue Devils' freshman single-season record book ... Harney has also registered at least one point in all but one game.
Against Ranked Opponents
The Blue Devils are 8-4 against ranked foes this season ... Seven of the team's last eight opponents have been ranked ... Since 2011, the program is 32-29 against ranked teams.
Maurer Climbing Single Season Charts
Senior Kerrin Maurer is on pace for another strong statistical season in her final year ... The veteran attacker's career-high 76 draw controls rank second in Duke's single season record book ... She also ranks 10th in single season assists (29) and 15th in points (72) ... Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea's 7.42 goals against average would place her fifth on the Blue Devils' single season chart.
Player |
Draw Controls |
Season |
1. Emma Hamm |
89 |
2012 |
2. Kerrin Maurer |
76 |
2015 |
3. Emma Hamm |
70 |
2011 |
4. Kat Thomas |
67 |
2010 |
5. Caroline Cryer |
66 |
2007 |
Smith Reaches Century Mark in Points
Senior attacker Brigid Smith became the 23rd player in program history to top 100 points for her career, achieving the milestone in Duke's ACC quarterfinal win over Louisville April 24 ... She enters the weekend ranked 21st all time at Duke in career points (111) ... The Rockville, Md., native has hit her stride in her final season, topping the 50-point mark for the first time in her career and ranking second on the team in goals and points ... She joins classmates Kerrin Maurer and Taylor Trimble in Duke's century club.
Duryea Tops 400 Saves
In her third year as the Blue Devils' starting goalkeeper, Kelsey Duryea continues to work her way up the program's career record books ... The Beverly, Mass., native moved into fifth on Duke's all-time saves list in the win over Ohio State April 9 and surpassed the 400 saves mark against Syracuse April 24 ... Duryea also topped the 100 ground ball mark for her career in March.
Player |
Saves |
Seasons |
1. Megan Huether |
646 |
2003-06 |
2. Shannon Chaney |
568 |
1997-00 |
3. Kim Imbesi |
467 |
2006-09 |
4. Kristen Foster |
427 |
1999-02 |
5. Kelsey Duryea |
422 |
2013-Pr |
Trees Coming on Strong as a Senior
After battling injuries for much of her career, senior Katie Trees is healthy this spring and has become a force in the midfield ... She notched a career-best five goals and seven points in a 17-3 win over No. 16 Notre Dame March 1 ... The San Diego, Calif., native won a career-high five draw controls in a critical ACC victory at No. 3 Boston College April 4 ... Trees is tied for first on the team in game-winning goals (3) ... She ranks second on the squad in draw controls (37) and assists (21) and is third in points (54) ... A two-sport athlete at Duke, Trees wrapped up her collegiate soccer career in the fall.
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