No. 2 Duke will wrap up non-conference play Sunday at home when the Blue Devils host VCU at 1 p.m. at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.
Duke enters the match at 4-0-1, while VCU comes in at 0-4-1. The game will stream on ACCNX, with Zach Berly and Matt Stradley on the call.
The Blue Devils are set to get a 12-day break after Sunday before opening ACC play against No. 1 Stanford on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. on ACC Network.
Duke has been especially sharp in August in recent years, putting together a 20-2-1 record over the last five seasons in the month. A win Sunday would also push the Blue Devils to 495 all-time victories, keep their non-conference regular season unbeaten, and extend their streak to 25 straight wins against Atlantic 10 opponents.
The matchup is only the second in program history between Duke and VCU. The Blue Devils won the first one, 2-1, in the 2004 NCAA Tournament in Charlottesville, Va. This will be the first regular-season meeting and the first time the Rams have played in Durham.
VCU is coming off a 1-1 draw at UNC Wilmington on Thursday. The Rams have four losses and one draw on the season, with three different players having scored and the defense allowing 13 goals.
Duke’s attack has been spread around, with 16 goals this year coming from four players: Mia Minestrella with seven, Katie Shea Collins with four, Avery Oder with two and Sam Courtwright with two. Ten different Blue Devils have recorded at least one assist, and Oder’s four assists rank tied for fourth nationally, just one behind the leaders.
Minestrella has been a force at home throughout her career, scoring 27 goals in 39 matches at Koskinen Stadium. She has already added five goals in two home games this season. Collins has also been central to Duke’s offense, and together the pair have combined for 64 goals over the last three years.
Senior Phoebe Goldthwaite will play in her 50th career match Sunday after posting a career-high two assists in Thursday’s comeback at Old Dominion. That win came after Duke trailed for the first time this season, with Minestrella scoring at 82:51 off assists from Oder and Goldthwaite, then Collins delivering the winner at 88:07 off passes from Goldthwaite and Molly Vapensky.
That rally also snapped a run of first-half dominance that had defined Duke’s start. Through the first three games, all eight of the Blue Devils’ goals came before halftime.
They later scored three second-half goals against Rhode Island and two more at Old Dominion, leaving them with 11 first-half goals and five in the second. Duke has outshot opponents 41-7 in first halves this season, and all four goals allowed have come after halftime.
The Blue Devils continue to lean on a roster packed with recognition. Seniors Cameron Roller and Mia Oliaro were named captains for 2026, and Roller has started 58 straight matches.
Duke also had four players on the MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch list: Sam Courtwright, Collins, Minestrella and Roller. All four have earned All-America honors during their college careers, as well.
Head coach Kieran Hall is in his second season leading Duke after guiding the Blue Devils to the NCAA College Cup in 2025 with a 17-5-1 record. Last year, Hall became only the third Division I women’s soccer coach in NCAA history to take a team to the College Cup in his first season as a head coach.
Duke also has plenty of home success behind it. Since the start of the 2017 season, the Blue Devils are 87-15-11 at Koskinen Stadium, and over the last three seasons they have outscored opponents 104-16 at home.
In 2025, Duke outscored teams 42-10 on its own field, with Minestrella, Avery Oder and Oliaro leading the way. Oliaro had 11 assists in 15 home matches last season.
There’s also a national scoring race worth watching. Over the last three seasons, Minestrella’s 37 goals rank second in Division I, behind only Izzy Engle of Notre Dame with 38, and ahead of Hope Leyba of Colorado with 30. In 2026, Minestrella is tied for second nationally with seven goals, trailing Kayla Keefer of Oklahoma, who has eight, and matching Jaiden Anderson of Purdue.
Duke’s early-season numbers are backed by depth, too. Ten different players have already contributed assists, and the Blue Devils have gotten goals from four different scorers. Sunday gives them one more chance to finish non-conference play cleanly before the ACC schedule arrives.
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