Duke women’s soccer’s strong family connections help Blue Devils reinvigorate program

“Me,” Jenna and Emily Royson each blurted on a Zoom call when asked who is faster between the two, highlighting the competitive streak in the sisters-turned-teammates from New Jersey. They’ve rarely competed in games against each other — and still disagree on who is faster — but that competitive fire emerged during workout runs.

“Someone would go past the other,” Jenna said, “and then we’d get mad, like, ‘What are you trying to prove?’ We’re just starting our own fight.”

With Jenna joining the Duke women’s soccer program as a graduate student after four standout years at Georgetown, the Blue Devils now sport two sets of sisters on the roster with fellow graduate student Delaney Graham and her sister, Maggie, a junior.

The extra season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed Jenna and Emily to play together for the first time since high school, when Emily was playing defense and Jenna was a forward. They’re best friends and are excited to see if that connection can translate to the field.

“I’m definitely harder on her when I’m watching her play,” Emily said with a laugh. “Like, ‘Why did you do that?’ Very critical. But if someone fouls her, I’ll get really mad.”

Jenna added: “It’s that intense sibling relationship. You’re trying to bring each other up. You’re trying to make each other better. But then also, like, you’re so defensive and protective over them.”

Familiar territory

The Graham sisters, meanwhile, have already lived the Roysons’ newfound adventure. The sisters from Atlanta, Georgia had what some might consider the pinnacle of a sibling soccer experience during the 2021 NCAA tournament against Memphis.

Maggie received a pass and found Delaney bolting up the field. Delaney took the pass, splitting the defenders before burying a shot in the left side of the goal. Not only was it a sisterly connection, but also the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win that sent the Blue Devils to the Sweet 16. Though it was a dream for Delaney, she envisions connecting with her sister for a score during a national championship game.

“Delaney is probably one of the most competitive people we’ve ever had in this program,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said. “And they’ll both push each other, and when Delaney sometimes doesn’t think Maggie’s not playing hard enough, she’ll go at her, she’ll go at her hard.”

On the field, they have a special intuition of what the other one is thinking and the movement they’re about to make, yet off the field is where there bond is more prevalent.

“It’s like having someone that is on your team and they’re going through the same things as you, but you can go to them with anything that you probably can’t go to your other teammates with, or other people who don’t understand soccer or stuff like that,” Maggie said. “It’s a little bit of an outlet, who really understands what you’re going through.”

Team becomes family

After a couple of down seasons, Church reached out to the players on the team, to assistant coaches Kieran Hall and Carla Overbeck, and to alumni, looking to define the program’s identity.

Through the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, the Duke soccer team transformed. In the 2019 season, the Blue Devils struggled, stumbling to a 9-4-7 record (3-1-6 in ACC). There was talent on the team, but not the togetherness needed to win games.

The values — which include accountability, family and authenticity — shaped the future of the program, which has compiled a 28-9-5 record since then.

“During COVID, we were kind of forced to only be with each other because that’s kind of how it had to be just in terms of not risking exposure,” Maggie said. “You had to become a family and yes, sometimes it was a little bit annoying but that’s kind of just how family is.”

Maggie and Delaney are close. After graduation, Delaney was unsure about returning to Duke because they didn’t offer the graduate programs she wanted.

But, she changed her way of thinking. Her urge to return wasn’t solely academic, it’s about capitalizing on the time she has with her sister and teammates.

“Another thing about having her here, off the field, is she’s my best friend,” Delaney said. “I think at times, and it’s been a little difficult for our team to connect like in-between classes, the girls within each class always get super close.

“Sometimes it’s a little harder for girls in different classes to get as close, and having Maggie here not only has provided me with like a best friend outside of my class, but it also has allowed my class and her class to become a lot closer.”