North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, and Stanford are competing for the women’s soccer College Cup

The GIST: At long last, the College Cup is about to kick off. ICYMI: The 64-team field has been whittled down to four, with No. 1 seed Duke playing No. 2 seed North Carolina, and No. 2 seed Wake Forest taking on No. 3 Stanford in today’s all-ACC semifinals. The winners advance to Monday’s championship game — LFG.

Wake Forest vs. Stanford — 5 p.m. ET — ESPNU: Led by MAC Hermann Trophy (aka MVP) semifinalist junior Caiya Hanks, the Demon Deacons punched their ticket to the College Cup with a dramatic penalty shootout win over USC.

• As for Stanford, the 2023 runners-up got here by avenging an early-season loss to Notre Dame with a 2–0 quarter-finals victory, powered by junior forward Andrea Kitahata who had a hand in both goals — scoring one and assisting on another.

• Now, the Cardinal will be looking for even more revenge against Wake Forest, who beat them 1–0 back in September. Pop that corn.

Duke vs. North Carolina — 7:30 p.m. ET — ESPNU: Rivals in a semifinal game? What could be better? After 23 years at the helm, Duke head coach Robbie Church announced back in July that he’ll be retiring at the end of the season. Church has never won a natty, so hoisting one would be the perfect send-off gift.

• And speaking of perfection, the Blue Devils have yet to allow a single goal in four games this tournament. Take that, Hannah.

• On the flip side, the decorated Tar Heels have won 21 NCAA Tournaments, but haven’t taken home the title since 2021. Can they return to the big stage once again?