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Duke Women's Soccer Influence Seen on Coaching Staffs Nationwide
7/29/2021 12:18:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM – As the Duke women's soccer team prepares to embark on the 34th season in program history, the Blue Devils' footprint can be traced around the country.
Nine current coaches within the collegiate and professional ranks called Durham home at one time, either as a player or a coach. Seven of which have come through the Duke program during Robbie Church's legendary tenure, a mark of his influence extending far beyond one's time as a Blue Devil.
"We're very proud of each and every one of them for what they've accomplished, and we know the future is going to be really bright for them," said Church. "They were all really great student-athletes and assistant coaches in our program. They dedicated themselves to Duke women's soccer while they were here. I follow them a lot, either through communication or checking the scores after each of their games. It makes me very happy when I see how successful they have become."
Indiana Head Coach Erwin van Bennekom
Van Bennekom enters his third season at the helm of the Indiana women's soccer program after serving a four-year stint as an assistant with the Blue Devils from 2015-18. In Durham, he played a key role in helping the program boast a 68-17-11 record over four years that included a 29-6-5 conference mark and four NCAA Tournament appearances. Van Bennekom's first season, the 2015 campaign, saw Duke advance to the national title game as a No. 3 seed, with postseason wins over No. 1-seeded Stanford and Florida State.
Following another run to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2016, van Bennekom's title was elevated to associate head coach. He was a member of the 2017 United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year, coming off a historic season that saw the Blue Devils break 25 total school records (18 team, seven individual). Duke posted a 23-2-1 record with 10 ACC wins and 18 shutouts en route to the program's fourth College Cup appearance.
In total, van Bennekom helped guide Duke to a 13-3-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament. Over his four seasons, he coached 17 All-ACC selections, four ACC Players of the Year (two defensive, one offensive, one midfielder), six All-Americans, four MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists and nine NWSL draft picks.
In just his second season at Indiana, he led the Hoosiers to a 6-5-1 record – their best winning percentage since 2013 – while navigating the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Georgia Head Coach Billy Lesesne
The Georgia women's soccer program gets ready for its seventh season under the direction of Billy Lesesne, who previously spent 14 seasons with the Duke program including 11 as an associate head coach. In 2011, he was named the United Soccer Coaches Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year to cap off a historic season in which the Blue Devils advanced to their second national championship game. In his 14 years at Duke, the team reached a total of 12 NCAA Tournaments, including three consecutive appearances in the quarterfinal round (2011-13).
Lesesne originally came to Duke alongside Church in 2001 after serving as Church's assistant for one season at Vanderbilt. In his first campaign as head coach at Georgia, he guided the Bulldogs to unprecedented heights, as they picked up a win over No. 4 Texas A&M – the highest-ranked team a Georgia squad ever defeated – as well as a road victory at 16th-ranked Auburn. In six seasons, he has led his Georgia squads to a combined 32-58-16 record.
Pacific Head Coach Ed Moore
Ed Moore was hired as head coach of the Pacific women's soccer program in January of 2020 and has held roles at four schools since his two-year stint as a Duke assistant coach from 2004-05. In his two seasons with the Blue Devils, Moore helped guide the team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and a 31-16-1 record. Duke reached the Round of 16 in 2004 – the first year that the team advanced past the second round since 1996. Individually, he coached Carolyn Ford, who became the program's ninth all-time All-American in 2005, as well as five All-ACC selections.
Following his tenure at Duke, Moore spent time as an assistant coach at Saint Mary's (2006-07), Millsaps College (2009), Seattle University (2010-11) and Boise State (2013-2019). He helped Boise State capture the 2018 Mountain West regular season title and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 with an 18-5-0 record. In his first season at Pacific, the Tigers went 1-8-3 during the pandemic-affected year.
Arizona Head Coach Becca Moros
Former Duke All-American Becca Moros joined the coaching ranks in 2020 after a decade-long professional playing career that included stops with the NWSL's Portland Thorns, Houston Dash and Utah Royals FC. She was hired as an assistant coach for Gotham FC and helped the club win the east division in the 2021 Challenge Cup, and on June 16, she was announced as the head coach of the Arizona women's soccer program.
As a third-team All-American in 2006 and three-time All-ACC honoree, Moros played a key role in Duke earning a bid to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. In 2004, she dished out 11 assists, which ranks tied for sixth in program history for a single season. Following her collegiate career, Moros was selected 36th overall by the Washington Freedom in the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Draft.
