DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 18 Arkansas women’s soccer team will face No. 19 Duke, in a rematch of the 2013 Sweet 16, on Friday night (Sept. 5). The match, which is slated to start at 6:30 p.m. CT, is the Razorbacks’ first match at the Duke Nike Classic and will be streamed through ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.
Match No. 3: No. 18/20 Arkansas (3-0-1) at No. 19 Duke (2-2-0)
Date/Time: Sept. 5, 2014 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Venue: Koskinen Stadium (7,000) | Durham, N.C.
Live Stats: GoDuke.com
Live Video: ESPN3, WatchESPN App
Talent: Ryan Craig (P-B-P), Chris Edwards (Analyst)
Series: Duke leads 2-0-0 overall
UP NEXT
Following Friday’s matchup at No. 19 Duke, the Razorbacks will battle No. 12 North Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 7 (11 a.m.) on Day 2 of the Duke Nike Classic.
WITH A WIN
With a victory or a tie at Duke on Friday night, Arkansas will be unbeaten, after five contests, for the second consecutive year and the third time in program history.
ARKANSAS/DUKE SERIES
The Razorbacks and the Blue Devils will meet for the second straight season and the third time in program history. Last year, the Blue Devils defeated the Razorbacks in the NCAA Sweet 16 in Durham, N.C. The teams tied, 2-2, before the Blue Devils advanced in penalty kicks, 5-3.
In the previous meeting on Sept. 17, 1994, Duke knocked off Arkansas, 3-1, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: NO. 19 DUKE
- Duke enters Friday’s match at home with a 24-4-6 record at Koskinen Stadium dating back to the 2011 season.
- Since the 2007 campaign, the Blue Devils have posted a 10-1-3 record in the Duke Classic and have outscored their opponents by a 38-13 ledger.
- Duke welcomed the No. 3 overall recruiting class in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com in 2014. The group includes Imani Dorsey, Morgan Reid, Schuyler DeBree, Casey Martinez, Ashton Miller, EJ Proctor, Abby Pyne and Mary Elizabeth Bender. Dorsey was ranked as the top forward in the class, while Reid was the top defender. Five of the freshmen -- Dorsey, DeBree, Miller, Reid and Martinez -- started the season opener versus Ohio State. It marked the most freshmen to start a season opener in school history (previous high was four in 2002). DeBree, Dorsey, Miller and Reid have gone on start the first four matches.
- The Blue Devil defense has not allowed a first half goal this season. Duke has outscored its opponents 4-0 in the first stanza through four matches and have allowed only 17 shots in the first half.
- Duke’s freshmen have combined to play 1,250 minutes, while the freshmen and sophomores have combined for 2,672 out of 3,960 minutes on the year.
- The Blue Devils were hoping to have 2012 National Freshman of the Year Cassie Pecht back on the pitch in 2014, but recently found out she will require another knee surgery and will miss her second straight season.
- As a team, the Blue Devils return only three student-athletes who scored a goal in 2013 -- Kelly Cobb (7), Toni Payne (3) and Malinda Allen (1).
- With a social media push a week before to the season opener on Friday, Aug. 22, @RazorbackSoccer moved into the Top 25 for Division I women’s soccer Twitter accounts. Arkansas is now No. 23 with 2,904 followers.
- The Razorbacks are one of three SEC teams that are currently unbeaten (No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 7 South Carolina).
- Sunday’s (Aug. 31) win over SFA gave Arkansas a 3-0-1 record for the month of August. The Razorbacks are now 6-0-1 in August over the last two seasons.
- The SFA victory also gave Arkansas its third-straight three-win August, all of which have come under head coach Colby Hale
- Arkansas’ win over SFA kept the Razorbacks unbeaten, after four contests, for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in program history.
- Arkansas is 27-18-3 overall and 4-1-1 as a ranked team in the Hale era.
- Both players who scored against Duke in last season’s NCAA Tournament game return (Ashleigh Ellenwood, Alexandria Fischer).
- Friday’s match marks the first time that Arkansas will play a ranked opponent since facing No. 5 Florida in the quarterfinals of the 2013 SEC Tournament.
