Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus #1 Stanford on December 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1
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On This Date 20 Years Ago: Church Introduced as Duke Head Coach
7/9/2021 12:02:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM – Friday marks the 20-year anniversary of Robbie Church's hire as head coach of the Duke women's soccer team, as Church was introduced by former Director of Athletics Joe Alleva on July 9, 2001.
In 20 years at the helm of the Blue Devils program, Church has built Duke into a national powerhouse and perennial title contender. He boasts a 256-131-59 record since arriving in Durham, including 142 victories and a .740 winning percentage in matches at Koskinen Stadium, as well as 97 ACC wins. Church has guided Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 18-of-20 seasons, with the most recent 2020-21 campaign culminating in a run to the quarterfinals after an unprecedented schedule that featured eight matches in the spring – the first time in program history that Duke has played past December.
Church's crowning achievements came in 2011, 2015 and 2017, when he led the Blue Devils to the NCAA College Cup. After breaking through in 2011 and bringing Duke to its first national title game since 1992, Church was named the Soccer America National Coach of the Year and the Southeast Region Coach of the Year. 2011 also marked the first of his two ACC Coach of the Year honors, as he guided the Blue Devils to a regular season conference title for the first time since 1994.
The 2015 run proved to be among Church's top coaching performances. The Blue Devils entered the NCAA Tournament with a 10-5-4 record and the No. 3 seed in the Stanford Regional before reeling off five straight wins – including two over the top two national seeds – to advance to the national championship match.
The Blue Devils amassed a program-record 23 victories in 2017 and went 10-0-0 in conference play en route to claiming the ACC regular season title for the third time in history. Duke's rewriting of the record book did not stop there, as it also set the school record for shutouts (18), home wins (15), ACC wins (10), ranked victories (9), ACC shutouts (8) and ACC goal differential (+20). Church led Duke to its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in a 15-year span, while also being awarded with the second No. 1 seed in school history. The Blue Devils did not allow a goal in regulation through their entire tournament run, outscoring opponents 15-0 on the way to the program's fourth College Cup appearance.
Church claimed his second ACC Coach of the Year award in 2017, while his staff was named the United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year.
Overall, Church holds a 36-16-10 record in the postseason, with four College Cup appearances, nine trips to the NCAA quarterfinals and 12 matches in the round of 16. His Duke teams have ended the season ranked in the NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches final national poll 15 times, landing in the top 10 on eight occasions.
Individually, Church has coached 10 United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, who have garnered a total of 12 selections. Five student-athletes during his tenure have been named semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding player. Sixty-two Blue Devils have earned All-ACC status under Church, while he has coached two ACC Offensive Players of the Year, four ACC Defensive Players of the Year, one ACC Midfielder of the Year and three ACC Rookies of the Year.
The success that Duke student-athletes have achieved since Church arrived in Durham extend beyond the pitch as well. Since his inaugural season in 2001, eight Blue Devils have been named United Soccer Coaches All-Americans a total of 11 times, while eight have been tapped CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. He coached the ACC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons (Christina Gibbons, 2016; Imani Dorsey, 2017; Kayla McCoy, 2018). The Blue Devils have boasted at least five All-ACC Academic honorees each year since 2006, with this past season's 10 selections matching the program record set in 2017.
Seventeen players coached by Church have been selected in the NWSL Draft, including at least one pick representing Duke each year since 2016. He produced three top-five picks in a two-year span, as Christina Gibbons was taken fifth overall in the 2017 draft while Quinn (third overall) and Imani Dorsey (fifth) were each chosen in the top five in 2018.
On the international stage, Church tutored Rebecca Smith, who captained the New Zealand national team at the 2007 World Cup and went on to play in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Quinn, meanwhile, earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics as a member of Team Canada before taking part in the 2019 World Cup.
Throughout his 31 years as a college head coach, Church has amassed a record of 439-245-73. Prior to Duke, he spent time coaching the East Carolina (1982-83), Belmont Abbey (1985-89), Lynn University (1990) and Charlotte (1994) men's teams. He took over the Charlotte women's program in 1995, and spent two seasons at Vanderbilt (1999-2000) before coming to Durham.
Church has also been recognized as the Carolinas Conference and NAIA Coach of the Year in 1989, the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 1997 and the NSCAA/Adidas South Region Coach of the Year in 2004. Following the 2019 season, Church was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame.
