No. 1 Duke takes down No. 2 Wake Forest, 2-0
🏆 Duke wins top-2 battle, 2-0
When two of the nation's top teams matchup, the need for key players to rise to the occasion becomes more important than ever.
That was the case No. 1 Duke and sophomore Mia Oliaro, who carried the Blue Devils to a 2-0 road win over No. 2 Wake Forest, cooling off one of the hottest teams in the country. With the victory, Duke clinches the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament and has become the ACC regular season champion for the first time since 2017.
The top-2 ranked meeting lived up to the hype early, as the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons were scoreless at halftime. The two ACC heavyweights were the definition of balanced opponents — they were tied or separated by one in shots, shots on goal, saves, fouls and corners.
That's when Oliaro popped onto the scene.
One of TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week selections last week, Oliaro scored her fifth and sixth goals of the season in the 51st and 69th minute. Tallying up seven shots in the contest, Wake Forest was unable to find the back of the net once in the match for the first time since Sept. 12.
🤯 Oliaro scores again, Duke leads 2-0
Make that two goals for Oliaro.
The Blue Devils extended their lead to 2-0 following Oliaro's second goal of the match and second half. Finding the bottom right corner for her first goal, Oliaro went up to the top shelf at the 69th minute to double Duke's advantage.
The goal is Oliaro's fourth in the last three matches and the second time this season that she scored twice in a match.
TOP. SHELF. 🤌
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC)
SENSATIONAL STRIKE FROM MO FOR THE BRACE!
69' | 🔵😈 2, 🎩 0
🔵⚪️ GOAL Duke
The Blue Devils have broken the ice.
Sophomore Mia Oliaro found the bottom right corner of the net for her sixth goal of the season to give Duke a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute. Katie Groff picked up just her second assist of the year.
51' | BLUE DEVILS ON THE BOARD!
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC)
Mo sneaks one past the Deacs!
🔵😈 1, 🎩 0
🔥 Scoreless at the break
The power struggle in Winston-Salem, NC. has entered the break.
Duke and Wake Forest are scoreless at the half as neither team has been able to find the back of the net, nor separate themselves from one another. The two teams are tied in fouls (4), shots on goal (1) and saves (1). Duke leads 4-3 in shots, after not converting with two shots near the 40th minute. Wake Forest has two corners to the Blue Devils' 1.
This is the first time Duke hasn't scored in the first half since Aug. 15, where they lost to Ohio State, 1-0.
👀 Scoreless after 30 minutes
The Blue Devils and Demon Deacons haven't budged throughout the first 30 minutes of play — both teams are still knotted up at zero apiece. The ACC affair has proven to be as much of a balanced matchup as advertised.
Two fouls each, Wake Forest leads 2-1 in shots and corner kicks, and 1-0 in shots on goal. Duke goalkeeper Leah Freeman has the only save of the match so far.
⚽️ Starting IX
Here's the starting nine for both teams:
- 🔵⚪️ Duke
- Ella Hase
- Devin Lynch
- Cameron Roller
- Mia Minestrella
- Mia Oliaro
- Carina Lageyre
- Hannah Bebar
- Maggie Graham
- Katie Groff
- Sam Bodensteiner
- Leah Freeman (GK)
- 🎩 Wake Forest
- Emily Colton
- Nikayla Small
- Dempsey Brown
- Kristin Johnson
- Caiya Hanks
- Emily Morris
- Sierra Sythe
- Zara Chavoshi
- Laurel Ansbrow
- Emily Murphy
- Valentina Amaral (GK)
🍿 Duke-Wake Forest starting in 15 minutes
The 37th meeting between the two, Duke hasn't lost to a ranked opponent all season after clinching a spot in the ACC Championship on Thursday following a tie with No. 7 Notre Dame. Wake Forest will clinch at least a share of the ACC regular season title with wins in its final two matches.
📝 Match preview
A top-2 ranked matchup according to the United States Coaches Poll, Duke and Wake Forest meet for an intense ACC battle for the first time in over two years. Two teams that have combined for just three losses on the season, the match’s final score could shake both the United States Coaches Poll and ACC standings.
The Blue Devils have dominated the series in recent memory, winning seven of the last 10 meetings. However, the Demon Deacons won the matchup where both teams were ranked — the 2021 ACC Tournament.
2024 Campaigns
- 😈 Duke
- Tied in last matchup to No. 7 Notre Dame 3-3 on Thursday, Oct. 24.
- Prior to the Blue Devils’ draw, the team rode an 11-game win streak with three of them inside the top 15 of the RPI.
- Four ranked wins including No. 2 North Carolina on Sept. 5
- Leads the nation in assists per game (4.21) and ranks second in points per game (11.07) and goals per game (3.43).
- Duke has allowed only six goals all season, three coming in the match to Notre Dame.
- 🎩 Wake Forest
- Played the nation’s toughest schedule and racked up four victories over teams in the top 15 of the RPI.
- Four ranked wins on the season including back-to-back victories over then-No.1 Stanford and then-No. 2 Virginia.