- The Razorbacks are 3-5-0 vs. Top 25 teams under head coach Colby Hale
- Arkansas’ last victory over a ranked team came on Sept. 27, 2013 with a 3-0 win over No. 14 Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.
- Arkansas is playing its fifth match this season as a ranked team, which is the most consecutive games played as a ranked team in program history.
- Ashleigh Ellenwood’s goal against Stephen F. Austin was the 22nd of her career, which puts her two goals behind Heather Cato (1996-99) for sixth on Arkansas’ all-time goals list.
- The three points against SFA gave Ellenwood 55 for her career, moving her into a sixth-place tie with Alexis Hyrup (1992-96) on Arkansas’ all-time points list.
- Arkansas defeated SFA 4-2 and moved to 3-1-0 all-time against Stephen F. Austin.
- The win improved the Razorback’s neutral game record under head coach Colby Hale to 3-2-1.
- The four goals by Arkansas were the most since Nov. 4, 2013, when they scored a 4-0 win over Missouri in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
- The six combined goals were the most in an Arkansas game this season and the most since Oct. 18, 2013 when the Razorbacks won a 5-4 decision at Vanderbilt.
- Ashleigh Ellenwood’s three points, (goal and assist) were the most for her in a single game this year.
- The three points against SFA gave Ellenwood 55 for her career, moving her into a sixth-place tie with Alexis Hyrup (1992-96) on Arkansas’ all-time points list.
- Tyler Allen’s four points, (one goal, two assists) tied her with sophomore Alexandria Fischer (2 goals vs. Utah State) for the most points in a single-game this season.
- Allen now has 20 points in her career (3 goals, 14 assists).
- Shelby Payne scored her first career goal for Arkansas in just her fifth game.
- Claire Kelley’s goal was her second of the season and the fourth of her career.
- Kelley’s six points in four games this season tied her entire point total from a year ago.
Over the last three contests for the Razorbacks, goalkeeper Cameron Carter has registered 15 saves and surrendered just three goals in 290 minutes between the pipes. Carter also earned her eighth career shutout in Arkansas’ 0-0 2OT draw with Texas (Aug. 29).
NATIONAL POLLS
- The Razorbacks were ranked No. 20 in this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Top 25 Poll (Sept. 1) and No. 18 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Poll that was released on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 2). Arkansas was one of four SEC squads ranked in the two polls (Florida, Texas A&M, South Carolina).
- Arkansas was also ranked No. 4 in this week’s NSCAA NCAA Division I - South Poll, behind Texas A&M, Florida and South Carolina.
- Click HERE to view this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I - South Poll
Senior TYLER ALLEN received Honorable Mention for the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week after helping lead the Razorbacks to a 1-0-1 record last week.
- Allen’s four points (one goal, two assists) in the 4-2 win over SFA, tied her with sophomore Alexandria Fischer (2 goals vs. Utah State) for the most points in a single-game this season.
- Allen now has 20 points in her career (3 goals, 14 assists).
- Click HERE to view this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week
The Razorbacks have an 8-9-1 road record and a 3-2-1 neutral site record under head coach Colby Hale.
#SCTop10
In Arkansas’ 2-1 exhibition win over Creighton on Aug. 14, Tyler Allen’s 40-yard free kick goal in the 65th minute proved to be the game-winner. After a Creighton foul, Allen stepped up for a Razorback free kick and delivered a perfectly struck ball 40-yards down field that landed in left-hand side of the goal to break a 1-1 deadlock. Allen’s goal helped Arkansas pick up a victory in a contest they statistically dominated.
Her incredible goal came in at No. 6 on the SportsCenter Top 10 that night.
THE 2014 EDITION OF @RAZORBACKSOCCER
The Razorbacks are coming off a record-setting 2013 season that saw the team collect the most regular season wins in school history (15) and the programs first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Arkansas will look to improve on those achievements this year as they enter one of the most anticipated seasons in program history.
Arkansas returns 20 players that accounted for 102 of the team’s 136 points from a team that went 15-8-1 and 5-6 in Southeastern Conference play. Of the 12 different players that scored a goal last year, eight return to make up 82 percent (36-of-44) of the goals.
For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.