As students get back into the swing of homework and classes, the Blue Devils are getting back to work in their respective fall sports. The Chronicle is here to preview all of the all sports at Duke, breaking down players to watch, key matchups and more. Click the subheading of each sport to read the comprehensive preview, and make sure to check out The Chronicle’s coverage all fall long.
Men’s soccer
Last season ended for the Blue Devils with a brutal battle against a tall, strong and veteran Western Michigan team that knocked Duke out in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The loss followed a similar one to Clemson in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. This season, head coach John Kerr looks to fill his own roster with tall, strong and veteran talent.
In the wake of several significant departures — senior captains Nick Pariano, Antino Lopez, Lewis McGarvey and Amir Daley included — finding those veterans seemed a tall task. Kerr, however, has taken full advantage of his ability to recruit graduate transfers, such that his roster may have more veteran leaders now than it ever has. Graduate students comprise 10 of Kerr’s 32 players, and only two of them — Cameron Kerr and Luke Thomas — are returners to Duke.
“Certainly we're going to miss the guys that just left our program very much, but we've done a good job recruiting, and we feel that we've brought in some really talented guys to fill their shoes,” Kerr told The Chronicle. - Sophie Levenson
Women’s soccer
Prior to last season, Duke had made an NCAA tournament appearance every year since 2015. But even though the team boasted a list of all-star talent led by then-sophomore Kat Rader, the scoring hole left by Michelle Cooper proved to be too much for the 2023 Blue Devils to overcome. Duke missed out on the NCAA tournament for the first time in eight years, only scoring 15 goals compared to 46 the year before.
This upcoming season is head coach Robbie Church’s last with the Blue Devils, so the pressure is on for Duke to return to the tournament as a positive send-off to the winningest coach in Blue Devil history.
The core of Duke’s 2023 roster remains, with preseason All-ACC pick Rader and captains Nicky Chico, Maggie Graham and Katie Groff all returning to Durham. The newcomers, including TopDrawerSoccer preseason freshman All-American selection Mary Long and transfer talent Ella Hase and Hannah Bebar, looked poised to jump in and immediately make an impact for the Blue Devils.
“I thought that we had some of our best trainings in preseason that I can remember in my 24 years here,” Church told The Chronicle. “Lot of energy from our team, from the top of the roster to the bottom of the roster, people are bringing energy and focus.” -Elle Chavis
Football
After one of the most eventful offseasons in recent history, it’s time for Duke football to take to the gridiron again.
Last year, the Blue Devils started the year off with a bang, knocking off then-No. 9 Clemson 28-7 in a Labor Day tilt to propel Duke to national prominence early. Following three more victories against inferior opponents, Durham hosted one of the most high-profile matchups in recent school history.
For the first time ever, College GameDay came to town, turning Duke’s campus into a rowdy environment before a night clash with then-No. 11 Notre Dame. The Blue Devils seemed to have control of the game down the stretch, but a 4th-and-16 pickup by the Fighting Irish on their final drive ended up crushing Duke’s momentum.
After a tumultuous remainder of the regular season, including a double-overtime loss to rival North Carolina and a domination of N.C. State, the Blue Devils finished the regular season 7-5 right before then-head coach Mike Elko departed the program for Texas A&M. In the aftermath, several star players entered the transfer portal, including quarterback Riley Leonard and running back Jordan Waters.
However, the season ended on a high note, as the Blue Devils took down Troy in the Birmingham Bowl to cap off the 2023-24 campaign and provide a solid foundation to carry into a new year. Add in a new coaching staff and some high-profile personnel additions, and Duke should still be expected to put up another solid season. The Blue Devils kick off against Elon, who brings experience and a culture of winning. With new gameday enhancements also on the way to Wallace Wade Stadium, the buzz from the Blue Devil faithful should also be steady.
Duke football enters its 2024 season markedly changed from last year. Defensive-minded head coach Manny Diaz looks to put his experience from Miami and Penn State into practice, and former SMU offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer hopes to give the Duke offense a new dimension with his fast-paced scheme. Diaz and Brewer aren’t the only additions; an influx of talent from the transfer portal, headlined by former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy, could make up for the contribution lost to the portal.
Cross country
2024 will mark the beginning of the Kevin Jermyn era for Duke cross country. Jermyn’s hire was announced this summer following a tenuous tenure under former head coach Angela Reckart, in which many of the team’s runners felt neglected by their coaching staff. Jermyn said that his staff will place an emphasis on athlete mental health support this year.
