How to Watch: Duke Women's Soccer at Alabama

No. 1 seeded Crimson Tide soccer hosts the No. 2 seed Blue Devils in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Christopher Walsh | Nov 25, 2022

It's simple: The winner will be the first team to secure a spot in the College Cup, soccer's version of the Final Four next weekend in Cary, N.C.

The loser starts thinking about next season.

When the Duke women's soccer team visits the Crimson Tide in a quarterfinal of the NCAA Tournament, the matchup will feature two teams that like their chances.

The game will include two of the nation's top scorers as Duke's Michelle Cooper and Alabama's Riley Mattingly Parker both have notched 17 goals this season.

It'll also have two of the best scoring duos as Cooper and Kat Rader of Duke rank second with 29 goals, while Parker and Ashlynn Serepca are fifth with 26 goals.

But on paper at least, that's about where the similarities end.

Alabama owns a tournament-best 14 goals, while Duke's one goal allowed ranks tied for second fewest.

Duke has allowed only 18 shots and one goal in the NCAAs, while allowing five shots on goal.

In terms of experience, Duke has 10 different players who have scored at least once in an NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils are aiming to reach the College Cup, which will be played very close to the Duke campus, for the fifth time in school history (and fourth under head coach Robbie Church 1992, 2011, 2015, 2017).

The Crimson Tide? Last year's win against Clemson was the program's first in an NCAA Tournament.

Here are the quarterfinal matchups (all times CT):

How to Watch: Alabama Soccer vs Duke

Who: Duke (15-4-3) at Alabama (22-2-1)

When: 6 p.m., Friday

Where: Alabama Soccer Stadium

TV: ESPN+ (Gray Robertson and Hayley MacDonald)

The series: Duke and Alabama will meet for the fourth time in school history and the first since Oct. 4, 1997. The Blue Devils hold a 3-0 lead in the series with all three meetings coming in Durham. The Blue Devils have outscored Alabama 16-0 in three meetings.

Last time out, Alabama: Alabama's Felicia Knox scored a pair of goals to lead the No. 1 seed Alabama past UC Irvine, 3-1, in the third round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament on Sunday. Ashlynn Serepca scored the eventual game-winner in the 66th minute as the Crimson Tide advanced to the tournament quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

Last time out, Duke: The No. 2-seeded Blue Devils prevented the region from having an all-SEC final. All-American Michelle Cooper registered her school-record sixth brace of the season as Duke defeated No. 3 seeded South Carolina, 2-1, on Sunday. Cooper continued her impressive sophomore season with 17 goals, 11 assists and a school-record 45 points.

About Alabama

Alabama has broken seven team records this season, setting the new standard for points (211), goals (73), assists (66), shots (502), shots on goal (212), wins (22) and shutouts (12)
Riley Mattingly Parker holds the UA record for points (41), goals (17) and game-winning goals (7) in a single season, while tying as the program leader in career game-winning goals (10)
Felicia Knox broke the Tide record for assists with 20 and career assists with 25
In net, McKinley Crone holds a program-record 22 single-season wins and 40 career wins, in addition to holding a UA-record 10 shutouts this year to tie for most career shutouts in an Alabama uniform with 21.

About Duke

For the ninth time out of the last 12 years, Duke will play in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals
Duke has not dropped a match since Oct. 13 at FSU. Over those eight matches, the Blue Devils are 5-0-3 and outscored opponents 15-4.
Michelle Cooper and Kat Rader have combined for 29 goals on the season.
Duke has allowed only two goals over the last five matches, including three shutouts.
In 39 matches played at Duke, Michelle Cooper has tallied at least a goal or assist in 28 of those contests.

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

How to Watch: Alabama Soccer vs Duke

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