Lorraine Quinn Senior Profile

DURHAM, N.C. ? GoDuke.com recently sat down with Lorraine Quinn for her senior profile. A senior from Farmingdale, N.Y., Quinn has helped guide the women's soccer team to a 12-5-3 overall record. Quinn is in her fifth year with the Blue Devils after redshirting the 2005 campaign due to a foot injury. Over her career, Quinn has registered 13 goals, 16 assists and 42 points in 87 games. The Blue Devils next await the NCAA College Cup selection show on Monday, Nov. 10.

GoDuke.com: Why do you wear No. 13?
Lorraine Quinn: I started wearing number 13 in all the sports that I played as a kid because that was the number my father wore. I looked up to him as my role model and took over his number. And my little brother wore number 13 for a while after me, so it's been a little family tradition.

GD: What's the last non-school related book you read?
LQ: I'm one helpless romantic so Nicholas Sparks' At First Sight over the summer. I actually read three Nicholas Sparks' books over the summer, but At First Sight was the last one I read.

GD: Describe your SportsCenter moment.
LQ: It'd probably be one of the many times that I've tried to attempt a rainbow on the field. I think the best time, when it worked out the best, was at a regional event at Boca Raton, Fla. The Youth National Team coaches were there and college coaches were scouting, and I happened to do it and pull it off perfectly.

GD: What's your favorite food?
LQ: Definitely New York Pizza. I like chicken slices or just the traditional New York slice of pizza. Every time I go home I look forward to having that slice.

GD: What are you planning on doing after graduation?
LQ: I just got an invite to the Women's Professional Soccer combine that's going to be held in December-the East Coast combine. I plan on going down there, trying out, and hopefully getting drafted to one of the WPS teams. I'm looking forward to the league combing back and getting a chance to live the dream.

GD: Who's had the most impact on your athletic career and why?
LQ: My youth coaches, in particular John Bussi, who was my first travel team coach and coached me till I was about 14 or 15. He helped me grow my passion for the sport, helped me love the sport, and develop as a player. If it wasn't for him and other youth coaches and trainers I've had, I don't think I'd be as passionate for the sport and might not have continued to play it.

GD: What would the perfect end to your athletic career look like?
LQ: A National Championship.

GD: What's the thing you most admire about your coach Robbie Church and why?
LQ: I really admire the old fashioned traditional sense that Robbie has. He's so passionate about the sport and just before big time games he'll write us hand-written letters that are very inspirational. And it's not everyday where your coach will sit down and write your teammates a handwritten letter anymore. He cares so much and he's so passionate that he brings it out in each one of our players.

GD: Where is your secret spot to study?
LQ: I hide myself in the basement computer cluster of Bostock. Kelly Hathorn can always find me; she knows I'm in the library.

GD: Why did you choose to attend Duke?
LQ: Duke brings so much -- it's a combination of athletics and academics that you can't get at many other schools. That combination really reeled me in and after my initial visit and seeing how awesome the team was. It just seemed like the perfect fit.

GD: Where is your favorite place to play outside of Duke?
LQ: I have two favorite places. I think Maryland and UNC have great environments to play. The fan base they get and the support from their student body make it a fun environment to play in.

GD: On playing last summer with the US U-23 team.
LQ: It's not every day you get to play with the best -- the top 20-30 players in your age group in the country. As a player, it has helped me tremendously and let me look up to that dream and knowing where I can go with it. I think playing in those environments have expanded my game. There are things I've had to work on because of those environments and because of the types of players I played against. That's where it took off and it was an awesome experience.”

GD: What is your next step in playing with the U.S. teams?
LQ: They just changed the structure of the Youth National Team Program. There's the U-23 and after that is the senior national team. I'm hoping to get into the WPS draft, that's where players will get looked at, and that's always a dream I've had.