DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University Women’s Soccer Head Coach Robbie Church announced the addition of six commitments for the 2009 campaign on Thursday.  Tara Campbell of Cincinnati, Ohio, Kim DeCesare of Massapequa Park, N.Y., Maddy Haller of South Salem, N.Y., Erin Koballa of Wrightsville Beach, N.C.,  Nicole Lipp of Lake Forest, Ill., and Callie Simpkins of Concord, N.C., will all attend Duke University in the fall and play soccer.

“We just graduated six outstanding young ladies, who have done nothing but just been spectacular in the classroom and on the field,” said Church.  “I’m overjoyed with the class that’s coming in to us next year. First of all, they are wonderful young ladies. All of them are really, really good people, and we’re excited to have them as part of Duke University. They are also all very good students, very unique in their academic endeavors here, and just unique individuals overall, so we’re excited about that. From a soccer standpoint, we are just overjoyed to be able to get these players into our program. We lost a lot of good players, but I think this group will help us continue along the same road that we’ve been on the last couple of years. Our goals are to play in the Final Four and play for national championships, and I think this group continues to help us reach our goals in all areas.”

A player-by-player listing is below:

Tara Campbell

5-8 * Goalkeeper * Cincinnati, Ohio * Archbishop McNicholas High School

Prep:  Played for Ohio Elite Soccer Academy where her team were six-time Ohio South State Champions from 2003-08 … named Tournament Most Valuable Player as part of the 2007 Super Y League National Championship team … played on the 2005-08 Midwest Regional League Championship team helping her team to a combined record of 32-0-4 … Ohio South State team member from 2004-07 … participated  in the ODP USYS Region II Regional Pool from 2006-08 … traveled with USYS Region II Team to Brazil in 2007 and France in 2008 … member of the Super Y League National Select Team in 2006, 2007 and 2008 … selected for the Super Y League Regional Team in 2007 … played and lettered for her high school team at Archbishop McNicholas High School during her freshman and sophomore seasons … named Most Valuable Player, Most Valuable Offensive Player, First Team All GGCL, and First Team All City as a sophomore forward … scored 16 goals and had five assists during her sophomore season … suffered a hip flexor avulsion fracture and was only able to play several games as a freshman.

Personal: Tara Lynn Campbell was born on October 5, 1990 in Cincinnati, Ohio … daughter of Tim and Lynn Campbell … her brother, Colin Campbell (19), is a student at Thomas More College … earned First Honors and Dean’s List honors every quarter in her time at McNicholas High School … member of the National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and National Math Honor Society.

Quoting Church On Campbell:

“Tara’s one of the top goalkeepers in the country. She has an outstanding kicking game and she’s going to be able to take kicks anywhere on the inside of our midfield. She’s a good shot-stopper, she’s good on crosses, and she’s good organizing the back line. We expect her to come in and have a great opportunity to have an immediate impact on our program.”

Kim DeCesare

5-10 * Defender * Massapequa Park, NY * Massapequa High School

Prep:  Named to the ESPN-Rise All-America first team … four-year letterwinner … a first-team All-State pick as a senior following fourth team honors as a junior … named to the All-Long Island Team as a senior … Newsday Long Island Player of the Year following her senior season … recipient of the Mike Clarke Award – Nassau County Player of the Year MVP in her final year … three-time All-County selection from 2006-08 … team captain for her senior season … as a senior, scored a career-high 17 goals in addition to notching seven assists while leading her Nassau County Championship team to a record of 16-1-3 … over her four-year career, led her team to four consecutive Nassau County Championships, including a state championship in her freshman year … scored seven goals and had five assists as a junior on a team with an overall record of 16-3-1 … as a sophomore, netted three goals and dished out seven assists … led her squad to a record of 13-5-1 … scored one goal as a freshman on the state championship team earning a record of 19-1 while being ranked sixth nationally and first in the state … played club soccer with the Massapequa Power from the under-10 level to the under-17 level … team captain of the Power from under-14 to under-17, while earning the title of state champions from 2002-06 and becoming a state finalist in 2007 … named to the ODP Regional Team for 2008-09 … played in the ODP inter-regional tournament in Mississippi in 2008 … Ryder Cup Semifinalist in 2007 during her time with the ODP State team of 2007-08 … named to the Long Island ODP Select team for 2005-06 … part of the CYO Swim team from 2002-09 where she excelled as a relay record holder and gold medal winner in the CYO finals.

