Duke women's soccer coach Robbie Church was thinking maybe this would be it. After almost 40 years of coaching — and more than two decades at Duke — the 2023 season could be his last.
But then a 6-7-3 record happened — the fewest season wins of his career.
“There was no way in Hell I was gonna leave, sorry, on that last year,” Church said.
Retirement could wait one more year. And what a final season it's been.
For the first time in program history, Duke women's soccer received the No. 1 overall seed for the 2024 NCAA tournament — no surprise for a team that had a 15-match unbeaten run and finished first in the ACC, one of the toughest soccer conferences in the nation. Church, who took over at Duke in 2001, has now accumulated more than 300 wins with the Blue Devils, won three ACC Coach of the Year awards and built a standard of excellence that lives on in each of his players.
SOUND UP ‼️
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC)
🗣️ ROBBIE, ROBBIE, ROBBIE!
Rewind to this time last year, though, and the conversation around Duke women’s soccer was anything but celebratory.
For the first time since 2014, the Blue Devils would not be in the NCAA tournament.
As first round games started last year, the Blue Devils were on the training pitch in Durham — heads down, sleeves up, steadily climbing out of the hole that was the 2023 season.
The goal was simple: Start from scratch, reevaluate and get back to the roots of Duke soccer tradition — a team with 28 NCAA tournament appearances, four NCAA Women's College Cups (1992, 2011, 2015, 2017) and 11 runs to the quarterfinals.
And so the 2024 season began in November of 2023.
Cold and wet. That’s the first thing then-freshman Mia Minestrella remembers about the first session back, when uncertainty loomed and the future of the Duke program sat in the hands — nay, feet — of every player on that pitch.
“We just played,” Minestrella said.
There was no yelling or screaming that she recounted. This was not a punishment. It was an opportunity to get better. Feelings of disappointment were replaced with insatiable hunger.
“We're going to do the hard work," Minestrella said. "We're going to do the extra yards. We're going to press intensely, go into tackles 100 percent — this is like the true grit. If we can get through this, we can get through anything.”
And boy, did they get through it. From scoring a program-record-low 15 goals in 2023 to scoring 53 goals in the 2024 regular season. The Blue Devils went from that 6-7-3 record to 14-2-1 and got the top overall seed for the NCAA tournament.
One of the largest motivators for the players? A relentless winning mentality fostered by a love for each other and a desire to give their long-time head coach the best possible send-off into retirement.
The flip from last season took significant change and effort from players and coaching staff alike. From training in the offseason to players sticking around for fifth years, bringing in transfers, conducting classroom sessions and taking a deep dive into what it means to work hard. The Duke women’s soccer team is living proof that when a team comes together, truly comes together, enormous change is possible.
So, between the end of the regular season and the ACC tournament, krikya18.com’s Maria Howell got to talking, via video call chats, with several players and the coaching staff to grasp what’s going on here:
What is this intangible superpower this team has — and is everyone really bought into it?
The resounding answer was yes. This team, its selfless love for each other, the willingness to do what needs to be done — from the fifth-year captain, transfers to the low-minute freshmen — is the real deal.
Another resounding truth? At the core of the program’s success is an undeniably good human: Robbie Church. The heartbeat of the team and the careful caretaker of Duke tradition has curated a legacy that has fueled seasons of excellence, past, present and future.
🎤🔉 What’s better than a Mic’d Up with Robbie ⁉️
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC)
How Duke turned Church's final season into team-led success
Let's go back to November 2023. As the Duke-less NCAA tournament went on, the Blue Devils had some serious decision-making to do.
For senior co-captain Maggie Graham, her future with the program was still up in the air. She went into that training week unsure if she would return for a fifth year or move on.
“It could have gone south really quickly and I think if it wasn't [for] the real quality of our players and just the character of our players, understanding this was not a punishment, and we didn't want to treat it as a punishment," Graham said. "We wanted to treat it as an opportunity to get better.”
In November, the team trained the NCAA-mandated max eight hours a week, taking advantage of every second of every session to focus on reconstructing the standards.
"I think the real credit goes to all the players because they were like, 'OK, this is not good enough.' They all accepted it. There was no finger-pointing to this group or that group. We all have to get better," Church said.
As the frustration for the 2023 season materialized into work for the future, the choice became clear for Graham.