Arizona Assistant Coach Lorraine Quinn
Lorraine Quinn joined Moros' Arizona staff in the summer of 2021 after three seasons as an assistant coach at Texas State, five years in various coaching roles at Army West Point and one year at William & Mary. Among the most decorated midfielders in Duke women's soccer history, Quinn garnered Soccer Buzz All-America honors in 2007, was a three-time All-ACC selection, a two-time All-Southeast Region pick and was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List her senior season.
Quinn joined the William & Mary staff in 2012 after coaching in the United Kingdom as an assistant at Durham University, where she earned her master's degree. In her lone campaign with the Tribe, the team won the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season title. By the time she finished her fifth season at West Point, Quinn had tutored 12 All-Patriot League honorees while working with eight Patriot League All-Academic selections. Over her three-year tenure at Texas State, she helped the Bobcats to two winning seasons, including an appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament title game in 2018. Nine student-athletes were tapped to the All-Sun Belt teams under Quinn's guidance.
UCLA Assistant Coach Jane Alukonis
In three years on the UCLA staff, former Blue Devil Jane Alukonis has helped the Bruins to two NCAA Quarterfinal appearances and a trip to the College Cup in 2019. In 2020, after guiding the team to the Pac-12 title in her first year elevated from volunteer assistant to assistant coach, Alukonis and the UCLA coaching staff were named the United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Staff of the Year.
The Cocoa Beach, Fla., native started 76-of-84 games from 2006-09 at Duke, and served as a team captain her senior year. Contributing in the midfield and as a defender, she tallied five goals and 11 assists for 21 career points, and helped the Blue Devils advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2007 and 2008. In the midst of a head coaching stint with the Space Coast Untied U-10, U-11 and U-16 girls squads, Alukonis returned to her alma mater to serve as Duke's director of operations from 2015-16.
Missouri Head Coach Stefanie Golan
After a nine-year run at Minnesota in which she led the Gophers to four NCAA Tournaments and two Big Ten titles, Stefanie Golan was hired as head coach of the Missouri women's soccer program in May of 2021. Overseeing the Minnesota program from 2012-2020, Golan compiled a 92-64-24 record and helped the team advance to the NCAA Second Round in 2015 and 2018. The Gophers claimed the Big Ten regular-season and tournament crowns in 2016 with a 7-1-3 mark in conference play, as Golan was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. She then guided the team to another conference tournament championship in 2018 with current Duke goalkeeper Maddie Nielsen earning Defensive Most Outstanding Player honors. The 2018 squad also boasted the Big Ten Forward (Simone Kolander) and Defender (Rashida Beal) of the Year, with Beal picking up All-America accolades.
Golan served as head coach at Army West Point from 2009-11, leading the Black Knights to back-to-back winning seasons and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2011. As a four-year letterwinner at Duke from 1997-01, Golan played in 56 games with 37 starts. She scored two goals as a Blue Devil and was a member of four NCAA Tournament teams.
Kansas City NWSL Goalkeeper Coach Alli Lipsher
Alli Lipsher joined the Kansas City NWSL team as goalkeeper coach after spending over two years at Minnesota under Golan in the same role. The former Duke standout also had stops at Trinity College as an assistant coach, as well as East Carolina and Arizona working with the goalkeepers. Her tenure at Minnesota was highlighted by a Big Ten tournament championship in 2018, when she worked closely with current Blue Devil graduate student Maddie Nielsen, who recorded three consecutive shutouts en route to the title.
In four seasons at Trinity College, Lipsher helped the Bantams lower their goals against average from 1.38 to 0.90, with 30 shutout wins over that stretch.
Following an excellent career in Durham that featured 33 shutouts in four years and Soccer Buzz All-Southeast Region honors in 2007, Lipsher played four years of professional soccer, with stints in the Australia Women's League as well as the Boston Breakers (2009-10) and Atlanta Beat (2011) of the Women's Professional Soccer League.
Embry-Riddle Head Coach Samantha Bohon
Class of 1998 graduate Samantha Bohon has served as the head coach of the Embry-Riddle women's soccer program since 2007. As a member of the The Sun Conference (NAIA), the Eagles finished third in the regular season standings in Bohon's first two seasons and followed up with five straight years of reaching the round of eight in the NAIA National Championship.
In her 12-year tenure leading the program, Bohon has coached an NAIA National Player of the Year, 21 NAIA All-Americans, 10 honorable mention NAIA All-Americans, one Sun Conference Player of the Year, four league Newcomers of the Year, 39 first-team All-Sun Conference and 10 second-team All-Sun Conference selections.
Bohon played at Duke from 1994-97 and graduated as one of the top offensive performers the nation. She tallied 16 goals and six assists throughout her career, and her 28 points as a senior ranked fifth in school history for a single season at the time. She earned three All-ACC honors and was a Freshman All-American in 1994.
