Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus #1 Stanford on December 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1
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Final
Women's Soccer
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vs #1 Stanford
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Photo by: Duke Athletics
DWS: Blue Devil Alumni Spotlight - Casey Martinez
5/2/2025 1:21:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. -- Throughout the spring and summer, GoDuke.com will continue to spotlight different Duke women's soccer alumni. Our next update is with Casey Martinez, a 2018 Blue Devil graduate. She appeared in 61 matches over four seasons, while making five starts. Martinez scored four goals, added six assists and totaled 14 points. Martinez missed her senior campaign due to an injury.
GoDuke.com: Since graduating from Duke, what have you been up to? Following your collegiate soccer career, did you try to go play professionally at all?
Casey Martinez: After Duke, I was super fortunate to pursue a master's in Integrated Healthcare at Arizona State while continuing to play. I was gearing up to enter the NWSL Draft, but life had other plans - I re-tore my meniscus. I knew it was time to hang up my cleats. So, I moved back home and started working at a hospital in Baltimore City, while applying to med school. I've spent the last four years in Phoenix earning my MD at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. I'll be graduating this May and I'm so excited to say that I matched into my dream specialty - Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery! I'll be just a couple hours from home at Rutgers!
GD: Were you involved in the CAPE program during your time at Duke? If so, how beneficial was that in helping you get started in your medical field?
CM: Yes! CAPE was actually one of the biggest reasons I chose Duke. I still remember walking over to the hospital on my official visit to meet with the director and that conversation stuck with me. CAPE is such a unique program because it gives female student-athletes a real pathway into the medical field, even with our crazy schedules. Through CAPE, I got to shadow in the Duke Brain Tumor Clinic, be part of journal clubs in the hospital boardroom, and connect with mentors in medicine. That exposure, and community of strong women in that time in my life, was huge. It really solidified that medicine was where I was meant to be in the long run.
GD: How excited are you to begin your residency?
CM: This has been a long time coming and I honestly still can't believe I now get to be paid to train in something I care so deeply about. I know it's going to be hard, especially in surgical residency. It's a marathon, not a sprint with six years of intense training, but I feel ready. I'm walking in as prepared as I can be and eager to grow into the kind of physician I've always looked up to.
GD: Looking back at your Duke soccer experience, what are some things that you look back on and cherish?
CM: The people - hands down. We had such a tight-knit, family atmosphere. I loved working hard and having fun on the field with teammates who became lifelong friends. I miss the competition - our team making it to the NCAA College Cup twice during my career was unforgettable. The pregame rituals, bumping 2000s hip hop in the weight room, the road trips - all of it. We laughed a lot together. I also still hear Dr. Dale's voice in my head: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner." That kind of wisdom sticks with you - and it shows up in the my career now, too. Those years laid the groundwork for how I now show up as a trainee and teammate in medicine.
GD: Are you able to keep in touch with many teammates/coaches? Have you been able to make it back to Duke very often?
CM: Yes! I've stayed close with a lot of my class - we've been to weddings, kept up over the years and I've even crossed paths with former teammates in cities I've lived in during med school. It's been tough to get back to Duke regularly, but I was lucky to make it for Robbie's retirement celebration/reunion this past year. I was doing a rotation at Duke Hospital, so the timing worked out perfectly. Being back on campus, and back on Koskinen, was super nostalgic. I even had the chance to present to the Division of Plastic Surgery on a topic really close to my heart: "Complex Reconstruction as a Surgical Sport: Elevating Flaps, Mindset & Multidisciplinary Care." I tied in my journey as a Duke athlete and talked about teamwork, surgical performance and how former athletes make strong surgeons. It was a full-circle moment for sure!
GD: Are you able to be involved with soccer in any way these days or the last number of years?
CM: While I can't play anymore because of my knee surgeries, I still love the game. I've also gotten to travel and watch matches abroad - one of my favorites was seeing Messi play for PSG in Paris. Down the road, when I have a little more time, I'd love to coach youth teams again. That part of the game still calls to me. I'm really passionate about giving back, whether that's mentoring athletes who want to go into medicine, or just being someone younger girls can look up to. It is hard to become what "you cannot see" or what you have yet to be exposed to in life. My goal is to help show that life after athletics can be equally, or even more, fulfilling. Being a Duke student-athlete has opened so many doors for me and I could not be more thankful for my time at Duke!