“Just seeing how much we could accomplish and be capable of that we weren't doing during the fall, I think, helped me be like, 'OK, this is where I want to be moving forward.' Because I think this team has potential." Graham said.
And it's a good thing she stuck around. In the 2024 regular season, Graham led the team with a career-high 10 goals, four of them game-winners, and also tallied five assists — that's 25 points on the season. She won ACC Midfielder of the Year.
67' | GOAL NO. 10 ON THE YEAR FOR THE CAPTAIN! 🫡
— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC)
Beautiful service from Mo to Maggie for the header!
🔵😈 3, 🐑 1
Fellow captains Katie Groff and Nicky Chico also decided to take a fifth year, extending their experience and trusted leadership.
The coaching staff, not usually in the market for transfers, made additions to bolster the roster with Harvard graduate transfer Hannah Bebar, sophomore transfer Mia Oliaro from the neighboring Tar Heels, Northwestern fifth-year Ella Hase and Santa Clara junior Farrah Walters.
Oliaro would become a standout starter, setting a new school record with nine assists and 21 points in ACC regular season play and totaling 11 assists and seven goals overall, racking in another 25 points for the Blue Devils.
Hase, her wingback counterpart, delivered nine assists on the season to contribute to the team's No. 2 scoring offense, with Duke averaging 3.18 goals per game.
So, yes, it's safe to say the decisions made between the end of the 2023 season and the beginning of spring training were pivotal. Another decisive move? Wednesday classroom sessions.
Students of the game
The idea sprouted from associate head coach Kieran Hall, who suggested reserving Wednesday evenings in the spring as a midweek break from the pitch and a chance to focus on the mental game. Players were assigned readings on leadership and teamwork and would come together to talk about what they learned and how they planned to implement the lessons.
“Coaches led the discussion. Players led the discussion. Captains led the discussion. Freshmen led the discussion. So that, I think, was a big moment, too.” Church said.
It was during those sessions the team created the foundations for an unwavering team culture centered on selflessness, accountability and a winning mentality.
"We talked a lot about responsibility, being responsible for yourself being accountable to your teammates," Graham said. "And I think that that sense of connection and love for one another just shows when we're on the field this fall.
Another 2024 trademark that came from that spring: focusing on the little things to tackle the big moments. Fifth-year ACC goalkeeper of the year Leah Freeman remembers walking away from the end of the spring with this in mind:
“Taking everything day by day, instead of looking at this huge picture of like what everything needed to be in the future…. I need to bring my best today because my teammates are going to bring their best today. And we need to push each other," she said.
Outside of the players pushing each other, Freeman also credited Robbie's nature as motivation.
“When you're playing for somebody that sees you as just so much more, it also makes you want to give so much more.”
Freeman was referring to something that was repeated by every player interviewed — Church treating the team as humans first and players second. It's that kind of support that drew each of them to the program, kept them motivated through the tough times and made the good times all the merrier.
Whether it's on the walk to practice, a short text after a tough exam or regular check-ins as a player comes back from an injury, the players all gave example after example of how no matter what is going on the field, the consideration from their coach never faltered.
“It's the way he makes you feel every day in every conversation. And it's it's special. It's really special." Freeman said.
With the groundwork set, the Duke women's soccer team returned in the fall of 2024 ready to make Church's last season the very best.
Fourteen wins, 54 goals, an ACC title and a No. 1 overall seed later, the team heads into the NCAA tournament with hopes of bringing home the program's very first national title.
The game plan set in motion almost exactly a year ago remains unchanged. Minestrella, who has totaled 21 points this season as an off-the-bench standout, laid out the team's route to the 2024 Women's College Cup simply:
"We just need to continue to stay in the moment and just keep working hard to get better, like every half, every second, every minute of the game. We just need to get better."
As for Church's legacy of excellence, it's up to the players and remaining coaching staff to keep the standard engrained in the program. , Hall is set to take over as head coach at the end of the 2024 season.
Hall, who has operated alongside Church since 2019, acknowledged that nobody would fill the gap that Church will leave behind, but he is confident in the positive structure and foundation Church will leave behind.
"I'm just a guardian of the program, and when I leave, the next person who comes in will be the next guardian, and the idea is to keep this program and what it stands for moving in the direction that it has been," Hall said.
