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Church, Duke Agree to Contract Extension
8/31/2021 4:34:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM – Duke University Vice President and Director of Athletics Nina King announced that women's soccer head coach Robbie Church and the school have agreed to a contract extension through 2025.
"Over two decades here, Robbie has established himself as one of the premier women's soccer coaches in the nation while lifting Duke's program to elite status," said King. "He's innovative, forward-thinking and committed to putting our student-athletes in position to achieve their goals and aspirations, both on and off the playing field. We look forward to Robbie's continued success here at Duke."
"I'm honored to be offered an extension," Church said. "Duke is a place that I love. It's a place that I'm very humbled to be able to work at. I feel it's a privilege to work here. I get up every day excited to go to work, excited to work with our staff – we have an absolutely incredible staff. We have a lot of fun and we love working with our players. Our players are phenomenal both on the field and off the field. I'm very excited and look forward to the future."
Now in the midst of his 21st season as head coach of the Blue Devils, Church has amassed a 260-131-59 record in Durham, including 148 victories and a .764 winning percentage in matches at Koskinen Stadium. He has guided Duke to two ACC regular season titles in 2011 and 2017 – earning ACC Coach of the Year honors in each of those seasons – while totaling 97 wins in conference play.
Church's Duke teams have consistently performed on the biggest stage, as he boasts a 36-15-10 record in 18 NCAA Tournament appearances since his hire in 2001. His crowning achievements came during the 2011, 2015 and 2017 campaigns, when he led the Blue Devils to three of the program's four NCAA College Cup appearances.
During the most recent 2020-21 season, Church helped Duke navigate an unprecedented schedule that saw the Blue Devils compete in the spring for the first time in program history. Duke finished with a 12-5-4 overall record and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament in May, becoming one of just three programs nationally to reach the quarterfinals seven times in the last 10 years dating back to 2011.
Widely considered one of the best teachers in the game, Church has mentored individual student-athletes to remarkable successes on and off the pitch during his tenure in Durham. Under his watch, 10 Blue Devils have been named United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, while five players have been tapped as semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding player. Sixty-two student-athletes who have played for Church have garnered All-ACC status, while he has additionally 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.
Numerous Blue Devils have also been recognized for their efforts in the classroom while involved in Church's program. Since his inaugural season in 2001, eight Duke players have been named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans a total of 11 times, while the team has 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. Church recently coached the ACC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons (Christina Gibbons, 2016; Imani Dorsey, 2017; Kayla McCoy, 2018).
Other accolades Church has collected since arriving at Duke include the NSCAA/Adidas South Region Coach of the Year in 2004 and Soccer America's National Coach of the Year in 2011. He led the United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year in 2017 after guiding the Blue Devils to a historic 23-2-1 record and an appearance in the national semifinals. Following the 2019 season, Church was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame.
Church and the No. 5 Blue Devils put their 4-0-0 record on the line against 10th-ranked Stanford (3-0-0) on Thursday, Sept. 2 at Koskinen Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
"Over two decades here, Robbie has established himself as one of the premier women's soccer coaches in the nation while lifting Duke's program to elite status," said King. "He's innovative, forward-thinking and committed to putting our student-athletes in position to achieve their goals and aspirations, both on and off the playing field. We look forward to Robbie's continued success here at Duke."
"I'm honored to be offered an extension," Church said. "Duke is a place that I love. It's a place that I'm very humbled to be able to work at. I feel it's a privilege to work here. I get up every day excited to go to work, excited to work with our staff – we have an absolutely incredible staff. We have a lot of fun and we love working with our players. Our players are phenomenal both on the field and off the field. I'm very excited and look forward to the future."
Now in the midst of his 21st season as head coach of the Blue Devils, Church has amassed a 260-131-59 record in Durham, including 148 victories and a .764 winning percentage in matches at Koskinen Stadium. He has guided Duke to two ACC regular season titles in 2011 and 2017 – earning ACC Coach of the Year honors in each of those seasons – while totaling 97 wins in conference play.
Church's Duke teams have consistently performed on the biggest stage, as he boasts a 36-15-10 record in 18 NCAA Tournament appearances since his hire in 2001. His crowning achievements came during the 2011, 2015 and 2017 campaigns, when he led the Blue Devils to three of the program's four NCAA College Cup appearances.
During the most recent 2020-21 season, Church helped Duke navigate an unprecedented schedule that saw the Blue Devils compete in the spring for the first time in program history. Duke finished with a 12-5-4 overall record and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament in May, becoming one of just three programs nationally to reach the quarterfinals seven times in the last 10 years dating back to 2011.
Widely considered one of the best teachers in the game, Church has mentored individual student-athletes to remarkable successes on and off the pitch during his tenure in Durham. Under his watch, 10 Blue Devils have been named United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, while five players have been tapped as semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding player. Sixty-two student-athletes who have played for Church have garnered All-ACC status, while he has additionally 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.
Numerous Blue Devils have also been recognized for their efforts in the classroom while involved in Church's program. Since his inaugural season in 2001, eight Duke players have been named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans a total of 11 times, while the team has 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. Church recently coached the ACC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons (Christina Gibbons, 2016; Imani Dorsey, 2017; Kayla McCoy, 2018).
Other accolades Church has collected since arriving at Duke include the NSCAA/Adidas South Region Coach of the Year in 2004 and Soccer America's National Coach of the Year in 2011. He led the United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year in 2017 after guiding the Blue Devils to a historic 23-2-1 record and an appearance in the national semifinals. Following the 2019 season, Church was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame.
Church and the No. 5 Blue Devils put their 4-0-0 record on the line against 10th-ranked Stanford (3-0-0) on Thursday, Sept. 2 at Koskinen Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
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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