No. 8 Arkansas will host No. 3 Duke in a women’s soccer match at Razorback Field on Thursday, August 28, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+ and tickets are available online or at the venue.
This is Arkansas’ third top-15 opponent at home this season. Previously, the Razorbacks played No. 13 Iowa (losing 3-2) and tied No. 2 Notre Dame (2-2). Head coach Colby Hale has a record of 4-12-5 against ACC teams and is 22-35-10 versus ranked opponents overall, including a 9-10-6 mark since 2021. His four wins over ACC teams have come against North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech.
Duke enters the match ranked third nationally after starting its season with two wins: a 3-2 victory over No. 11 Penn State and a 3-0 win against Northwestern under first-year head coach Kieran Hall. Kat Rader and Mia Minestrella have scored four of Duke’s six goals so far.
Arkansas faces one of the toughest schedules in NCAA women’s soccer this year according to analyst Chris Henderson; it is considered the third hardest overall schedule and second hardest non-conference slate nationally behind Penn State (https://twitter.com/chris_awk/status/1803909729261431107). The team will play six preseason top-25 teams throughout the season.
The Razorbacks earned their first win of the season last Sunday by defeating Georgia Southern 2-0 in Fayetteville after weather forced relocation from Statesboro, Georgia on short notice. Senior Erin Bailey and freshman Camila Palacios each scored their first goals of the year.
In preseason exhibitions against UT Martin and Oral Roberts, Arkansas outscored opponents by a combined total of nine to one, with newcomers accounting for most goals—freshman Paige Szymanski led with three.
The program achieved its highest preseason ranking ever at No. 6 in United Soccer Coaches’ poll and was picked by SEC coaches to win the regular-season title again this year.
Arkansas’ recruiting class was ranked No.19 nationally by TopDrawerSoccer—the first top-25 class signed during Colby Hale’s tenure—with several players listed among IMG Academy National Top 200 prospects.
Transfers include BYU midfielder Erin Bailey (16 career goals), Seminole State forward/midfielder Aniyah Nurse-Whyte (NJCAA All-America honors), and Utah goalkeeper Evelyn Vitali who started her college career at Oklahoma State before transferring westward.
Sophomore goalkeeper Keegan Smith set or matched several school records as a freshman last year—including tying for single-season shutouts—and received national recognition from TopDrawerSoccer as well as call-ups to U.S. youth national team camps in Spain and Georgia earlier this year.
Arkansas has been dominant at home recently, going unbeaten in all but two matches across its last forty-eight games at Razorback Field since August of 2021—posting an overall home record of 41 wins, two losses, five draws during that span—and remaining undefeated through twenty-two consecutive SEC home contests dating back to 2020.
For three years running, league coaches have picked Arkansas as favorites for the SEC regular-season championship title; however, they lost key offensive contributors from last year’s squad that led Division I women’s soccer in scoring categories including total goals (71) and points (219).
“Thursday’s match against No. 3 Duke will be the third top 25 matchup at Razorback Field through the first four matches,” said head coach Colby Hale regarding his team’s challenging early schedule.
For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on social media.