- The Demon Deacons haven’t been beaten in the last seven matches — the longest unbeaten streak in program history.
- Junior Caiya Hanks has five matches with multiple goal contributions and leads the team in goals (8), assists (7) and total points (23).
- Five points away from cracking the top 10 single season program record.
Deacs are rolling 👀
— Wake Women's Soccer (@WakeWSoccer)
🔥 Players to watch
Duke — Sophomore Mia Oliaro
Oliaro has been one of the brightest spots for the Blue Devils this season, currently ranked third in the nation in assists per game (.71).
The sophomore shined in Duke’s contest against Boston College on Oct. 19, racking up two goals and two assists alongside six points — the fifth-most in program history for a single game.
She was named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week on Oct. 22 and ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 8.
Congrats to Mo for earning a spot on the National Team of the Week!
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC)
⚽️ Career-high six points vs. BC (2 goals, 2 assists)
⚽️ Notched her first collegiate brace vs. BC
Wake Forest — Senior Emily Colton
Ranked the second-best player in the nation , senior Emily Colton has been a force to be reckoned with since touching down in Winston-Salem.
Starting every game of her college career, Colton has at least one goal contribution in eight of Wake Forest’s last 10 matchups. She ranks second on the team in goals (6) and third in assists (4).
Remember the name ✍️ 🎩
— Wake Women's Soccer (@WakeWSoccer)
⚔️ Series History
Sunday's matchup marks the 37th meeting between the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons dating back to 1994. The two teams didn’t square off last season, but they did face each other in 2022 and twice in 2021 — the first time Duke and Wake Forest met more than once in a season since 2012.
Duke leads the series 21-10-5 attributed to a six-game win streak in the last 10 years. However, neither team has beaten the other by more than two goals since 2011.
Here are the results from every Duke-Wake Forest meeting since 2010:
| Date | Season | Location | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/23/2010 | 2010 | Durham, NC | Wake Forest, 2-1 |
| 10/20/2011 | 2011 | Winston-Salem, NC | Duke, 2-0 |
| 11/4/2011 | 2011 | Cary, NC | Wake Forest, 2-1 |
| 12/2/2011 | 2011 | Kennesaw, GA | Duke 4-1 |
| 10/14/2012 | 2012 | Durham, NC | Tie, 1-1 |
| 10/28/2012 | 2012 | Winston-Salem, NC | Wake Forest, 1-0 |
| 9/19/2013 | 2013 | Winston-Salem, NC | Wake Forest, 3-1 |
| 10/12/2014 | 2014 | Durham, NC | Duke, 2-1 |
| 10/6/2016 | 2016 | Winston-Salem, NC | Duke, 1-0 |
| 10/4/2018 | 2018 | Durham, NC | Duke, 3-2 |
| 9/26/2019 | 2019 | Winston-Salem, NC | Duke, 3-2 |
| 9/10/2020 | 2020 | Winston-Salem, NC | Duke, 4-3 (OT) |
| 9/20/2020 | 2020 | Durham, NC | Tie, 0-0 |
| 10/15/2021 | 2021 | Winston-Salem, NC | Duke, 2-0 |
| 10/31/2021 | 2021 | Durham, NC | Wake Forest, 2-1 |
| 10/6/2022 | 2022 | Durham, NC | Duke, 2-1 |
Last time out (2022) — Then-No. 7 Duke 2, Wake Forest 1
In Duke and Wake Forest’s last meeting, the Blue Devils’ Kat Rader stole the show in Duke’s 2-1 victory, scoring back-to-back goals in the first 13 minutes of play.
Wake Forest’s Giovanna DeMarco made it 2-1 around the 26th-minute mark, but neither team was able to find the back of the net for the remainder of the contest.
Entering the match, the Demon Deacons had allowed just six goals in 12 matches. By the end of the year, the Blue Devils two in the first half tied for the most Wake Forest had given up in one half all season.
The results are in! 🗳
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC)
The Top Goal of 2022 is awarded to Kat’s crafty breakaway rocket 🚀🥵with the left foot against Wake Forest‼️‼️ Thank you to all for voting! 👏
⚽️ DI Committee’s Top 16
The NCAA Division I women’s soccer committee revealed its in-season top 16 rankings on Oct. 17. Through Oct. 16 matches, the Blue Devils sit at the top of rankings while the Demon Deacons aren’t far behind.
The full top 16 rankings are below with both Duke and Wake Forest in bold.
- Duke
- North Carolina
- Wake Forest
- Mississippi State
- Arkansas
- Iowa
- Stanford
- Penn State
- Auburn
- Michigan State
- Southern California
- UCLA
- Ohio State
- TCU
- Notre Dame
- Pepperdine
📺 How to watch Duke and Wake Forest
🗓️ Date: Sunday, Oct. 27
⏰ Time: 6 p.m. ET
📺 TV: ACCNX
📍 Location: Spry Soccer Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
📊 Follow: Live scores and stats