Senior graduation marks the departure of many of Duke’s best athletes, and head coach Robbie Church may be losing more talent than any other program, as four key personalities for the Blue Devils—Jane Alukonis, KayAnne Gummersall, Sarah Murphy and Elisabeth Redmond—will all bid farewell to a Duke team that made tremendous progress during their years.
Church has been busy away from the pitch, however, and is using the glory of consecutive Elite Eight appearances in 2007 and 2008 to lure some of the best players in the country to Durham. In August, nine new Blue Devils will take to the field—and all of them have something to offer a team that will expect to compete for an ACC title in 2010. Duke’s incoming class is one of only five in the country to welcome at least five of the top 100 recruits, according to TopDrawerSoccer.com
“What we sell [in recruiting] is excellence—excellence on the soccer field, and excellence in the classroom,” Church said. “They’re a bunch of wonderful young ladies—all of them are very good soccer players, and very good students, and that’s important to us.”
The class is very diverse on the field, and will create depth at every position—something that the Blue Devils have not had in recent years. The back line will be bolstered with the additions of Natasha Anasi, of Arlington, Texas and Avery Rape, sister of sophomore central defender Ashley Rape. Both players are athletically gifted, and will prove to be versatile players in Church’s system. While Anasi and the younger Rape will likely compete for spots at fullback, the two incoming freshmen have the ability to push forward and overlap the wide midfielders in attack. These contributions could give the Blue Devils the cutting edge they lacked last season.
“We like versatile players, players that can play multiple positions,” Church said. “We’re not scared to play a player as a back for half a game, and then as a forward for the second half.”
One of the biggest holes left by the departing class of 2010 will be in the midfield. With the development of rising underclassmen and the addition of talented midfield prospects, though, Church is confident he can cover for the loss of Redmond, one of the most accomplished players in Duke soccer history. Gilda Doria, of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Kaitlyn Kerr—the 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey—will give Duke depth in the center of the field. Doria and Kerr may even compete for starting positions if they can make the quick transition to the college game.
Church has also added a pair of superlative strikers to aid the Blue Devils in attack. Mollie Pathman, a Durham native and a star for the local Triangle Futbol Club, was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina as a junior. Along with Anasi, Pathman was selected to train in Carson, Calif. this week with the United States Under-18 team. Another Player of the Year, Laura Weinberg of Boca Raton, Fla., will join Pathman and the rest of the returning Blue Devil forwards, who Church described as having “the best spring they’ve ever had.”
With the deep incoming class and the return of several players from injury, Church’s squad will feature 29 players, his largest team ever. The depth will give the Blue Devils more flexibility in training, something they were without during an injury-plagued 2009 season, which saw five players suffer season ending injuries. Church expects the newfound strength in numbers to be crucial in maintaining a high level of intensity throughout the year.
“Now we have depth at every position, and it’s going to make every training session as competitive as it can be—people are going to want to get on the field,” Church said. “If you started last year—that’s fantastic, congratulations… but nobody gets a free pass to start next year.”
Church’s warning to his returning players should spark a fiery pre-season battle for a spot in the starting lineup. Rising sophomore Erin Koballa, for one, welcomes the challenge with open arms.
“Everybody is going to have to fight for their position on the field,” she said. “And overall, that’s going to make our team better.”
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