Finding Her Place: Vapensky Thrives Between the Posts at Duke

A product of Roswell, Ga., Riley Jackson is in her third season with the North Carolina Courage. Once a Duke women's soccer commit, Jackson signed with the Courage as a 17-year-old in high school. A former No. 1-ranked recruit nationally, she was the 2021-22 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Jackson will continue serving as a contributing writer throughout the 2026 season, telling stories about the Duke women's soccer program.

DURHAM, N.C.-- Duke sophomore Molly Vapensky developed a knack for scoring goals at an early age. Now, every time she steps on the pitch, her primary objective is to keep a clean sheet. Her unexpected transition from forward to goalkeeper began at age 11 when she volunteered to fill in during a match. After a standout performance as a first-time goalkeeper, highlighted by a crucial penalty kick save that helped her team win the game, Vapensky knew that she had found her place between the posts.
Molly Vapensky

"Growing up playing soccer, I loved scoring goals; my plan was never to be a goalkeeper," said Vapensky. "When you are young, they usually throw the tall girl in there. Around U-11, there was a game where our goalkeeper wasn't there, so our coach asked for a volunteer to go in and I thought that I might as well try it. I think I saved a penalty kick and we ended up winning. I remember it was an amazing feeling and I knew from then on that I wanted to be a goalkeeper."

As her club career gained momentum, Vapensky attracted interest from collegiate scouts. Once she landed on Duke's radar, her interest in the program quickly surged, and a series of campus visits and ID clinics cemented her desire to become a Blue Devil. After making this decision, her club soccer experience became less traditional. Vapensky enrolled in online high school and furthered her development on the pitch by training with various professional clubs, including the Kansas City Current of the NWSL, and signing a short-term contract with the Carolina Ascent of the USL Super League. Challenging herself in these environments before arriving at Duke prepared her for the demands of playing collegiate soccer.

"A pro environment is very high level and very intense. It was not easy going into them at 16, 17 years old, but I think that it taught me a lot and helped me develop," said Vapensky. "The pace is so much faster and the expectations are so much higher. Going into those environments at a young age helped prep me for what Duke would be like in terms of intensity and speed of play."

Vapensky's experience with the U.S. youth national teams further prepared her for the demands of collegiate soccer. Through winning two Concacaf championships at the U-15 and U-17 levels and earning a bronze medal at the U-17 World Cup in 2024, Vapensky has gained valuable experience competing under pressure on the international stage. Her time with the national team also allowed her to build relationships with several players who would later join her on Duke's backline, giving her an early connection with her future teammates.

"My experience with the youth national teams taught me a lot about playing in high-pressure situations. It teaches you to deal with the pressure when you have a lot of people who are depending on you," said Vapensky. "At Duke, I get to play with three of my teammates who played on the national team with me: Daya [King], Jocelyn [Travers] and Lexi [Coughlin]. We have known each other since we were 14 or 15 years old, and playing together for so long has helped us develop such a great relationship. Our connection has really paid off on the field."

Lexi Coughlin, Daya King, Jocelyn Travers, Molly Vapensky

Lexi Coughlin, Daya King, Jocelyn Travers, Molly Vapensky

Vapensky's freshman season was one characterized by patience and growth. While she was eager to make an immediate impact at Duke, she instead spent much of her first year in a reserve role, seeing action in one match. Rather than viewing the experience as a setback, she used it as an opportunity to learn and prepare for her chance to contribute. This year, she has stepped into a starting role with confidence, crediting her teammates for pushing her and believing in her ability to succeed.

"When I arrived at Duke, I would have loved to have hit the ground running and start playing right away. But what you want is not always what happens," said Vapensky. "That time was frustrating for me, but it gave me time to step back and develop as a player and grow as a person. I learned to not take playing for granted and I realized how much I love to do it. This realization made me work even harder. I also learned how to be a better teammate and best support my teammates no matter what their role on the team is. These learnings have helped me to be where I am today."

"It has been really exciting to get the opportunity to start and be on the field this year. I think a lot of my success right now is a lot in part to my teammates for pushing me, believing in me, and supporting me on and off the field," said Vapensky.

