Duke women’s soccer trio set to return for 5th season of eligibility in 2024

(Photo Credit: Duke Athletics)

DURHAM – Duke head coach Robbie Church and the Blue Devil women’s soccer program announced the trio of Nicky Chico, Maggie Graham and Katie Groff will return for a fifth and final season in 2024.

All three have an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re very, very fortunate to have these really outstanding young ladies returning to our program,” said Church.  “All three of them have done such a great job on the field, in the classroom and in the community representing our program over the years.  To bring that type of experience back, character and drive to be leaders in our program — it’s just invaluable.  The coaching staff enjoys being around them every single day.  They bring positive attitudes and they work extremely hard in everything they do, both on and off the field. They’re a big part of our program. So, we’re very, very fortunate to have them come back and we look forward to them being a part of a team that we think has really made some huge strides in the spring season.”

Tri-captains this past season, the Duke trio have combined to see action in 12,407 minutes, appeared in 203 matches, made 129 starts, scored 15 goals, notched 16 assists and posted 46 points over the last four seasons with the Blue Devils. Chico, Graham and Groff have helped Duke win 49 matches, advance to three NCAA Elite Eight appearances and helped the Blue Devil defense tally 40 shutouts during their careers.

Chico, who hails from Wyckoff, N.J., entered the starting lineup as a senior making 12 starts and appearing in 14 matches on the defensive end.  She helped lead the Blue Devils to six shutouts, while tallying an assist in a league match at Boston College.  Over her career, Chico has started 18-of-54 matches.  She will be obtaining a Master of Management Studies at Duke Fuqua School of Business in 2024-25.

A three-year starter for the Blue Devils, Groff has seen action at both the midfield and defensive positions over her Duke career playing in over 5,200 minutes. She has started 61-of-70 matches and helped lead the Blue Devils to 40 clean sheets over that time.  Groff, a native of Raleigh, N.C., has scored two goals in each of her last three seasons, while registering five assists for 17 points.  She will be enrolled in the Duke Continuing Education Studies in the fall of 2024.

Graham has been a stalwart for Duke in the midfield since arriving on campus.  She has started 50-of-70 matches and seen action in over 4,700 minutes.  Graham, who is from Atlanta, Ga., is one of only 44 players in Blue Devil history to register at least one goal in each of her four seasons.  She has totaled eight goals, 10 assists and 26 points, while netting three game-winning goals.  Graham will be obtaining a Master of Public Policy at Duke in 2024.