Quinn, Gibbons return to Duke women's soccer after competing at FIFA U20 Women's World Cup

Rebecca Quinn grew up going to soccer matches in Toronto’s National Soccer Stadium. On August 5, she set foot on the field herself as a member of Team Canada.

Quinn competed for Canada at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, held in her home country this month. She wasn’t the only Blue Devil participating in the tournament—fellow sophomore Christina Gibbons played on the back line for the United States. Both teams advanced past the opening stage to the quarterfinals, but Quinn and Team Canada fell to Germany 2-0, and Gibbons and Team USA were eliminated by North Korea on penalties.

“Representing your country is one thing, and then doing it at home is another,” said Quinn, whose family and high school friends were on hand to watch her play her first two games in Toronto. ”It's been like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I don't know too many people who get to experience that. Taking in the atmosphere has been amazing.”

Quinn’s route to the U20 national team had been in the works for a while. The group had been having camps every month or two for the last year and a half, with a new grouping of players brought in to each camp. The goal was to make as many camps as possible, and when the final roster was announced at the beginning of July—just a month before the tournament began—Quinn had earned herself a slot.

Gibbons had flown under the radar until February, when she was invited to a Team USA camp for the first time. She said she felt she on the edge of making or not making the team, but at the end of the team’s final camp she was brought into the coach’s office and given the good news.

“Before [the meeting] I guess I was nervous, of course you always want to make the roster but it wouldn't be the worst thing going back to Duke either,” Gibbons said. “So I was nervous and excited, but then when I found out I was really excited and called all my family and my friends because I couldn't keep it in. I had to tell someone.”

The defender from Raleigh watched from the sidelines as the United States dropped its opening match to Germany, but was inserted into the starting lineup for the next match, a must-win contest against Brazil. Gibbons helped anchor the American defense as the U.S. won its next two games to advance to the quarterfinals. Gibbons played every minute of the two victories and the quarterfinal loss.

“We're going to figure that out, I think our girls understand that,” Church said. “It's going to be a process, they're going to have to get back in our system. It's not just a physical process, it's a mental process.”

Although it might take a little time for Quinn and Gibbons to mesh with the Duke system and the new faces on the roster, those short-term costs could pay big dividends in the long run. The pair were freshmen on last year’s team that reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, and will draw on their experience playing with their national teams as they look to take the Blue Devils back to the Final Four.

“I think that playing in international in an international competition environment is different [from college], and the pressures of playing in the World Cup are easily related to the NCAA tournament,” Quinn said. “Being able to deal with that, being in a tournament situation is really good experience for me coming back to Duke.”