For the fourth time in program history, the Duke women’s soccer team are ACC Regular Season Champions. On Sunday, October 27, the No. 1 ranked Blue Devils went on the road and knocked off No. 2 ranked Wake Forest, 2-0, in front of a record crowd of 3,761 fans.
Duke freshman forward Sophia Recupero of Hopkinton has made her presence felt throughout the season; she’s featured in 10 of 15 games and seen significant minutes against Boston College, Louisville and Missouri. She opened her scoring account against East Tennessee State and added one more goal against BC on October 19.
Recupero’s biggest test of the season comes this Thursday, when the Blue Devils face crosstown rival University of North Carolina, and Recupero meets up with her former teammate and close friend, Caitlin Mara.
Mara and Recupero were teammates and classmates at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge. Both girls were All-Americans their senior year and co-captains of the team. Mara, a 5-10 staunch defender, has contributed to the Tar Heels’ 14-3 record, and the team has allowed just 0.82 opponent goals per game.
“We were very close friends all throughout high school,” said Recupero. “We were on the same club team and high school team, so all year round we were together playing soccer and in the same work environment too. We were with each other all the time.”
On matching up against her former teammate: “It’s definitely an interesting feeling after we’ve played together so long and won so many games together,” said Recupero. “It’s an adjustment, but we’re both very competitive too, so it’s a cool experience to be able to go up against her. And obviously the Duke-UNC rivalry is something we’ve never experienced before, so I think for both of us it’s just at a different level now.”
Recupero is a household name in Hopkinton soccer circles, with younger sister Madison leading the Hillers to a third consecutive TVL Championship, and younger brother William is a member of U-15 US National Team.
Sophia is quick to note that even though she’s one of three elite athletes in the same family, her drive comes from her siblings .
“My parents are passionate about soccer but never directly told us to go practice,” she said. “I think it’s just how we grew up. We all push each other. I think the fact that my siblings and I are all pretty close in age and have similar interests really helped. This was especially true during Covid too. That was the time when we couldn’t do anything else, so we focused on each other and on what we all enjoyed.”
Recupero plans to major in Economics, and calls attending Duke “a dream”.
“I’m surrounded by some of the best players in the country, and for that I’m super grateful, because not only is it so amazing to be able to see them play, it also it helps me and the rest of my teammates improve,” she said.
Duke and UNC match up on Thursday, October 31 at 7:00 PM. The game will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra.
