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#Duke postgame Women's College Cup press conference after losing to #UNC in the semifinals 3-0
Dec 7, 2024
Retiring Duke coach Robbie Church and player Maggie Graham talk about their season ending. #womenscollegecup
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0:24
this is the postgame press conference
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following semifinal number two on day
0:29
one the 2024 NCAA Women's College cup we
0:32
now joined by the Duke Blue Devils we
0:35
have with us head coach Robbie Church
0:37
along with student athlete Magie Graham
0:39
We Will begin with an opening statement
0:41
from coach followed by questions for our
0:42
student athlete once we're done with
0:44
that she'll be able to go and'll have
0:46
questions for Coach that
0:49
coach um first of all I'd like to
0:53
congratulate University of North
0:55
Carolina uh I thought they played a half
0:57
game they started off they started on
0:59
the front foot
1:01
and you know put us behind and it was uh
1:04
we we play catchup especially for the
1:07
the first 10 to 15 minutes so uh they
1:09
were they were better prepared they came
1:11
out they they did a great job um I would
1:14
like to take this time because I do
1:16
think that Damon nahas has done an
1:18
unbelievable job as their coach at
1:21
University of North Carolina um you know
1:24
he is molded a team taking a lot of new
1:27
players and he's got them in the
1:28
national championship game so you know I
1:31
I think he's done one of the best
1:32
coaching jobs in in the country um so
1:35
congratulations to them um you know
1:40
disappointing I think today for us
1:43
during a lot of the match I think
1:45
especially the early part of the match
1:46
it just did not look like who we were
1:49
and played how we play oh yeah we were
1:52
we typically start off on the front foot
1:55
we typically press well we just we were
1:58
just a behind on everything we were
2:00
hiding on first balls we're hiding on
2:02
second balls we're H we were hiding on
2:04
counter pressing we just and there was
2:06
space and they're good and they play you
2:08
know they were able to play through us
2:10
and you know we did get some rhythm in
2:12
the game towards the middle of the of
2:14
the first half and towards the end of
2:16
the end of the first half but we you
2:18
know we possessed and we made we would
2:20
make a bad decision we turn a ball over
2:22
they Counterattack and they got
2:24
transition we didn't do a great job in
2:25
transitioning and we found it in the
2:27
back of our net um you know so it just
2:30
you know most of the time we we didn't
2:32
we didn't let them we didn't make them
2:34
feel us we we were too far off and there
2:37
was the pressure um we just didn't do a
2:40
good job especially defensively
2:43
defensively and then in our decision
2:45
makings too so it was it was a rough it
2:48
was a rough night there was some good
2:49
patches but you know I do want to say
2:53
you know it it is one game and it's uh
2:55
it is a disappointing game but we had a
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heck of a year unbelievable aable year
3:01
um these young ladies gave for me this
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old man uh gave me so much fun so much
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uh it was so great to be around this
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group they worked so so hard all year
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long and you know I enjoyed every minute
3:18
it was very blessed in in my final
3:21
season here uh enjoyed every single
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minute so you know very very successful
3:27
this this game doesn't Define us very
3:29
successful season very proud of them
3:32
love him to death love them to death and
3:35
you know the future of of Duke soer Kier
3:38
in Hall Carl back the future Duke soer
3:41
is going to be very strong they're going
3:43
to take this programs to new heights and
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do an absolutely fantastic job with
3:48
it all right questions from Maggie in
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the back Maggie congratulations on a
3:54
great season um when you think about
3:56
everything that you've been through the
3:57
Blue Devil especially Church leaving you
4:01
what stands out about your relationship
4:03
with him especially now that his amazing
4:05
career has come to an end um I would say
4:08
that sticks out just I know Robbie's
4:09
going to be in my corner probably for
4:10
the rest of my life um he develops a
4:13
relationship with you off the field that
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he knows is going to last forever and I
4:16
think I've gotten to develop that
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relationship over five years so I'm
4:19
pretty lucky but I just know that he's
4:21
always going to be there for me and
4:23
every girl on the team
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so questions
4:30
