CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – For the first time ever, four teams from the same conference will compete at the NCAA Division I Women’s College Cup, as Duke, North Carolina, Stanford and Wake Forest will represent the Atlantic Coast Conference in this year’s national semifinals.
The semifinals kick off on Friday, December 6, from WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, the site of last month’s 2024 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship. Second-seeded Wake Forest and third-seeded Stanford will meet in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. ET in a rematch of their September 19th matchup that saw the Demon Deacons capture a 1-0 win in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Emily Colton scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 30th minute while Wake goalkeeper Valentina Amaral made four saves to preserve the shutout.
Wake Forest makes its first appearance in the College Cup since 2011 and second overall, while Stanford makes its first appearance in the College Cup as ACC members and 12th overall. The Cardinal advanced to the national championship match a season ago before falling to Florida State, 5-1.
The second semifinal match will feature the fourth meeting this season between top-seeded Duke and second-seeded North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils captured both meetings during the regular season, while the Tar Heels earned a 2-1 win in the semifinals of the Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship on Thursday, November 7.
Duke returns to the national semifinals for the first time since 2017 and makes its fifth appearance in program history. Head Coach Robbie Church, who announced that he will be retiring following the season, is two wins away from 400 in his career. North Carolina makes its record 32nd trip to the College Cup and seeks its 22nd national championship.
The ACC has sent eight teams to the last three Women’s College Cups, while no other conference has sent more than two. Current membership has made 90 appearances in the national semifinals all-time and has won 31 national championships. With four ACC teams in the semifinals, the conference is guaranteed its 32nd national title.
Every matchup of the Women’s College Cup will be featured on ESPNU. The National Championship is scheduled for Monday, December 9 at 7 p.m. ET.
NCAA Tournament Results/Schedule (all times Eastern)
NCAA Tournament – First Round
Friday, November 15
at #1 Florida State 8, Samford 0
at #1 Duke 8, Howard 0
at #2 North Carolina 8, USC Upstate 0
at #2 Wake Forest 4, Morehead State 0
at #3 Stanford 5, UC Santa Barbara 0
at #4 Notre Dame 5, Milwaukee 1
at #4 Virginia 2, Princeton 1
at #7 Virginia Tech 2, Tennessee 1
Saturday, November 16
California 2, at #7 Pepperdine 1 (2OT)
NCAA Tournament – Second Round
Friday, November 22
#4 Notre Dame 3, #5 Kentucky 1
Starkville, Miss.
#3 Stanford 2, UConn 1
Fayetteville, Ark.
at #2 North Carolina 1, Santa Clara 0
at #2 Wake Forest 3, Colorado 1
at #1 Duke 3, #8 Texas Tech 0
#7 Virginia Tech 2, at #2 UCLA 1
at #2 Arkansas 1, California 0
vs. #5 Wisconsin 0, #4 Virginia 0 (2OT; Wisconsin advances 4-2 in penalties)
Los Angeles, Calif.
#8 Vanderbilt 3, at #1 Florida State 3 (2OT; Vanderbilt advances 4-3 in penalties)
NCAA Tournament – Third Round
Sunday, November 24
at #2 Wake Forest 1, #3 Ohio State 0
at #2 North Carolina 3, #6 Minnesota 0
at #1 Duke 2, #5 Michigan State 0
#4 Notre Dame 2, at #1 Mississippi State 0
#3 Stanford 1 at #2 Arkansas 1 (2OT; Stanford advances 4-2 in penalties)
#7 Virginia Tech 1, vs. #3 Iowa 0
Los Angeles, Calif.
NCAA Tournament – Quarterfinals
Friday, November 29
#2 Wake Forest 2, at #1 USC 2 (2OT; Wake Forest advances 4-3 in penalties)
at #3 Stanford 2, #4 Notre Dame 0
at #2 North Carolina 2, #4 Penn State 1 (OT)
Saturday, November 30
at #1 Duke 1, #7 Virginia Tech 0
Women’s College Cup (WakeMed Soccer Park – Cary, North Carolina)
Semifinals
Friday, December 6
#2 Wake Forest vs. #3 Stanford | 5 p.m. ET | ESPNU
#1 Duke vs. #2 North Carolina | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Women’s College Cup (WakeMed Soccer Park – Cary, North Carolina)
National Championship
Monday, December 9
Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner | 7 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Rankings based off NCAA Tournament seeding
Noting ACC Women’s Soccer
• For the first time in Women's College Cup history, the ACC will send all four teams to the national semifinals, as Duke, North Carolina, Stanford and Wake Forest will compete for a national title. It marks the first time a conference has sent four teams to the Women's College Cup.
