Duke Blue Devils women's soccer


The Duke Blue Devils women's soccer team represent Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I women's college soccer. The team was founded in 1988. The Blue Devils have won the ACC regular season championship four times. The team has advanced to the NCAA Women's soccer tournament 26 times, including 5 College Cup appearances.
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History

1980s

Duke Women's Soccer was established in 1988 under head coach Bill Hempen, who was a Duke Men's soccer coach prior to this position. Hempen was assisted by Carla Overbeck, a previous player at UNC Chapel Hill. While at UNC, Overbeck remained unbeaten for four seasons, and won four national championships. Dukes first two seasons were successful ones. The team won 10 games in their inaugural 1988 season, and followed that with 14 wins in 1989. The two seasons had a combined 1–4–1 ACC record and the team did not make an NCAA Tournament appearance in either season.

1990s

The 1990s began with a similar story of out of conference success, but ACC struggle. The Blue Devils only managed one ACC win each season in 1990–1992. However, in 1992, the team finished as runner up in the ACC Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. In their first-ever NCAA appearance, Duke made it all the way to the final, only to lose to North Carolina. This began a string of six consecutive NCAA appearances for the team. The Blue Devils also notched a then program record 17 wins in 1992 and 1994. The streak of NCAA Tournament appearances ended in 1998, when the Blue Devils failed to qualify for the tournament after a 7–11–2 season. During this stretch the team never advanced past the second round in the NCAA Tournament, but did win double digit games in each year. The decade ended with a return to the NCAA tournament and a 13–10–0 season in 1999.
In 1999, while coaching at Duke, Overbeck played in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup as a captain. This team went on to win the world championship.

2000s

In 2001, the Duke Women's Soccer program received a new head coach, Robbie Church, Church was assisted by Overbeck and Billy Lesesne, who had coached with Church at Vanderbilt. Previous coach, Bill Hempen, took a new job with the Colorado Buffaloes. The transition would prove a difficult one, with the Blue Devils winning 9 and 8 games in Hempen's first two seasons. In 2002, Duke missed the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in 11 years. However, the lull would not last for long. 2003 saw the team win 14 games and start a new streak of NCAA appearances. The following year, 2004, the Blue Devils won 15 games and reached the NCAA Round of 16. The team reached the NCAA Tournament for the remainder of the decade, and reached the Quarterfinals twice, in 2007 and 2008. 2009 proved to be a down year with the team finishing 8–9–4 and only reaching the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

2010s

The decade began with a run to the NCAA Round of 16 in 2010. 2011 proved an even better season. The Blue Devils set a new record for total wins in a season with 22 en route to the NCAA Final. However, they would fall short to Stanford in the final. 2012 and 2013 also saw runs to the NCAA Quarterfinals, but the 2013 campaign only yielded 9 total wins. In 2014, Lesesne left Duke for a head coaching job at Georgia, and was replaced by Erwin van Bennekom. 2014 proved difficult, as the Blue Devils had their first losing season since 2009 and ended a spell of eleven straight NCAA Tournament appearances. However, 2014 would prove to be just a blip. In the 2015 season, the Blue Devils women's soccer team made a run to the final of the Women's Soccer College Cup, which they lost to Penn State by a score of 1–0. 2017 saw the team set a program record for total wins with 23 and ACC wins with 10. The Blue Devils made another run to the College Cup. This time they lost to UCLA on penalties.

2020s

The decade started with a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The team played a shortened non-conference schedule in the spring and played a reduced ACC schedule. They finished in fifth place in the ACC with a 4–2–2 record. They reached the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, posting their best result in that tournament since 2017. 2021 saw a return to a more normal schedule where the team finished 16–4–1 and 7–2–1 in ACC play to finish in third place. They again reached the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. In 2022, the Blue Devils finished 15–5–3 overall and 6–2–2 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They extended their streak of NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal appearances to three, but were again stopped at that stage. 2023 did not end well for the Blue Devils as they finished 6–7–3 overall and 2–5–3 in ACC play. Their six total wins were the lowest in program history at the time, and their two total conference wins were the lowest since the 2002 season. It was the first season in seven years they did not qualify for the ACC tournament and it ended an eight-year streak of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Head coach Robbie Church had considered retirement prior to the 2023 season, but did not want to end on a low note. He returned for 2024, and the Blue Devils had a resurgent season. They were ranked first in the nation for an extended period and won their fourth ACC regular season title. They finished 9–0–1 in ACC play. However, they fell twice in the postseason to rivals North Carolina. Once in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, and once in the College Cup Semifinals. They finished 18–3–1 overall.

