CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 14 Virginia women’s soccer team (9-3-3, 5-3-1 ACC) closes out the regular season on Thursday (No. 5) with a matchup at No. 15 Duke (9-2-4, 4-2-3 ACC) as the teams battle to lock up a spot on the ACC Championships. Kick is set for 6 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday night’s contest will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through ESPN.com and the ESPN app. Live stats are available and linked at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official account on X (UVAWomenSoccer)
NOTING THE HOOS
- Virginia entered the week ranked No. 14 in the ISWOC/United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 17 in the latest rankings released by Top Drawer Soccer
- The Cavaliers enter the week at No. 12 in the RPI and have played a schedule that features nine teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI out of 16 games this season - SMU is No. 52
- Addison Halpern continues to pace the UVA offense with a team-leading 27 points on her team-leading 11 goals and five assists - she has factored into a goal in 11-of-15 games played
- Halpern, Victoria Safradin and Kyra Koopman all earned weekly honors from the ACC - Halpern named Offensive Player of the Week, Safradin as goalkeeper and Koopman as freshman
- Halpern ranks second in the ACC in shots on goal per game (2.20) - which places her tied for ninth nationally - and is fourth in goals scored in the ACC (11) and tied for third in total points (27)
- Halpern was also named the Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Week following the Louisville win
- The Virginia offense has spread the ball around this season with 12 different players recording a goal and 14 players notching an assist to date
- Jordyn Hardeman has come on strong the last three weeks, vaulting into second on the team in points with four goals and an assist across the last six games
- Victoria Safradin is fourth in the league in goal against average (0.69) and save percentage ( .773) and is tied for first in shutouts (6) entering the final week of the regular season
- Entering decision day, the Hoos sit in fifth in the league standings and are fighting for a spot in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament - sitting one point ahead of Duke and Louisville tied for sixth
THE SERIES WITH DUKE - Virginia and Duke have faced each other 53 times with the Cavaliers leading the series 26-17-10
- The last meeting between the teams came in 2025, a 3-1 Virginia victory in Charlottesville
- Virginia got goals from Lia Godfrey, Ella Carter and Laney Rouse - while Victoria Safradin made six saves on the night
- The series has been a battle - especially in recent years, with the series sitting at 2-2-1 over the last five meetings
- The Cavaliers lead the Blue Devils 10-6-5 in games played at Koskinen Stadium