Duke head coach Kieran Hall described Vapensky as a sponge, emphasizing her eagerness to learn and absorb new information. Her commitment to continuous improvement and consistent approach have proven to be key contributors to her success on the pitch.

"Molly has shown such an incredible mindset. She's been incredibly consistent from day to day and week to week," said Hall. "She has such a growth mindset and wants to improve. Whenever you have a growth mindset, you have a chance at succeeding and earning opportunities, and she has been a sponge on a daily basis. I think what we have seen is a young player that has earned an opportunity and has really taken it."

Vapensky wants to continue to develop her game in possession, emphasizing the importance in modern goalkeeping of picking out passes and distributing the ball with pinpoint accuracy.

"For me, a big area of growth has been my ability with my feet. So much of modern goalkeeping is your ability to distribute and make passes and plays," said Vapensky. "I would say that about 90 percent of what I do in a game is with my feet, and coming into college, that was something that I needed to work on."

Having a "goldfish" mentality has been critical for Vapensky in handling pressure and recovering from mistakes. She stays composed and performs at her best by learning from adversity and relying on her backline for support.

"It is kind of cliché, but like the 'Ted Lasso' quote says, you have to be a goldfish," said Vapensky. "You have to take the game one moment at a time, and if you make a mistake, you put it in your back pocket to revisit later. I take certain moments that I know that I cannot change immediately. I move on, but make sure I learn from them and ensure that I don't do it again during the game. My relationship with the backline, and in particular Cam [Roller] and Daya, has been instrumental in helping me during games. If I make a mistake, they uplift me and help me to move on, move forward, and keep going."
Molly Vapensky, Cameron Roller

In the closing moments of the Blue Devils' match against Old Dominion, Vapensky showcased her composure, snatching a lofted ball from the air and quickly starting the counterattack that led to Katie Shea Collins' game-winning goal, earning Vapensky the first point of her career.

"I remember that ball getting played in from the free kick and I knew that it was mine. I got it, landed, looked up, saw Phoebe [Goldthwaite] and thought, 'What do we have to lose?'" said Vapensky. "I know that Phoebe can handle the ball well, so I threw it up to her. She did a great job of bringing it down and getting it to Katie Shea, who ended up scoring. It was a really fun moment."

Since arriving at Duke, Vapensky has worked closely with goalkeeper coach Evan Gaffney to refine her skills and prepare for her role on the pitch. The goalkeeper union as a whole provides a healthy dynamic of support, fun and competition.

"Evan has been a big part of my journey; him and the whole goalkeeper union that we have here at Duke," said Vapensky. "We push each other to get better every single day while still having fun. But huge credit to Evan for helping me identify areas where I need to grow and helping me, whether that be in film sessions or on the field."

"Molly has exemplified what it means to be a goalkeeper at Duke," said Gaffney. "She has worked tirelessly on her craft over the last year and a half and has started to find her level, but she still has more to grow. I am so excited for her to see what she can really do by continuing to develop and continue to bring that work ethic to training every day. She has been an absolute joy to coach and to watch grow too."

All her hard work has paid off on the pitch this season for Vapensky. She has started all 14 matches in 2026 and recorded four shutouts. Vapensky, who hails from Evanston, Illinois, has helped the Blue Devils record three shutouts over their last five matches. She is coming off a performance in which she matched her career high of five saves against NC State. Vapensky's four shutouts in ACC action currently lead the conference.

A passion for learning drives Vapensky to take advantage of all that Duke has to offer in terms of academic opportunities. While she hopes to play professional soccer, she is equally committed to making a meaningful impact beyond the pitch. With a current focus on environmental science, Vapensky hopes to pursue an engineering degree.

"I love school. I am really passionate about environmental stuff and community service," said Vapensky. "I want to play soccer professionally, but after I do that or even during, I want to make a difference with the work that I do. In the future, I want to go back to school and become a civil engineer and try to make a difference in that field as well."

Vapensky and the sixth-ranked Blue Devils will next travel to Tallahassee, Florida, to face Florida State Thursday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m., live on ACC Network.

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