Blue Devil of the Week: Sophomore Mia Oliaro makes history for Duke women's soccer

During the fall season, The Chronicle is polling its readers every week via its Sportswrap newsletter to highlight one Blue Devil athlete’s outstanding performance. This week’s spotlight goes to Mia Oliaro of Duke women's soccer:

Duke women’s soccer has been crushing any and all competition it faces this season. With sophomore Mia Oliaro at the forefront, the team is ranked first in the nation and secured the ACC regular season title Sunday after a 2-0 win at Wake Forest. 

Before facing the Demon Deacons, the Blue Devils took on No. 7 Notre Dame last Thursday. Duke tied the Fighting Irish with a score of 3-3, as both teams gave up a season-high number of goals. The Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead in the first half, but Notre Dame responded with three unanswered goals. Two minutes after the Blue Devils scored a second goal, Oliaro received the ball, beat her defender to the touch line and sent the ball to Mia Minestrella, who slotted it home to even out the scoreboard. Oliaro's critical pass marked her seventh consecutive match with an assist, and her team-high tenth assist this season.  

Carrying this positive momentum into Duke’s critical game against No. 2 Wake Forest, Oliaro put on a jaw-dropping performance. Playing at an incredibly lively Spry Stadium, Oliaro recorded a brace in the second half all while the Blue Devil defense tallied its eighth shutout of the season. In the 70th minute of the game, the Chapel Hill, N.C., native faked her opponent to the right and drove left before shooting the ball past the Demon Deacons’ goalkeeper to make the final score 2-0.

“We really just played as a unit,” Oliaro said after the game. “We played with so much passion and it really showed out there on the field. Everybody played their role and it was so awesome to see it all come together.”

Oliaro’s tremendous performance against Wake Forest marked her eighth straight match to gather a goal or an assist, the second-best streak in Duke history and longest active one in the ACC. 

The sophomore was named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week for the second straight week and the fourth time this season. Overall, she now owns an ACC-best 20 points, which is tied for the most in program history during ACC action, and a Blue Devil record of eight assists.

Coming in clutch for her team is not something new for Oliaro, as she hails from Chapel Hill and played at the University of North Carolina during her freshman year, where she appeared in 20 games and totaled 412 minutes. Additionally, she has played on the U-19 and U-17 United States Women’s Soccer teams. Her prowess in athletics is not her only strong suit, since she was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team in 2023 and the ACC Honor Roll in 2024.