The Blue Devils begin the season with an exhibition match against Georgia on Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. ET at Koskinen Stadium. For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
Nine current coaches within the collegiate and professional ranks called Durham home at one time, either as a player or a coach. Seven of which have come through the Duke program during Robbie Church's legendary tenure, a mark of his influence extending far beyond one's time as a Blue Devil.
"We're very proud of each and every one of them for what they've accomplished, and we know the future is going to be really bright for them," said Church. "They were all really great student-athletes and assistant coaches in our program. They dedicated themselves to Duke women's soccer while they were here. I follow them a lot, either through communication or checking the scores after each of their games. It makes me very happy when I see how successful they have become."
Indiana Head Coach Erwin van Bennekom
Van Bennekom enters his third season at the helm of the Indiana women's soccer program after serving a four-year stint as an assistant with the Blue Devils from 2015-18. In Durham, he played a key role in helping the program boast a 68-17-11 record over four years that included a 29-6-5 conference mark and four NCAA Tournament appearances. Van Bennekom's first season, the 2015 campaign, saw Duke advance to the national title game as a No. 3 seed, with postseason wins over No. 1-seeded Stanford and Florida State.
Following another run to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2016, van Bennekom's title was elevated to associate head coach. He was a member of the 2017 United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year, coming off a historic season that saw the Blue Devils break 25 total school records (18 team, seven individual). Duke posted a 23-2-1 record with 10 ACC wins and 18 shutouts en route to the program's fourth College Cup appearance.
In total, van Bennekom helped guide Duke to a 13-3-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament. Over his four seasons, he coached 17 All-ACC selections, four ACC Players of the Year (two defensive, one offensive, one midfielder), six All-Americans, four MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists and nine NWSL draft picks.
In just his second season at Indiana, he led the Hoosiers to a 6-5-1 record – their best winning percentage since 2013 – while navigating the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Georgia Head Coach Billy Lesesne
The Georgia women's soccer program gets ready for its seventh season under the direction of Billy Lesesne, who previously spent 14 seasons with the Duke program including 11 as an associate head coach. In 2011, he was named the United Soccer Coaches Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year to cap off a historic season in which the Blue Devils advanced to their second national championship game. In his 14 years at Duke, the team reached a total of 12 NCAA Tournaments, including three consecutive appearances in the quarterfinal round (2011-13).
Lesesne originally came to Duke alongside Church in 2001 after serving as Church's assistant for one season at Vanderbilt. In his first campaign as head coach at Georgia, he guided the Bulldogs to unprecedented heights, as they picked up a win over No. 4 Texas A&M – the highest-ranked team a Georgia squad ever defeated – as well as a road victory at 16th-ranked Auburn. In six seasons, he has led his Georgia squads to a combined 32-58-16 record.
Pacific Head Coach Ed Moore
Ed Moore was hired as head coach of the Pacific women's soccer program in January of 2020 and has held roles at four schools since his two-year stint as a Duke assistant coach from 2004-05. In his two seasons with the Blue Devils, Moore helped guide the team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and a 31-16-1 record. Duke reached the Round of 16 in 2004 – the first year that the team advanced past the second round since 1996. Individually, he coached Carolyn Ford, who became the program's ninth all-time All-American in 2005, as well as five All-ACC selections.
Following his tenure at Duke, Moore spent time as an assistant coach at Saint Mary's (2006-07), Millsaps College (2009), Seattle University (2010-11) and Boise State (2013-2019). He helped Boise State capture the 2018 Mountain West regular season title and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 with an 18-5-0 record. In his first season at Pacific, the Tigers went 1-8-3 during the pandemic-affected year.
Arizona Head Coach Becca Moros
Former Duke All-American Becca Moros joined the coaching ranks in 2020 after a decade-long professional playing career that included stops with the NWSL's Portland Thorns, Houston Dash and Utah Royals FC. She was hired as an assistant coach for Gotham FC and helped the club win the east division in the 2021 Challenge Cup, and on June 16, she was announced as the head coach of the Arizona women's soccer program.
As a third-team All-American in 2006 and three-time All-ACC honoree, Moros played a key role in Duke earning a bid to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. In 2004, she dished out 11 assists, which ranks tied for sixth in program history for a single season. Following her collegiate career, Moros was selected 36th overall by the Washington Freedom in the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Draft.
Arizona Assistant Coach Lorraine Quinn
Lorraine Quinn joined Moros' Arizona staff in the summer of 2021 after three seasons as an assistant coach at Texas State, five years in various coaching roles at Army West Point and one year at William & Mary. Among the most decorated midfielders in Duke women's soccer history, Quinn garnered Soccer Buzz All-America honors in 2007, was a three-time All-ACC selection, a two-time All-Southeast Region pick and was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List her senior season.