Personal: Kimberly Mary DeCesare was born on August 11, 1991, in Bethpage, N.Y. … daughter of Bill and Anna DeCesare … has one younger brother, William (14) … her cousin, Steve Kachmar, played football at Siena in 2003 and CW Post in 2006 and 2007, while her cousin, Chris Kachmar, played football at Ithaca College in 2007 and 2008 … her uncle, Donald Christian, is a 1996 graduate of Duke … four-year member of the National Honor Society … member of the National Art Honor Society … NYS AHPERD Award (Outstanding Physical Education Student of the Year) recipient as a senior … looking to possibly pursue a career in sports medicine.

Quoting Church on DeCesare:

“Kim is going to give us a lot of versatility. She’ll probably get her first look as an outside defender here at Duke. She’s got great pace and she’s got great endurance; she can get up and down the line. Kim can play a number of different positions.  She’s played upfront before, as a wide player, as an outside midfielder. She’s good in the air and is very athletic. We’re excited to have Kim in our program and we think she’s going to bring a lot of intangibles with her.”

Maddy Haller

5-4 * Midfielder/Defender * South Salem, N.Y. * The Harvey School

Prep:  Named Boston Globe Independent School All-Star after netting 41 goals and having 11 assists as a senior … four-year letterwinner … three-year MVP from 2006-08 and MVP for the offense in 2005 … All-League honors for all four years of high school … team captain as a sophomore and a junior … led her team to a first place finish in the Hudson Valley Athletic League from 2006-08 and a second place finish in 2005 … following a freshman season of 20 goals and six assists, she scored 11 goals and had eight assists as a junior …collected 13 goals and 13 assists as a sophomore … led her ODP squad to a Peto Tournament Championship victory in 2004, the Disney Tournament finals in 2005, and Surf Cup finals in 2006 … her ‘90s club team, Albertson Fury, won the Jefferson Cup Championship in 2007 and was a Disney Tournament Finalist in 2008 … on the ‘90s Albertson Fury team, helped her team to a 2007 Disney Club Tournament Championship victory, a State Cup Championship win in 2006, NEWS Tournament Championship wins from 2006-08, and the State Cup Finals in 2007-08 … also lettered in lacrosse as a freshman and earned the title of team MVP.

Personal: Madison Marie Haller was born on June 10, 1991 in Mount Kisco, N.Y. … daughter of Christopher and Barbara Haller … has three brothers, Jason (27), Whiney (25), and Macky (19) … has one sister, Ashley (22), who played lacrosse at Widener University in 2004 … brother, Macky, played lacrosse at Rhode Island University in 2008 … recognized as a scholar-athlete in 2006 and received the Scholar Science Award in 2008 … member of Model United Nations … hopes to work at a veterinary clinic in the future.

Quoting Church on Haller:

“Maddy comes from a long line of Paul Riley players. She’s one like we had with Rebecca Moros, Lorraine Quinn, Cody Newman -- they’ve all come out of Paul Riley’s system. Maddy is very good on the ball and can beat you on the dribble.  She is able to play a number of different positions, too. Maddy can play as an attacking outside back, and get herself forward -- she’s good on the tackle. She can also play in the midfield; if we play three central midfielders, she’s good centrally. She’s able to connect passes, able to go forward and strike a ball up the dribble. So Maddie is a very smart player, she makes good decisions with the ball, and we’re just excited to have her.”

Erin Koballa

5-7 * Defender/Forward * Wrightsville Beach, NC * New Hanover High School

Prep:  A four-year letterwinner … NCSCA All-State in 2007 and 2008 … three-time NCSCA All-Region selection from 2006-08 … three-time NCSCA All-Conference selection from 2006-08 … Wilmington Star News Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008 … Charlotte Latin All-Tournament Team in 2006 and 2007 … team captain as a junior and senior … leading scorer as a sophomore with 17 goals and as a junior with 25 goals … has yet to play her senior season … as a junior, started all games while collecting 25 goals, 12 assists, and leading her team to an overall record of 14-6-2 … scored 17 goals, had five assists, and started every game during her sophomore season … led her squad to a 14-7-3 mark … started all of her games as a freshman at the center back defensive position scoring 15 goals and notching 12 assists … played for the ’90 Coastal Crew club team, which was US Club Soccer National Cup Champions, CASL Showcase Champions, R3PL, and attended the 2008 USYS Regionals in July of 2008 … named Adidas ESP All-Star in 2007 … member of the 1990 NCYSA ODP Team from 2005 to 2008 … attended the under-19 National Camp with the Region III Team in 2008 … SYL ODP National Camp attendee from 2004 to 2008 and chosen as a member of the SYL ODP National Select Team in 2007.

