Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at Florida State on October 29, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Women's Soccer
at Florida State
Photo by: Duke Athletics
10/22/2026 2:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.-- As Duke women's soccer prepares to celebrate senior day Saturday, Oct. 24, eight Blue Devils -- Cameron Roller, Mia Minestrella, Phoebe Goldthwaite, Kaeden Koons-Perdikis, Bianca Dominguez, Sam Bodensteiner, Mia Oliaro and Madison Foxhoven -- reflect on the memories, challenges and friendships that have shaped their time at Duke.Â
Before every game, they write the number eight on their wrists.
The ritual began during their freshman season. Four years later, the number remains a reminder of the bond they have built through preseason workouts, road trips, shared meals and the countless memories they have collected along the way.
With senior day approaching on Saturday against NC State, the group is preparing to close one chapter of its Duke experience. But while their time together on the field is drawing to a close, the eight student-athletes have no intention of leaving their friendship behind.
"We write the number eight on our wrist before games, just because there's eight of us," Foxhoven said. "But we started that freshman year and we've kept that until now, which is nice."
When the players arrived at Duke, some already knew one another through club soccer and national team experiences. Others, including Bodensteiner, arrived without knowing anyone. The group initially formed smaller circles and not everyone immediately found common ground.
"Me and Cam hated each other," Goldthwaite said with a laugh, recalling her early relationship with Roller.
A Bond Built Over Time
For approximately the first month on campus, the freshmen largely remained in their respective groups. Their strong personalities and opinions, which eventually became part of what made their friendship special, initially made it more difficult to find their footing together.
That began to change through the shared experiences of college soccer. Summer classes, preseason training, meals and road trips gradually brought the players closer. Roller remembers the freshmen becoming increasingly loud on away-trip bus rides, laughing together until the rest of the team grew annoyed.
Koons-Perdikis believes those differences ultimately helped strengthen the group.
"We all have very big personalities," Koons-Perdikis said. "It wasn't, like, a click at first, because we all have very strong opinions. I think that's what has bonded us in the end."
After a disappointing freshman campaign, the class had a shared understanding of what it wanted to change. The experience became a benchmark for the seasons that followed, as the players learned from those ahead of them and eventually passed those lessons on to younger teammates.
For Dominguez, the difficult beginning remains an important part of the group's story.
"That was the benchmark of how we never wanted to experience that again," Dominguez said. "I think we were all so bought into that."
The lessons extended beyond the results on the field. Koons-Perdikis believes the class learned to be honest with one another, hold one another accountable and consistently show up for their teammates.
"I think we've really built that between our class and really instilled that in the team of showing what it means to show up for one another," Koons-Perdikis said. "I think that's a big reason why we've done well."
That shared commitment has accompanied Duke's rise from the seniors' freshman season to back-to-back NCAA College Cup appearances. The seniors have experienced the program's development firsthand, contributing to a culture they hope will continue long after they graduate.
Off the Field
The players have traveled together every spring break since their freshman year, spent winter breaks together and consistently found ways to live near one another. Their campus routines have changed, from meals at Trinity Cafe as freshmen to gatherings at the Federal during their senior year, but their desire to spend time together has remained constant.
Koons-Perdikis describes that commitment simply -- they make time for one another because they want to be together.
Foxhoven remembers one moment from their freshman year that captured just how quickly their friendship had developed. As the players prepared to leave campus for Thanksgiving, they realized they would spend several days apart.
"We all were crying to not be with each other for literally three days," Foxhoven recalled.
The older players were bewildered by their reaction. The freshmen, having spent nearly every day together during the opening months of college soccer, could not imagine a few days apart.
For birthdays, the players gather for dinner at a restaurant chosen by the person being celebrated. Around the table, each teammate shares something she appreciates about the birthday girl, from a personal quality to the way she contributes to the group.
They also maintain a shared note in the Notes app documenting their memories, from major milestones to seemingly insignificant moments that might otherwise be forgotten.
"It's literally this ongoing Notes app of everything that we have done," Roller said. "It's going to be pretty funny to be able to have that and look back on basically all the memories that we have together."
A Family That Embraces Differences
Before officially beginning her time at Duke, Oliaro remembers visiting during a difficult period in her life. Although she barely knew the other players, she felt welcomed by the group as they spent time together, asked her questions and shared a meal.
"To feel that sort of love from eight girls that I had never really met before, it gave me so much hope and excitement," Oliaro said. "I feel like I've felt that every single day since."
Those seemingly ordinary moments have become part of what makes the relationship so meaningful. The players have learned about one another's families, personal challenges and individual journeys, developing a connection that extends beyond their identities as athletes.
