# 2023 Duke Blue Devils women's soccer team

The 2023 Duke Blue Devils women's soccer team represented Duke University during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. The Blue Devils were led by head coach Robbie Church, in his twenty-third season. They played home games at Koskinen Stadium. This was the team's 36th season playing organized women's college soccer and their 35th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Blue Devils started the season ranked 4th in the nation but faltered with a second game loss to then number 24 USC. They won their next game before falling to number 3 Stanford in California. They won their remaining two non-conference games to finish the non-conference season 4–2–0. They started ACC play with a win on September 17, but would not win another ACC game until October 19. Over that stretch, they would lose to Notre Dame, draw unranked NC State and Virginia, lose to Pittsburgh and draw their rivalry game against then number 1 North Carolina. They would lose three of their last four games. Their regular season record versus teams ranked was 0–5–1.
The Blue Devils finished 6–7–3 overall and 2–5–3 in ACC play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They did not qualify for the ACC Tournament and were not invited to the NCAA Tournament. This marked the first time since 2014 Duke had not been invited to the NCAA Tournament and first time since 2015 they had not qualified for the ACC Tournament. Their six overall wins were the lowest in program history.

## Previous season

The Blue Devils finished the season with a 15–5–3 overall and 6–2–2 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fifth-seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated fourth-seed Virginia in the first round, but lost to North Carolina in the semifinal. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they were the second seed in the Alabama Bracket. They defeated Radford in the first round, seventh-seed Texas in the second round, and third-seed South Carolina in the round of 16 before falling in overtime to first-seed Alabama in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Sara Piper | 5 | MF | 5'8" | Senior | The Woodlands, Texas | Graduated |
| Sophie Jones | 7 | MF | 5'5" | Senior | Menlo Park, California | Graduated; drafted 43rd overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft |
| Julia Burnell | 11 | MF | 5'5" | Senior | Glen Mills, Pennsylvania | Graduated |
| Emmy Duerr | 13 | FW | 5'4" | Senior | Cary, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Julia Hannon | 14 | MF | 5'7" | Senior | Massapequa, New York | Graduated |
| Michelle Cooper | 18 | FW | 5'3" | Sophomore | Clarkston, Michigan | Drafted 2nd overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft |
| Delaney Graham | 22 | MF | 5'6" | Graduate Student | Atlanta, GA | Graduated; drafted 40th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft |
| Mackenzie Pluck | 24 | MF | 5'4" | Graduate Student | North Wales, Pennsylvania | Graduated |
| Jenna Royson | 25 | DF | 5'8" | Graduate Student | Toms River, New Jersey | Graduated |
| Ruthie Jones | 26 | GK | 6'0" | Senior | Charlotte, North Carolina | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Leah Freeman | 0 | GK | 5'10" | Senior | Berkeley, California | Oregon |
| Julia Saunicheva | 11 | FW | 5'10" | Sophomore | San Jose, California | UCLA |
| Kati Druzina | 14 | MF/DF | 5'6" | Graduate Student | Kirtland, Ohio | Notre Dame |