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWSOC".
#GoDuke
GoDuke.com: Since graduating from Duke, what have you been up to? Following your collegiate soccer career, did you try to go play professionally at all?
Casey Martinez: After Duke, I was super fortunate to pursue a master's in Integrated Healthcare at Arizona State while continuing to play. I was gearing up to enter the NWSL Draft, but life had other plans - I re-tore my meniscus. I knew it was time to hang up my cleats. So, I moved back home and started working at a hospital in Baltimore City, while applying to med school. I've spent the last four years in Phoenix earning my MD at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. I'll be graduating this May and I'm so excited to say that I matched into my dream specialty - Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery! I'll be just a couple hours from home at Rutgers!
GD: Were you involved in the CAPE program during your time at Duke? If so, how beneficial was that in helping you get started in your medical field?
CM: Yes! CAPE was actually one of the biggest reasons I chose Duke. I still remember walking over to the hospital on my official visit to meet with the director and that conversation stuck with me. CAPE is such a unique program because it gives female student-athletes a real pathway into the medical field, even with our crazy schedules. Through CAPE, I got to shadow in the Duke Brain Tumor Clinic, be part of journal clubs in the hospital boardroom, and connect with mentors in medicine. That exposure, and community of strong women in that time in my life, was huge. It really solidified that medicine was where I was meant to be in the long run.
GD: How excited are you to begin your residency?
CM: This has been a long time coming and I honestly still can't believe I now get to be paid to train in something I care so deeply about. I know it's going to be hard, especially in surgical residency. It's a marathon, not a sprint with six years of intense training, but I feel ready. I'm walking in as prepared as I can be and eager to grow into the kind of physician I've always looked up to.
GD: Looking back at your Duke soccer experience, what are some things that you look back on and cherish?
CM: The people - hands down. We had such a tight-knit, family atmosphere. I loved working hard and having fun on the field with teammates who became lifelong friends. I miss the competition - our team making it to the NCAA College Cup twice during my career was unforgettable. The pregame rituals, bumping 2000s hip hop in the weight room, the road trips - all of it. We laughed a lot together. I also still hear Dr. Dale's voice in my head: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner." That kind of wisdom sticks with you - and it shows up in the my career now, too. Those years laid the groundwork for how I now show up as a trainee and teammate in medicine.
GD: Are you able to keep in touch with many teammates/coaches? Have you been able to make it back to Duke very often?
CM: Yes! I've stayed close with a lot of my class - we've been to weddings, kept up over the years and I've even crossed paths with former teammates in cities I've lived in during med school. It's been tough to get back to Duke regularly, but I was lucky to make it for Robbie's retirement celebration/reunion this past year. I was doing a rotation at Duke Hospital, so the timing worked out perfectly. Being back on campus, and back on Koskinen, was super nostalgic. I even had the chance to present to the Division of Plastic Surgery on a topic really close to my heart: "Complex Reconstruction as a Surgical Sport: Elevating Flaps, Mindset & Multidisciplinary Care." I tied in my journey as a Duke athlete and talked about teamwork, surgical performance and how former athletes make strong surgeons. It was a full-circle moment for sure!
GD: Are you able to be involved with soccer in any way these days or the last number of years?
CM: While I can't play anymore because of my knee surgeries, I still love the game. I've also gotten to travel and watch matches abroad - one of my favorites was seeing Messi play for PSG in Paris. Down the road, when I have a little more time, I'd love to coach youth teams again. That part of the game still calls to me. I'm really passionate about giving back, whether that's mentoring athletes who want to go into medicine, or just being someone younger girls can look up to. It is hard to become what "you cannot see" or what you have yet to be exposed to in life. My goal is to help show that life after athletics can be equally, or even more, fulfilling. Being a Duke student-athlete has opened so many doors for me and I could not be more thankful for my time at Duke!
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's soccer, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWSOC".
#GoDuke
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