Minestrella has seen that connection in the way the group responds to its differences. Despite disagreements and occasional arguments, she said the players have learned to accept one another and remain committed to supporting each other.
"I think we always come together and find a way to support each other," Minestrella said. "I think we have come to love everyone's differences, and kind of not let it divide us, and just basically, just to accept who everyone is for who they are, and just constantly, unconditionally love and support one another."
Minestrella also pointed to Koons-Perdikis and her family's connection to Duke as an example of the individual stories that have brought the class closer. Koons-Perdikis' mother attended Duke, giving Koons-Perdikis the opportunity to experience the same campus while developing her own academic and personal identity.
Minestrella said she admires how Koons-Perdikis has embraced that family history while making her Duke experience her own.
Their families have grown close, too. The players' mothers maintain a group chat called "Duke Mamas," while family gatherings and tailgates have created opportunities for parents to build friendships of their own.
Beyond Duke
Now, as graduation approaches, the seniors are beginning to consider what life will look like when they are no longer sharing a campus, a locker room or a daily routine.
Roller acknowledges that the transition is difficult to imagine. Finding a group of people with whom she shares such a strong connection has been a gift, but it also makes the prospect of leaving more emotional.
Oliaro, however, is confident that the friendship will continue. The group is already discussing a senior trip in December and plans to reunite in the years ahead.
"We all know that we're going to be in each other's weddings and we're going to be a part of this family forever," Oliaro said.
Bodensteiner expects that making time for one another will remain a priority, even after the players' schedules and careers take them in different directions.
"I feel like we'll definitely make an effort to plan trips after we graduate, so I think that'll be a thing we'll always do," Bodensteiner said.
For the players, the number eight represents more than the members of a graduating class. It represents the time they spent learning to understand one another, the challenges they faced together and the relationships they chose to keep building.
Their Duke careers will eventually come to an end. The memories in their shared note will remain, as will the plans for future trips, reunions and celebrations.
And when the eight players look down at their wrists before a game, they will see a reminder of what they have built together: a sisterhood that began with eight teammates and became something much bigger than soccer.
All eight seniors will be recognized at approximately 4:50 p.m. Saturday, prior to Duke's contest against NC State at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.
Although the seniors will be honored Saturday, the Blue Devils know they have plenty of soccer left to play and more memories to add to their shared note. Duke has three remaining regular-season contests and hopes to make another trip to the NCAA College Cup.
#GoDuke
Â
Before every game, they write the number eight on their wrists.
The ritual began during their freshman season. Four years later, the number remains a reminder of the bond they have built through preseason workouts, road trips, shared meals and the countless memories they have collected along the way.
With senior day approaching on Saturday against NC State, the group is preparing to close one chapter of its Duke experience. But while their time together on the field is drawing to a close, the eight student-athletes have no intention of leaving their friendship behind.
"We write the number eight on our wrist before games, just because there's eight of us," Foxhoven said. "But we started that freshman year and we've kept that until now, which is nice."
When the players arrived at Duke, some already knew one another through club soccer and national team experiences. Others, including Bodensteiner, arrived without knowing anyone. The group initially formed smaller circles and not everyone immediately found common ground.
"Me and Cam hated each other," Goldthwaite said with a laugh, recalling her early relationship with Roller.
A Bond Built Over Time
For approximately the first month on campus, the freshmen largely remained in their respective groups. Their strong personalities and opinions, which eventually became part of what made their friendship special, initially made it more difficult to find their footing together.
That began to change through the shared experiences of college soccer. Summer classes, preseason training, meals and road trips gradually brought the players closer. Roller remembers the freshmen becoming increasingly loud on away-trip bus rides, laughing together until the rest of the team grew annoyed.
Koons-Perdikis believes those differences ultimately helped strengthen the group.
"We all have very big personalities," Koons-Perdikis said. "It wasn't, like, a click at first, because we all have very strong opinions. I think that's what has bonded us in the end."
After a disappointing freshman campaign, the class had a shared understanding of what it wanted to change. The experience became a benchmark for the seasons that followed, as the players learned from those ahead of them and eventually passed those lessons on to younger teammates.
For Dominguez, the difficult beginning remains an important part of the group's story.
"That was the benchmark of how we never wanted to experience that again," Dominguez said. "I think we were all so bought into that."
The lessons extended beyond the results on the field. Koons-Perdikis believes the class learned to be honest with one another, hold one another accountable and consistently show up for their teammates.
"I think we've really built that between our class and really instilled that in the team of showing what it means to show up for one another," Koons-Perdikis said. "I think that's a big reason why we've done well."