can you talk to us about just how tough
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it is to face the same team for time
4:35
definitely challenging especially being
4:37
your rival it's definitely a little bit
4:38
more challenging too but I think it's
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just another game and today Carolina
4:43
outplayed us they deserve the win more
4:44
than we did and I think we just needed
4:46
to come in with more than we brought and
4:48
it just ended up being not our way but
4:51
it's definitely a difficult thing to do
4:52
but like playing any other game you just
4:54
got to go into it
4:57
so question
5:20
um I would say maybe different
5:22
formations people in different places
5:23
that's something I can notice at least
5:25
off the bat but I think in the first two
5:27
matches we played like ourselves and
5:29
played like Duke and we had confidence
5:31
and did that and in the second two
5:33
matches I think we lost ourselves in
5:34
both games and I think if you do that
5:37
the other the opponent has a chance to
5:38
step up and in both games UNCC did so I
5:41
think it really comes down to us more
5:42
than what they did and we didn't do what
5:44
we needed to do in those game so that
5:46
was kind of the difference at least in
5:47
my eyes maybe one more Magie Magie we
5:51
heard coach talk about what he expects
5:53
for the future you've been a part of
5:55
this program for five years obviously
5:57
that's the end what do you program
6:00
moving forward I know how much you put
6:01
into women soer I expect a whole ton I
6:05
think Robbie's right I think they're
6:06
going to bring it to new heights bring
6:07
it to new places I think we've
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cultivated something really strong this
6:11
year with what we created on and off the
6:13
ball and I think that's going to
6:15
continue to propel them in the future
6:16
and I think it's just going to bring
6:17
them more confidence going off of having
6:19
a great year into next year and
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hopefully having another great
6:23
one maybe one more Maggie do you have
6:25
any desire or wish to playwsl especially
6:29
draft is no more you kind of get to
6:30
choose where you want to sign if team
6:33
would want you definitely have the
6:34
desire I think we'll see what happens
6:36
but I hope that wasn't my last
6:38
game it will be it will be well thanks
6:43
guys all right thank you I'm Gonna Leave
6:44
The Jackie yeah take no take it with
6:46
I'll get bu I'll
6:49
get questions for
6:53
Coach the back coach congrats on a
6:57
fantastic to coverk thank you what about
7:01
this team this program has made this
7:04
work to be here for 24 years and why you
7:08
stuck around for so long yeah well first
7:11
of all I'm working at the best
7:12
university of the country with the with
7:14
the greatest people there and it's it's
7:17
a people's University oh Jesus sorry
7:21
that's my
7:22
son he was coming down to a final so
7:24
he's probably not happy right now um so
7:29
I mean I mean it it's wor the the people
7:32
are they're just unbelievable my
7:34
athletic directors that you know uh Joe
7:37
ala Kevin White Nina King that that I've
7:40
worked for I couldn't ask for a better
7:42
group Chris Kennedy has been my sports
7:44
supervisor for 24 seasons uh is is a
7:48
great great mentor our our assistant
7:51
coaches that we've had Billy irn you
7:54
know Kieran Kieran all the goalkeeper
7:57
coach Carlo Rebeca it's been there 30
7:59
years
8:00
30 years at the University and that's
8:01
that's how people they it do because of
8:04
everybody that's surround they're just
8:06
they're there for the student athletes
8:08
they're there to help those student
8:09
athletes develop on the field in the
8:12
classroom and as young ladies and it's
8:14
it's an it's environment that just that
8:17
I love that I that I want to be a part
8:19
of and you know Athletics is is
8:22
interesting as we all know right now
8:24
it's a it's a very interesting time in
8:26
athletics and it's just um I hope we
8:28
don't lose the fact that you know we're
8:31
still a university and there still
8:33
student athletes um that's a team over
8:35
there that has almost a 37 GPA is a as a
8:39
group as a group um you know so I just
8:43
I'm just Duke stands for everything that
8:45
I believe in and and there's nowhere
8:47
else I would ever like to to coach I've
8:50
just been very very blessed for the last
8:52
24
8:54
years Robbie the game kind of ticking
8:57
down in the final second did you allow
8:59
yourself to I know obviously the score
9:01
was what you wanted but did you allow
9:03
yourself to kind of soak in the final
9:04
moments what you think yeah I mean I
9:06
just I did think about a lot a lot of
9:09
the teams that we've had and a lot of
9:10
the players that we had I saw a lot of
9:12
players in the stands a lot of alumni in
9:14
the stands which was heartwarming I mean
9:17
um you know I just I just you know
9:19
unfortunately it's the score wasn't what
9:21
we wanted and but I don't want it to
9:24