For more on the celebration of Robbie Church's 20-year anniversary at Duke, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
In 20 years at the helm of the Blue Devils program, Church has built Duke into a national powerhouse and perennial title contender. He boasts a 256-131-59 record since arriving in Durham, including 142 victories and a .740 winning percentage in matches at Koskinen Stadium, as well as 97 ACC wins. Church has guided Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 18-of-20 seasons, with the most recent 2020-21 campaign culminating in a run to the quarterfinals after an unprecedented schedule that featured eight matches in the spring – the first time in program history that Duke has played past December.
Church's crowning achievements came in 2011, 2015 and 2017, when he led the Blue Devils to the NCAA College Cup. After breaking through in 2011 and bringing Duke to its first national title game since 1992, Church was named the Soccer America National Coach of the Year and the Southeast Region Coach of the Year. 2011 also marked the first of his two ACC Coach of the Year honors, as he guided the Blue Devils to a regular season conference title for the first time since 1994.
The 2015 run proved to be among Church's top coaching performances. The Blue Devils entered the NCAA Tournament with a 10-5-4 record and the No. 3 seed in the Stanford Regional before reeling off five straight wins – including two over the top two national seeds – to advance to the national championship match.
The Blue Devils amassed a program-record 23 victories in 2017 and went 10-0-0 in conference play en route to claiming the ACC regular season title for the third time in history. Duke's rewriting of the record book did not stop there, as it also set the school record for shutouts (18), home wins (15), ACC wins (10), ranked victories (9), ACC shutouts (8) and ACC goal differential (+20). Church led Duke to its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in a 15-year span, while also being awarded with the second No. 1 seed in school history. The Blue Devils did not allow a goal in regulation through their entire tournament run, outscoring opponents 15-0 on the way to the program's fourth College Cup appearance.
Church claimed his second ACC Coach of the Year award in 2017, while his staff was named the United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year.
Overall, Church holds a 36-16-10 record in the postseason, with four College Cup appearances, nine trips to the NCAA quarterfinals and 12 matches in the round of 16. His Duke teams have ended the season ranked in the NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches final national poll 15 times, landing in the top 10 on eight occasions.
Individually, Church has coached 10 United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, who have garnered a total of 12 selections. Five student-athletes during his tenure have been named semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding player. Sixty-two Blue Devils have earned All-ACC status under Church, while he has coached two ACC Offensive Players of the Year, four ACC Defensive Players of the Year, one ACC Midfielder of the Year and three ACC Rookies of the Year.
The success that Duke student-athletes have achieved since Church arrived in Durham extend beyond the pitch as well. Since his inaugural season in 2001, eight Blue Devils have been named United Soccer Coaches All-Americans a total of 11 times, while eight have been tapped CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. He coached the ACC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons (Christina Gibbons, 2016; Imani Dorsey, 2017; Kayla McCoy, 2018). The Blue Devils have boasted at least five All-ACC Academic honorees each year since 2006, with this past season's 10 selections matching the program record set in 2017.
Seventeen players coached by Church have been selected in the NWSL Draft, including at least one pick representing Duke each year since 2016. He produced three top-five picks in a two-year span, as Christina Gibbons was taken fifth overall in the 2017 draft while Quinn (third overall) and Imani Dorsey (fifth) were each chosen in the top five in 2018.
On the international stage, Church tutored Rebecca Smith, who captained the New Zealand national team at the 2007 World Cup and went on to play in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Quinn, meanwhile, earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics as a member of Team Canada before taking part in the 2019 World Cup.
Throughout his 31 years as a college head coach, Church has amassed a record of 439-245-73. Prior to Duke, he spent time coaching the East Carolina (1982-83), Belmont Abbey (1985-89), Lynn University (1990) and Charlotte (1994) men's teams. He took over the Charlotte women's program in 1995, and spent two seasons at Vanderbilt (1999-2000) before coming to Durham.
Church has also been recognized as the Carolinas Conference and NAIA Coach of the Year in 1989, the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 1997 and the NSCAA/Adidas South Region Coach of the Year in 2004. Following the 2019 season, Church was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame.
For more on the celebration of Robbie Church's 20-year anniversary at Duke, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
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