“I think the team is excited that I'm here,” Jermyn said. “I especially feel like I maybe have a unique skill set to help them both balance high level academic and high level athletic success.”
Along with Reckart, Dutch phenom Amina Maatoug left the program at the end of last season, transferring to Washington in a massive blow to the women’s squad. Maatoug was the only individual on either team to qualify for the National Championships last season, a race in which she recorded Duke’s first ever top-ten finish.
Maatooug’s success has certainly outshined that of her teammates in the past. While the men’s and women’s teams finished seventh at the ACC championships in October and were able to race in the Southeast Region, neither team advanced any further; the women finished in sixth place while the men finished seventh.
Jermyn said that he is not focused on replacing Maatoug individually, but trying to develop the team as a whole.
“A great team result is often a result of optimizing and maximizing the development of each and every athlete on the team, so that’s where more of the focus is,” he said. - Vishwa Veeraswamy
Field hockey
While the Blue Devils were hoping for an improved 2023 season, no one outside of the locker room could have predicted such an impressive turnaround. In 2022, the team went 0-6 in conference play and had an overall losing record of 7-11. However, entering the 2023 season, head coach Pam Bustin knew her team was capable of achieving much more. The squad surpassed everyone’s expectations, going 5-1 in conference play and ending with a strong 18-5 record.
Last season, the Blue Devils proved to be a top competitor in the ACC — a powerhouse conference in the world of field hockey. The team had statement wins against conference opponents in Syracuse, Virginia and Boston College. This season is no different. Five of the top 10 teams in the NFHCA Preseason Poll belong to the ACC, including No. 2 Virginia and No. 3 North Carolina.
With no shortage of competition in the conference, the presence of returning players is key to another successful season. Returning for their final season are graduate students Barb Civitella and Charlie van Oirschot. Van Oirschot — the team’s captain — provides the necessary energy and leadership to get this team back to the championship level play of last season. Oirschot — one of three Duke players to be named to the Preseason All-ACC team along with Alaina McVeigh and Paige Bitting — has made her physical presence known up and down the sidelines. Of the eight returning starters is none other than McVeigh. The junior led the ACC with 17 goals and was awarded 2023 ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year.
Although the Blue Devils’ season was filled with success, their greatest competitor still lies in their rival down the road. The Tar Heels took home both matchups last season, including a shutout win in the ACC championship. The only other team Duke fell to twice in the 2023 season was Northwestern, who enters the season as the No. 1 team in the country.
Bustin’s squad has the potential to do something special this season, but the question remains whether they can break through and takedown teams like Northwestern and North Carolina. The Blue Devils got a taste of this in their 2-1 loss against the Wildcats in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. With plenty of talent and strong chemistry, the 2024 season should be filled with plenty of excitement. -Sydney Olin
Volleyball
The 2024 season marks the 54th iteration of Blue Devil volleyball and the 26th year for head coach Jolene Nagel. With a roster of 18 and seven newcomers — including four freshmen and three graduate transfers — the focus of the Blue Devils leading up to the season has been team-building and integration. And with a stacked non-conference schedule and a strong ACC lineup, the pressure is on for Duke to perform.
To get ready for preseason play, Team 54 has been busy getting to know each other off the court. The team took personality tests, completed an escape room, went out to dinner and fed animals at a local farm. Coach Nagel is hoping that off-court chemistry will translate into on-court synergy.
“I think the team has worked very hard this preseason. They're working well together, and I think it's going to be fun to see how we execute out there on the court,” Nagel told The Chronicle.
Duke’s preseason play began with a charity exhibition match against N.C. Central benefitting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties, and it awaits a six-game homestand and three matches in State College, Penn., for a tournament hosted by Penn State. In Coach Nagel’s words, “our preseason has turned out to be very, very, very competitive.” Some highly anticipated preseason matchups include Patriot League winner Colgate, No. 13 Kansas, Princeton and SEC foes South Carolina and LSU.
“There are no easy matches along the way here,” Nagel said of the preseason. “It's going to challenge our young team immediately. It's going to help us learn a lot about ourselves very quickly, and hopefully help us get better quickly, because we're going to be challenged night in and night out.” - Alex Sizemore
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