### Recruiting Class

Source:
| Name | Hometown | Club |
| Sam Bodensteiner DF | Inverness, Illinois | Sockers FC |
| Kiera Clemens MF | Raleigh, North Carolina | NC Courage |
| Bianca Dominguez GK | Hercules, California | FC Bay Area |
| Madison Foxhoven FW | Calabasas, California | LAFC So Cal |
| Phoebe Goldthwaite MF | Durham, North Carolina | NC Courage |
| Kaeden Koons-Perdikis DF | Chevy Chase, Maryland | Bethesda SC |
| Mia Minestrella FW | Redondo Beach, California | Beach FC (CA) |
| Cameron Roller DF | Sherman, Texas | Solar Soccer Club |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of November 20, 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Leah Freeman |
| 1 | GK | USA | Caroline Duffy |
| 2 | FW | USA | Kat Rader |
| 3 | DF | SEN | Dieynaba Ndaw |
| 4 | DF | USA | Baleigh Bruster |
| 5 | DF | USA | Phoebe Goldthwaite |
| 6 | MF | USA | Devin Lynch |
| 7 | DF | USA | Cameron Roller |
| 8 | FW | USA | Elle Piper |
| 9 | FW | USA | Grace Watkins |
| 10 | FW | USA | Olivia Migli |
| 11 | FW | USA | Julia Saunicheva |
| 12 | MF | USA | Taylor Evans |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | FW | USA | Mia Minestrella |
| 14 | MF | USA | Kati Druzina |
| 15 | DF | USA | Emily Royson |
| 16 | MF | USA | Carina Lageyre |
| 17 | DF | USA | Nicole Chico |
| 19 | MF | USA | Maggie Graham |
| 20 | DF | USA | Kelly Wilson |
| 21 | DF | USA | Katie Groff |
| 22 | DF | USA | Sam Bodensteiner |
| 23 | MF | USA | Kiera Clemens |
| 24 | DF | USA | Kaeden Koons-Perdikis |
| 25 | FW | USA | Madison Foxhoven |
| 26 | GK | USA | Bianca Dominguez |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Robbie Church |
| Assistant coach | Kieran Hall |
| Assistant coach | Carla Overbeck |
| Assistant coach | Lane Davis |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 7* 4:30 p.m. | No. 4 | Wake Forest | W 2–0 | — | Koskinen Stadium Durham, NC |
| August 10* 5:00 p.m. | No. 4 | No. 12 South Carolina | W 2–1 | — | Stone Stadium Columbia, SC |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| August 17* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | West Virginia | W 2–0 | 1–0–0 | Koskinen Stadium (553) Durham, NC |
| August 24* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | No. 24 USC | L 1–3 | 1–1–0 | Koskinen Stadium (803) Durham, NC |
| August 27* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | Wisconsin | W 2–1 | 2–1–0 | Koskinen Stadium (701) Durham, NC |
| September 2* 10:00 p.m., P12N+ | No. 10 | at No. 3 Stanford | L 0–4 | 2–2–0 | Laird Q. Cagan Stadium (2,154) Stanford, CA |
| September 7* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 14 | East Carolina | W 2–0 | 3–2–0 | Koskinen Stadium (531) Durham, NC |
| September 11* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 14 | at UNC Greensboro | W 1–0 | 4–2–0 | UNCG Soccer Stadium (562) Greensboro, NC |
| ACC Regular season ||||||
| September 17 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 15 | at Boston College | W 2–0 | 5–2–0 (1–0–0) | Newton Campus Soccer Field (627) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| September 21 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 16 | No. 10 Notre Dame | L 1–2 | 5–3–0 (1–1–0) | Koskinen Stadium (803) Durham, NC |
| September 24 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 16 | NC State | T 0–0 | 5–3–1 (1–1–1) | Koskinen Stadium (786) Durham, NC |
| October 1 12:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 17 | at Virginia | T 1–1 | 5–3–2 (1–1–2) | Klöckner Stadium (1,817) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 5 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 22 | at Pittsburgh | L 1–2 | 5–4–2 (1–2–2) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (958) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 8 4:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 22 | No. 1 North Carolina Rivalry | T 1–1 | 5–4–3 (1–2–3) | Koskinen Stadium (3,467) Durham, NC |
| October 13 5:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 23 | No. 7 Clemson | L 0–1 | 5–5–3 (1–3–3) | Koskinen Stadium (1,457) Durham, NC |
| October 19 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Virginia Tech | W 1–0 | 6–5–3 (2–3–3) | Thompson Field (210) Blacksburg, VA |
| October 22 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 1 Florida State | L 0–4 | 6–6–3 (2–4–3) | Koskinen Stadium (803) Durham, NC |
| October 26 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 25т | at Louisville | L 0–1 | 6–7–3 (2–5–3) | Lynn Stadium (405) Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Kat Rader | Preseason All-ACC Team | August 10 |
| Leah Freeman | Hermann Trophy Preseason Watchlist | August 17 |
| Carina Lageyre | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 19 |
| Kat Rader | All-ACC Second Team | November 1 |
| Leah Freeman | All-ACC Third Team | November 1 |
| Cameron Roller | All-ACC Freshman Team | November 1 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 4 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 22 | 23 | RV | 25т | — | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 8 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |