DURHAM, N.C. – Duke rising sophomore Taylor Racioppi has elected to not pursue a spot on the United States U-20 World Cup roster and will be with the Blue Devils for the 2016 women's soccer campaign, which she announced Thursday.  

Racioppi, one of the most experienced players competing for a spot on the U-20 World Cup roster, made the very tough decision to remain in school.  With the U-20 World Cup taking place from Nov. 13 through Dec. 13 in Papua New Guinea, those players participating will have to redshirt due to training and practice requirements with US Soccer leading up to the tournament. 

"I've decided to stay enrolled at Duke for the fall 2016 semester and not pursue a spot on the U-20 Women's National Team for the U-20 World Cup,” commented Racioppi.  “With this decision, I will not redshirt for the 2016 college soccer season. I've come to this decision because of academic reasons and what I feel is best for me at this time. I've put a great deal of thought into this -- speaking with coaches, my parents, and everyone involved. Obviously, this was a very difficult decision to make and not one that I took lightly at all. Nonetheless, I am very excited for classes this fall and the upcoming season with Duke women's soccer."

A product of Ocean Township, N.J., Racioppi has a wealth of international experience as she competed in the 2014 World Cup in Canada and has been with the U-20 National Team in the latest camps in Papua New Guinea and La Manga, Spain.  She also saw action with the U-18, U-17 and U-15 national teams.  

The midfielder was an All-ACC Academic Team selection as a rookie and has been accepted into Duke's College Athlete Pre-Medical Experience (CAPE) program recently.  Missing the 2016 fall semester would have put Racioppi behind in her classes and she would not have been able to graduate on time or early as a senior.  

Racioppi earned TopDrawerSoccer.com All-Freshman Best XI, NSCAA All-Regional and All-ACC Freshman accolades as a rookie with the Blue Devils in 2015.  She notched a team-high 20 points to go along with seven goals and six assists, while also registering a team-best 86 shots.  Racioppi's six assists ranked tied for sixth and her seven goals are tied for 13th on the Duke freshman record books.  She led the squad with four game-winning goals and started 24-of-25 matches as a rookie.  

Duke returns 10 of 11 starters coming off its squad that advanced to the NCAA Championship match, before falling, 1-0, to Penn State.  The Blue Devils totaled a 14-6-5 overall record, which included an 8-2-2 mark over their final 12 matches.  Head coach Robbie Church and the Blue Devils will feature one of his deepest squads in school history as Duke will also welcome the fourth-rated recruiting class in the nation in 2016.  

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