Quinn joined the William & Mary staff in 2012 after coaching in the United Kingdom as an assistant at Durham University, where she earned her master's degree. In her lone campaign with the Tribe, the team won the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season title. By the time she finished her fifth season at West Point, Quinn had tutored 12 All-Patriot League honorees while working with eight Patriot League All-Academic selections. Over her three-year tenure at Texas State, she helped the Bobcats to two winning seasons, including an appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament title game in 2018. Nine student-athletes were tapped to the All-Sun Belt teams under Quinn's guidance.
UCLA Assistant Coach Jane Alukonis
In three years on the UCLA staff, former Blue Devil Jane Alukonis has helped the Bruins to two NCAA Quarterfinal appearances and a trip to the College Cup in 2019. In 2020, after guiding the team to the Pac-12 title in her first year elevated from volunteer assistant to assistant coach, Alukonis and the UCLA coaching staff were named the United Soccer Coaches Pacific Region Staff of the Year.
The Cocoa Beach, Fla., native started 76-of-84 games from 2006-09 at Duke, and served as a team captain her senior year. Contributing in the midfield and as a defender, she tallied five goals and 11 assists for 21 career points, and helped the Blue Devils advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2007 and 2008. In the midst of a head coaching stint with the Space Coast Untied U-10, U-11 and U-16 girls squads, Alukonis returned to her alma mater to serve as Duke's director of operations from 2015-16.
Missouri Head Coach Stefanie Golan
After a nine-year run at Minnesota in which she led the Gophers to four NCAA Tournaments and two Big Ten titles, Stefanie Golan was hired as head coach of the Missouri women's soccer program in May of 2021. Overseeing the Minnesota program from 2012-2020, Golan compiled a 92-64-24 record and helped the team advance to the NCAA Second Round in 2015 and 2018. The Gophers claimed the Big Ten regular-season and tournament crowns in 2016 with a 7-1-3 mark in conference play, as Golan was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year. She then guided the team to another conference tournament championship in 2018 with current Duke goalkeeper Maddie Nielsen earning Defensive Most Outstanding Player honors. The 2018 squad also boasted the Big Ten Forward (Simone Kolander) and Defender (Rashida Beal) of the Year, with Beal picking up All-America accolades.
Golan served as head coach at Army West Point from 2009-11, leading the Black Knights to back-to-back winning seasons and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2011. As a four-year letterwinner at Duke from 1997-01, Golan played in 56 games with 37 starts. She scored two goals as a Blue Devil and was a member of four NCAA Tournament teams.
Kansas City NWSL Goalkeeper Coach Alli Lipsher
Alli Lipsher joined the Kansas City NWSL team as goalkeeper coach after spending over two years at Minnesota under Golan in the same role. The former Duke standout also had stops at Trinity College as an assistant coach, as well as East Carolina and Arizona working with the goalkeepers. Her tenure at Minnesota was highlighted by a Big Ten tournament championship in 2018, when she worked closely with current Blue Devil graduate student Maddie Nielsen, who recorded three consecutive shutouts en route to the title.
In four seasons at Trinity College, Lipsher helped the Bantams lower their goals against average from 1.38 to 0.90, with 30 shutout wins over that stretch.
Following an excellent career in Durham that featured 33 shutouts in four years and Soccer Buzz All-Southeast Region honors in 2007, Lipsher played four years of professional soccer, with stints in the Australia Women's League as well as the Boston Breakers (2009-10) and Atlanta Beat (2011) of the Women's Professional Soccer League.
Embry-Riddle Head Coach Samantha Bohon
Class of 1998 graduate Samantha Bohon has served as the head coach of the Embry-Riddle women's soccer program since 2007. As a member of the The Sun Conference (NAIA), the Eagles finished third in the regular season standings in Bohon's first two seasons and followed up with five straight years of reaching the round of eight in the NAIA National Championship.
In her 12-year tenure leading the program, Bohon has coached an NAIA National Player of the Year, 21 NAIA All-Americans, 10 honorable mention NAIA All-Americans, one Sun Conference Player of the Year, four league Newcomers of the Year, 39 first-team All-Sun Conference and 10 second-team All-Sun Conference selections.
Bohon played at Duke from 1994-97 and graduated as one of the top offensive performers the nation. She tallied 16 goals and six assists throughout her career, and her 28 points as a senior ranked fifth in school history for a single season at the time. She earned three All-ACC honors and was a Freshman All-American in 1994.
The Blue Devils begin the season with an exhibition match against Georgia on Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. ET at Koskinen Stadium. For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
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