Personal: Erin Marie Koballa was born November 8, 1990 in Fayetteville, N.C. … daughter of Patrick and Cheryl Koballa … has one sister, Kasey (16) … a four-year member of the A-Honor Roll … member of the National Honor Society her junior and senior year … anticipates enrolling in pre-med studies at Duke.

Quoting Church on Koballa:

“We’re excited to have Erin’s athleticism in our program. That is one of the areas which, in order for us to continue as a program, we’ve got to continue to bring in players with great athleticism; and Erin has that. Along with her athleticism she is a very good competitor. She has a lot of versatility and she can either play up front for us, if we play in a three-front she’s a great wide player where she’s got good ability to break players down off the dribble, get crosses and services in. Or she can play in the back where her speed will come in handy at being able to run players down, a lot like what Kelly McCann did for us. Erin can play on either side; she’s both a right-footed player and a left-footed player.  She’s able to play with both feet, so she’s very versatile in that area. We think Erin’s going to come in and really make a major impact on our program early on.”

Nicole Lipp

5-9 * Midfielder * Lake Forest, Ill. * Lake Forest High School

Prep:  Selected to the Adidas Elite Soccer Program All-Star Team … NSCAA/Adidas All-Regional as a senior following her junior selection as a NSCAA/Adidas All-America … twice named to the Pioneer Press North Shore First Team as a freshman and a sophomore … also, earned numerous accolades including MVP, Silver Boot, Gold Boot, All-Conference selection and All-State Selection, in her two years lettering at Lake Forest High School during her freshman and a sophomore seasons … during these two years, netted 24 goals and 16 assists as a freshman and 22 goals and eight assists as a sophomore … ranked 26th in October of 2008 by EPSN Rise girl’s soccer list … has yet to play her senior season, but played her junior year with the club team, Eclipse Select … led Eclipse Select to a growing slate of championships garnering the titles of 2009 Disney Showcase Champions, 2008 USYS National Finalists, 2008 IYS State Cup Champions, 2008 Disney Showcase Champions, 2007 WAGS Champions, 2007 Mustang Stampede Champions, 2007 IYS State Cup Champions, 2007 Puma Cup Champions, 2007 State Cup Finalists, 2006 Puma Cup Champions, 2006 USYS National Champions, 2006 USYS Regional Champions, 2006 IYS State Cup Finalists, and 2006 Disney Showcase Champions … played on the Illinois Premier team earning the titles of 2005 IYSA State Cup Champions and 2005 USYS Regional Finalists … played on the ODP Illinois State Team 2003-09 and the Regional Team from 2004-09 … traveled with the ODP Regional team to California, Florida, Germany, France, Holland, and Brazil … placed in the National Team Pool in the under-15 and under-18 years of her career … also a very accomplished tennis player being nationally ranked in singles USTA tennis since age 12 … four-year letterwinner in tennis playing the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles while gathering numerous honors including All-State, All-Conference and All-Academic accolades.

Personal: Katherine Nicole Lipp was born November 6, 1990 in Darien, Conn. … daughter of Roman and Kathy Lipp … has one brother, Chris (20), and one sister, Maddie (14) … her father, Roman, played soccer at Dartmouth (1976-80) … four-year member of Student Council … member of National Honors Society Executive Committee … Honor Roll student.

Quoting Church on Lipp:

“Nicole is one of the top players in the country and we’re very excited to have her in our program. She’s very good both with her feet and in the air. Nicole is going to add a dimension that we’ve been looking for in our midfield for years.  Because of her height and ability to win balls in the air, she’s going to be very good on goal kicks for us and punts for goalkeepers. She’s also going to add a dimension where Ashley Rape helped us last year, on corner kicks and set plays. We can play through Nicole -- we can play into her feet -- and she can change her point of attack. She’s very precise of connecting passes, good with short balls, and opening the field up with longer balls into our forwards, so we’re very excited.”