• Four current ACC members were represented at the 2011 Women's College Cup when Duke, Florida State, Stanford and Wake Forest all participated, as the Cardinal captured the national title.
• The ACC is a combined 23-4-3 in the NCAA Tournament, as its .833 winning percentage is the highest mark among all conferences. Two of the four losses came in matches featuring two ACC teams. The 23 victories are the most by a conference since the ACC won 20 matches in 2022.
• During this year's NCAA Tournament, the ACC became the first conference to eclipse 100 non-conference wins on the season. Including the regular season, ACC teams are 109-21-15 (.803) against teams outside the conference.
• ACC teams are currently outscoring their opponents in the NCAA Tournament 78-19. Duke has yet to allow a goal through its first four matches.
• Matching a league record, six ACC teams advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, the most among all conferences. The ACC also sent six teams to the quarterfinals in 2013.
• The ACC finished the first round with a perfect 9-0 record and was the only power conference with an unbeaten record in the NCAA Tournament following the first round.
• Nine ACC teams earned bids into the 2024 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship, headlined by Duke and Florida State earning No. 1 seeds. The ACC is the only conference with multiple No. 1 seeds.
• Excluding the 2020 season that featured a reduced field, the ACC has had multiple No. 1 seeds in every NCAA Women's Soccer Championship since 2017. In total, the ACC has seen 16 No. 1 seeds in that span with the next closest conference only having five.
• The ACC has earned 47 bids into the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship since 2019, the most among all conferences. The next closest has just 43 (SEC).
• Since 2019, the ACC has posted 99 victories in the NCAA Tournament, the most wins by any conference. The next closest conference has just 52 wins (Big Ten).
• In the 43 seasons of the Women's College Cup, current ACC membership has made 90 national semifinal appearances, just over 52 percent of all Women's College Cup participants (52.3 percent).
• Since 2019, the ACC has sent 13 teams to the Women’s College Cup. The next closest is the PAC 12 with just five.
• Current membership has combined to win 31 national championships (North Carolina - 21, Florida State - 4, Stanford - 3, Notre Dame - 3). No school outside the ACC has won more than two national titles. FSU has won two of the last three national championships.
• Six ACC standouts were named semifinalists for the 2024 Women's MAC Hermann Trophy. The list included Jordynn Dudley (Florida State), Izzy Engle (Notre Dame), Kate Faasse (North Carolina), Maggie Graham (Duke), Caiya Hanks (Wake Forest) and Taylor Huff (Florida State). The six semifinalists are the most from one conference.
• Laurel Ansbrow, a senior at Wake Forest University, is the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship. She is the first Wake Forest student athlete for any sport to win the award.
• Florida State captured its fifth straight ACC title with a 3-2 victory over North Carolina. The five straight titles are the longest streak since North Carolina won five-in-a-row from 2005-09. The Seminoles have not lost an ACC Tournament match since the semifinals of the 2019 edition.
• Florida State and North Carolina met in the Championship final for the 10th time with the first being in 2001. The Seminoles have won the last five meetings to claim the conference title.
• All six teams in this year's Ally ACC Women's Soccer Championship were ranked in the top 13 of the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll. The teams included Duke (1), Wake Forest (3), Florida State (6), North Carolina (8), Virginia Tech (12) and Notre Dame (13). Teams outside of the tournament included Stanford at No. 14 and Virginia, which was receiving votes.
• Seven ACC teams, including the top three teams, were in the top 13 of the latest RPI released prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament. The ranking included Duke (1), North Carolina (2), Florida State (3), Wake Forest (7), Virginia (10), Notre Dame (12) and Stanford (13).
• The 2024 ACC Women's Soccer Annual Awards and All-ACC Teams were announced on Wednesday, November 6. California's Karlie Lema and Duke's Cameron Roller were voted the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, by the conference’s head coaches. Duke's Maggie Graham was voted Midfielder of the Year, while teammate Leah Freeman was tabbed the Goalkeeper of the Year. Notre Dame's Izzy Engle was named Freshman of the Year and Duke’s Robbie Church was voted Coach of the Year.