Women’s Soccer To Play Duke In NCAA College Cup Semifinals

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It will be a rivalry game between North Carolina and Duke for the fourth time this season – this time, on the biggest stage with a spot in the national championship game on the line.

The second-seeded Tar Heels and top-seeded Blue Devils will meet once again in the NCAA College Cup semifinals on Friday, Dec. 6, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The match will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first semifinal, at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET.

Action will broadcast nationally on ESPNU with Jenn Hildreth, Lori Lindsey and Marion Crowder on call.

Match Info
Who: (2) Carolina vs. (1) Duke
What: NCAA Tournament – College Cup Semifinals
Where: Cary, N.C. – WakeMed Soccer Park
When: Friday, Dec. 6 – approx. 7:30 p.m. ET
Links: Live Stats | Live Stream

NCAA Tournament Tidbits

North Carolina extended its streak as the only team to appear in all 43 NCAA Tournaments.
The Tar Heels have an all-time record of 151-18-5 (.882) in the NCAA Tournament.
Carolina has won 21 of 42 NCAA titles, plus the 1981 AIAW title for 22 national championships.
Carolina is making its 32nd College Cup appearance, including five of the last seven. No other team has been in more than 14.
UNC has advanced to the national title game 27 times, including three of the last six, and has finished as the national runner-up on six occasions.
The Tar Heels have been a No. 2 seed 12 times before, winning five NCAA crowns as a second seed, including its last title in 2012.
This is the fourth time UNC has reached the College Cup as a No. 2 seed, also doing so in 2012, 2016 and 2022.
The Tar Heels are 27-4 all-time in the semifinals, having out-scored its semifinal opponents 65-23.
Seven current players in Maddie Dahlien, Tessa Dellarose, Makenna Dominguez, Emerson Elgin, Kate Faasse, Asha Means and Bella Sember were on the 2022 NCAA runner-up team.

The Tar Heels enter the match with a 20-5 (7-3 ACC) record. They punched a ticket to their 32nd College Cup after defeating No. 4-seed Penn State, 2-1, after Faasse's golden goal in the 98th minute of overtime in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Nov. 29 in Chapel Hill.

The Blue Devils boast an 18-2-1 (9-0-1 ACC) mark on the season and will be making their fifth College Cup appearance. They knocked off No. 7-seed Virginia Tech, 1-0, in the quarterfinals last Saturday in Durham.

Ten Things to Know

This will be the 56th meeting between North Carolina and Duke in program history. UNC leads the all-time series at 44-6-5 and holds a slight 4-3-3 edge in the last 10 meetings.
Friday marks the first time in history UNC has faced the same opponent four times in a single season. UNC and DU have met three times in a single season twice before, in 1992 and 1994; The Tar Heels won both the ACC and NCAA title those years.
The last Tobacco Road rivalry meeting was on Nov. 7 in the ACC Semifinals. After trailing by one, goals from Linda Ullmark and Trinity Armstrong sealed a 2-1 win for Carolina. That was UNC's 950th win in program history.
UNC and DU have met three times before in the NCAA Tournament with the Tar Heels leading at 3-0. The last meeting was in the second round in 2001; UNC was the national runner-up that season.
Faasse was named a semifinalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy, the most coveted individual honor in NCAA Soccer. She is the first Tar Heel to be named a semifinalist since Brianna Pinto in 2020-21.
Three Tar Heels were selected to United Soccer Coaches All-Region Teams. Faasse and Armstrong were on the First Team while Dellarose landed a spot on the Second Team.
Armstrong is also up for U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year. She is the youngest player on the ballot and the only collegian.
Faasse's 19 goals are tied for first in both the ACC and in the country. Her 41 points also lead the ACC and ranks fourth in the nation. Her seven game-winning goals top the league and is fourth in the country.
The Tar Heels' defensive unit has limited its opponents to 5.5 shots and 2.8 shots on goal throughout the NCAA Tournament. Three of their four NCAA matches so far have been shutouts and they have allowed just one goal.
Carolina enters the College Cup with a 20-5 record on the year. It marks the 30th 20+-win season in program history, and fifth in the last 15 years.

The winner of Friday's game will advance to the national championship match at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 9, also at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. It will air nationally on ESPNU.

This is the first time in the 43-year history of the Women's College Cup that all four teams are from the same conference. This ensures the ACC will earn its 26th women's soccer national championship and 32nd among current membership. No school outside the ACC has won more than two national titles.

Stay up to date with UNC women's soccer by following the Tar Heels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Trinity Armstrong

Maddie Dahlien

Tessa Dellarose

Makenna Dominguez

Emerson Elgin

Kate Faasse

Asha Means

Bella Sember

Linda Ullmark

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University of North Carolina Athletics