Facilities

The Blue Devils play on Koskinen Stadium. The Koskinen is also home to the men's soccer team, along with the men's and women's lacrosse teams. The stadium was dedicated in 1999 in honor of John and Patricia Koskinen. The stadium can hold around 7,000 fans. Kennedy Tower is a new addition to Koskinen Stadium. It was recently dedicated in 2015 in honor of Chris and Ana Kennedy. Chris is the Duke Senior Deputy Director of Athletes. The Kennedy Tower, offers press boxes and hospitality suites to the top of Koskinen Stadium. The teams' locker rooms are in the Willam David Murray Building. The Duke Football team used to use the Murray Building from 1988 to 2002. Then the men's and women's soccer and lacrosse teams moved into the building. It houses the training room and weight room for all other Olympic Sports teams.

Honors and awards

Michelle Cooper won the 2022 Hermann Trophy, becoming the first Duke women's soccer player to win college soccer's highest individual award.

United Soccer Coaches All-Americans

The Blue Devils have received 20 All-American honors, including eight first-team selections.
NameYear
Leah Freeman2024
Maggie Graham2024
Hannah Bebar2024
Cameron Roller2024
Michelle Cooper2021, 2022
Sophie Jones2020
Kayla McCoy2018
Imani Dorsey2017
Quinn2017
Schuyler DeBree2017
Christina Gibbons2015, 2016
Natasha Anasi2011, 2012
Kaitlyn Kerr2011
Becca Moros2006
Carolyn Ford2005
Sherrill Kester1999
Andi Melde1997
Kristy Whelchel1996
Kelly Walbert1993, 1994, 1995
Jennifer Lewis1992

All-ACC honorees

The Blue Devils have received 106 All-ACC honors, including 50 first-team selections.
NameYearOther recognitions
Leah Freeman2024 2024 Goalkeeper of the Year, 2023
Maggie Graham2024 2024 Midfielder of the Year, 2023
Cameron Roller2024 2024 Defensive Player of the Year
Hannah Bebar2024
Ella Hase2024
Mia Oliaro2024
Kat Rader2022, 2023 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year
Tess Boade2021
Michelle Cooper2021, 2022 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year, 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, 2022 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, 2022 MAC Hermann Trophy winner
Ruthie Jones2021, 2022
Sophie Jones2020, 2021, 2022
Delaney Graham2019, 2020, 2022
Taylor Mitchell2020
Ella Stevens2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Kayla McCoy2017, 2018 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist
Taylor Racioppi2017, 2018
Schuyler DeBree2017 2017 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Imani Dorsey2016, 2017 2017 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, 2017 United Soccer Coaches National Scholar-Athlete of the Year
EJ Proctor2017 2015 NCAA College Cup Most Valuable Defensive Player
Quinn2015, 2017 2017 ACC Midfielder of the Year, 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist
Ashton Miller2015, 2017
Christina Gibbons2014, 2015, 2016 2016 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, 2016 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist
Toni Payne2014, 2016
Natasha Anasi2011, 2012, 2013 2011 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, 2012 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist
Kim DeCesare2012, 2013
Cassie Pecht2012 2012 ACC Freshman of the Year
Laura Weinberg2010, 2011, 2012
Kaitlyn Kerr2011
Tara Campbell2009, 2011 -
Kelly Cobb2011
Mollie Pathman2010, 2011
KayAnne Gummersall2009
Elisabeth Redmond2007, 2008, 2009
Lorraine Quinn2007, 2008
Darby Kroyer2005, 2006
Becca Moros2004, 2005, 2006
Carolyn Ford2005 2005 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Casey McCluskey2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 2001 ACC Freshman of the Year, 2004 ACC Offensive Player of the Year
Thora Helgadottir2001, 2002, 2003 ACC 50th Anniversary Team
Kate Seibert2003
Liz Wagner2002
Carly Fuller2000, 2001
Kim Daws2000
Gwendolyn Oxenham2000
Sarah Pickens2000
Sherrill Kester1996, 1998, 1999 ACC 50th Anniversary Team
Kasey Truman1999
Kristy Whelchel1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 ACC 50th Anniversary Team
Andi Melde1997 1997 ACC Player of the Year, ACC 50th Anniversary Team
Samantha Baggett1994, 1996, 1997
Cara Lyons1994, 1995
Kelly Walbert1993, 1994, 1995 1995 ACC Player of the Year, ACC 50th Anniversary Team
Melissa Carr1994
Lauren Cyran1994
Mandy Lehr1994
Katherine Remy1993, 1994
Missy Durham1993
Jennifer Lewis1991, 1992
Heidi Mauger1992
Delilah Huelsing1990
Sue Sanders1990
Caitlin Connolly1989
Mary Pat Rosenthal1988

Isis Dallis also won ACC Freshman of the Year in 1997.

Coaching awards

Duke has received eight awards for coaching.
NameAwards
Robbie ChurchACC Coach of the Year
Bill HempenNational Coach of the Year, ACC Coach of the Year
Entire staff2017 National Staff of the Year

Notable alumni

Current Professionals

Works cited

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