Callie Simpkins

5-8 * Forward/Midfielder * Concord, N.C. * Northwest Cabarrus High School

Prep:  Ranked as a top 100 recruit for 2009 by topdrawersoccer.com … started at forward for the Carolina Dynamo of the W-League in the summer of 2008 ... All-America Nominee in her junior year after garnering All-South, All-State, All-Region, and Conference Player of the Year honors … team captain as a junior … Lettered three years at Northwest Cabarrus High School in Concord, N.C. and one year as a freshman at Tuscarora High School in Frederick, Md. … earned All-Conference honors her sophomore year … an All-Area selection as a freshman while leading her team to a Maryland 3A State Championship victory … has yet to play her senior season … as a junior, scored 29 goals … netted 20 goals as a sophomore and notched eight goals and had nine assists as a freshman … participated in Maryland ODP from 2003-05 and North Carolina ODP from 2006-08 … from 2007-09, played with Region III ODP … a Nike Premier 50 attendee … led her FC Carolina Alliance ‘89s team to the 2007 USYS N.C. State Cup semi-finals, 2007 NCYSA Premier League finals, a 2007 Adidas Charlotte Cup Championship victory, the 2006 Jefferson Cup finals, and recognition in the 2006 USYS Region III Premier League … also a three-year letter winner in basketball playing point guard … All-Conference honors in basketball as a junior team captain following receiving the Coach’s Award as a freshman.

Personal: Caroline Craven Simpkins was born April 5, 1991 in Frederick, Md. … daughter of Massie and Kathy Simpkins … has one sister, Emmy (18) who is a redshirt freshman goalkeeper on the Rutgers University soccer team … her grandfather, Billy Goodman, played baseball for the Boston Red Sox (1947-1957), Baltimore Orioles (1957) and the Chicago White Sox (1958-61) … he was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in November of 2004 and was the American League batting champ in 1950 with a .354 average … voted Homecoming Queen … an Honor Roll student and Outstanding Senior … was a contestant on the Discovery Channel series “Endurance-Tehachapi” when she was 14.

Quoting Church on Simpkins:

“Callie, like a lot of our players, can play a number of different positions. The one thing that stands out when you see Callie play is her aggressiveness; she’s a very, very aggressive player. We’ll probably look at her in the beginning as a forward force at Duke. We think she can play wide or central. Callie is very, very good in the air and she’s also excellent at going and finding balls that are short from the box. Those are two dimensions that are really exciting for us, because we’ve really been struggling to have those the last couple of years. Along with her aggressiveness and ability to play in the air, she can also slide back into a central midfield position where she’s very dominant at winning head-balls, as central midfielders do. From a defensive standpoint she will do a great job with us upfront, and when the ball turns over she will compete and she will pressure. Callie is a very versatile player, so it will be interesting for us to find a position for her where we feel that she will be comfortable and help our program, but we’re very excited to have her in our program.”

As a team, Duke advanced to the 2008 NCAA College Cup quarterfinals for the second straight year and notched 15 victories.  The Blue Devils finished No. 9 in the national rankings.

Duke will lose six seniors to graduation but return a solid nucleus in 2009 that includes leading scorers KayAnne Gummersall and Elisabeth Redmond to go along the following starters -- defender Gretchen Miller, Ashley Rape, midfielder Jane Alukonis, forward Cody Newman and midfielder Marybeth Kreger.  Also returning who started matches during the season are defender Meaghan FitzGerald, who started eight of the final 10 matches, and midfielder Kendall Bradley, who started six matches on the season.  Overall, Duke returns 16 student-athletes who saw action on the field in 2008.

“We go into every season with our goals to play in the Final Four and win national championships,” said Church.  “I think the returning group has done a fantastic job so far, understanding that we’ve advanced to the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons, but we still have a lot of work to do to get to that Final Four. They’ve done a great job with Coach [Jeff] Howser and a great job in the weight room up to this point.

“I think the new players coming in will add to the uniqueness in our program,” Church continued.”  Our key will be able to mesh the new players coming in with the returning players, and to find the best positions, because a lot of those players coming in are very versatile and can play a number of positions, so we have to find the best positions that we’re able to. I think we’re going to be very deep again, I think it’s been one of those things that’s been very, very successful over the past couple of years.

“We’ve been able to go 16, 17 players deep on the field and not have a drop-off.  We’ve sustained some injuries the last couple of years, and because of the depth of our roster, we have been able to continue the same level of play. I think one of the areas that’s going to be interesting, and one in which we’ve been blessed for the last four to five years, is with experienced goalkeepers.  We had Allison Lipsher, and then Cassidy Powers, who didn’t have as many minutes on the field coming into her senior year, but had been in our program for three years. This year coming into our program, we have two sophomores that did not play a lot of minutes during the regular season, but received in a lot of minutes during the springtime, as well as an incoming goalkeeper who we think very highly of, so I think that position will be very key for us.”