take away from this year this was an
9:26
absolutely incredible incredible journey
9:29
um um you know not not many people have
9:32
written and said you know we were a team
9:34
that was 89 last year we weren't even a
9:36
winning team uh last year we and we've
9:39
suffered extremely a lot of injuries
9:42
this year and we've just had players
9:44
have stepped up every time different
9:46
players have stepped up and I I think we
9:48
just kind of ran a little bit out of g a
9:51
little bit out of gas but again I think
9:53
Carolina also callused a lot of that as
9:56
how they started the game and how they
9:57
started the game on the on the front
9:59
foot and we we had to chase the game uh
10:02
early and we were just we were two or
10:04
three steps behind the whole time and
10:06
you know once uh once we got the Rhythm
10:09
then you know the second goal was a
10:11
killer a little bit because we did we
10:13
were starting to develop the rhythm of
10:14
play and we were starting to develop and
10:16
and get in there in create some chances
10:19
but also El we lose a ball pass gets
10:22
played in then another pass goes over
10:23
top and I think Olivia Thomas go right
10:26
there she scored a goal and that was a
10:28
tough one that was a really tough
10:30
one off topic a couple hours ago coach
10:33
Del was in here and he spoke about his
10:35
relationship with you how often you guys
10:38
communicate and how much your
10:40
relationship with him means to him yeah
10:43
obviously you would prefer to be playing
10:44
him on Monday night how proud are you of
10:46
him and what will your message be to him
10:48
what you guys speak yeah um I actually
10:51
thought that was him yelling calling to
10:52
yell at me uh because he won't be happy
10:55
he he kept up his his end of the bargain
10:58
we didn't I didn't keep up my end of the
11:00
bargain I would hear that too so um no
11:03
I'm I'm very very proud of of Tony we
11:05
are very close and um you know we've
11:08
we've he's used our beach house before
11:11
and broke our washing machine and
11:12
flooded our house so you know we we've
11:15
done some uh make sure you ask him that
11:18
next time when he when he comes up so so
11:20
I am very very proud of him and uh you
11:22
know it's it's hard because also very
11:25
close with DAV this is this is an
11:27
unbelievable lead unbelievable coaches
11:31
and unbelievable people not just quality
11:35
coaching in this league but their
11:36
quality people in this league and it
11:38
it's also what makes it so fun to as we
11:41
talk about 24 seasons is the group of uh
11:44
coaches that are in in in the ACC we're
11:47
all pulling for each other but we we
11:50
fight hard on the day so uh we're very
11:52
happy and proud of of Tony and W forest
11:55
and wish them luck uh should be a he
11:58
heck of a match for you guys to to cover
12:00
maybe time for a couple more back coach
12:03
did you give any kind of message to
12:04
Karen I mean I know obviously it won't
12:06
be your last conversation but was like
12:08
hey this is your team now yeah it he it
12:11
is his team and he's going to do a
12:13
fantastic job you know I'm just so happy
12:17
you know and and I appreciate as I've
12:19
mentioned a number of times Vina King
12:21
and Chris Kennedy and Tom mine Heather
12:24
all our upper upper Administration is is
12:27
to do this early so we could work on
12:30
this all during the season and now that
12:32
the season ends he can just he can just
12:34
kind of roll with it not bringing a new
12:37
regime and we keep everybody in house
12:39
because there wasn't anything broken it
12:41
didn't need to be changed you know the
12:42
old guy need to go to the beach and the
12:44
rest of need to just they keep going
12:46
they're going to do really great
12:50
things coach congrats on Amazing career
12:53
just curious what made this year team so
12:55
special and different to all the other
12:56
teams coach that Duke yeah that's that's
12:58
a great question I I I think just the
13:02
drive the the drive the passion in the
13:05
girls every day coming to training every
13:08
day coming to to practice and and
13:11
wanting to get better they didn't want
13:12
to be a good team they wanted to be a
13:14
great team and they worked extremely
13:16
hard to to do that during the season so
13:20
you know and and they were they were
13:22
really really fun team we had a lot of
13:25
laughs we had a lot of good times off
13:26
the off the field and and Journey the
13:29
last you know I made this decision
13:32
probably about two weeks after the
13:33
season ended last year that this would
13:35
be my last season and and I could not
13:38
have asked for a a better year now maybe
13:41
I could changing score today but I could
13:44
not have asked for a better year um for
13:46
my players and I commment with it too so
13:49
I'm just I'm just so proud of how they
13:51
represented Duke University Duke
13:53
Athletics and Duke women
13:56
soccer coach thank you for your time
13:59
rations on a great season and even
14:00
better career thank you very
14:02
much thank you
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