That shared commitment has accompanied Duke's rise from the seniors' freshman season to back-to-back NCAA College Cup appearances. The seniors have experienced the program's development firsthand, contributing to a culture they hope will continue long after they graduate.
Off the Field
The players have traveled together every spring break since their freshman year, spent winter breaks together and consistently found ways to live near one another. Their campus routines have changed, from meals at Trinity Cafe as freshmen to gatherings at the Federal during their senior year, but their desire to spend time together has remained constant.
Koons-Perdikis describes that commitment simply -- they make time for one another because they want to be together.
Foxhoven remembers one moment from their freshman year that captured just how quickly their friendship had developed. As the players prepared to leave campus for Thanksgiving, they realized they would spend several days apart.
"We all were crying to not be with each other for literally three days," Foxhoven recalled.
The older players were bewildered by their reaction. The freshmen, having spent nearly every day together during the opening months of college soccer, could not imagine a few days apart.
For birthdays, the players gather for dinner at a restaurant chosen by the person being celebrated. Around the table, each teammate shares something she appreciates about the birthday girl, from a personal quality to the way she contributes to the group.
They also maintain a shared note in the Notes app documenting their memories, from major milestones to seemingly insignificant moments that might otherwise be forgotten.
"It's literally this ongoing Notes app of everything that we have done," Roller said. "It's going to be pretty funny to be able to have that and look back on basically all the memories that we have together."
A Family That Embraces Differences
Before officially beginning her time at Duke, Oliaro remembers visiting during a difficult period in her life. Although she barely knew the other players, she felt welcomed by the group as they spent time together, asked her questions and shared a meal.
"To feel that sort of love from eight girls that I had never really met before, it gave me so much hope and excitement," Oliaro said. "I feel like I've felt that every single day since."
Those seemingly ordinary moments have become part of what makes the relationship so meaningful. The players have learned about one another's families, personal challenges and individual journeys, developing a connection that extends beyond their identities as athletes.
Minestrella has seen that connection in the way the group responds to its differences. Despite disagreements and occasional arguments, she said the players have learned to accept one another and remain committed to supporting each other.
"I think we always come together and find a way to support each other," Minestrella said. "I think we have come to love everyone's differences, and kind of not let it divide us, and just basically, just to accept who everyone is for who they are, and just constantly, unconditionally love and support one another."
Minestrella also pointed to Koons-Perdikis and her family's connection to Duke as an example of the individual stories that have brought the class closer. Koons-Perdikis' mother attended Duke, giving Koons-Perdikis the opportunity to experience the same campus while developing her own academic and personal identity.
Minestrella said she admires how Koons-Perdikis has embraced that family history while making her Duke experience her own.
Their families have grown close, too. The players' mothers maintain a group chat called "Duke Mamas," while family gatherings and tailgates have created opportunities for parents to build friendships of their own.
Beyond Duke
Now, as graduation approaches, the seniors are beginning to consider what life will look like when they are no longer sharing a campus, a locker room or a daily routine.
Roller acknowledges that the transition is difficult to imagine. Finding a group of people with whom she shares such a strong connection has been a gift, but it also makes the prospect of leaving more emotional.
Oliaro, however, is confident that the friendship will continue. The group is already discussing a senior trip in December and plans to reunite in the years ahead.
"We all know that we're going to be in each other's weddings and we're going to be a part of this family forever," Oliaro said.
Bodensteiner expects that making time for one another will remain a priority, even after the players' schedules and careers take them in different directions.
"I feel like we'll definitely make an effort to plan trips after we graduate, so I think that'll be a thing we'll always do," Bodensteiner said.
For the players, the number eight represents more than the members of a graduating class. It represents the time they spent learning to understand one another, the challenges they faced together and the relationships they chose to keep building.
Their Duke careers will eventually come to an end. The memories in their shared note will remain, as will the plans for future trips, reunions and celebrations.
And when the eight players look down at their wrists before a game, they will see a reminder of what they have built together: a sisterhood that began with eight teammates and became something much bigger than soccer.
All eight seniors will be recognized at approximately 4:50 p.m. Saturday, prior to Duke's contest against NC State at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium.
Although the seniors will be honored Saturday, the Blue Devils know they have plenty of soccer left to play and more memories to add to their shared note. Duke has three remaining regular-season contests and hopes to make another trip to the NCAA College Cup.
#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Soccer
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/ Women's Soccer
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/ Women's Soccer
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/ Women's Soccer
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/ Women's Soccer
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/ Women's Soccer
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