Koskinen Stadium is the home of Duke University women’s soccer, one of the preeminent programs in the sport. It was also going to be where one of the most heralded prep players in the country was going to play her college soccer — until her path quickly changed.
Two years ago, one powerhouse school after another — North Carolina, Florida State, Santa Clara — was recruiting Riley Jackson. The midfielder from Roswell, Ga., was the Gatorade national high school player of the year as a sophomore. She co-captained the U.S. Under-17 team that captured the Concacaf title in 2022, winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. And more recently, she was a mainstay on the bronze medal-winning U.S. team in the Under-20 World Cup last fall.
At 17 years old, Jackson showed superb technical skills, a preternatural football IQ and a sense of time and space that made her a passer with few equals. Her abilities caught the eye of North Carolina Courage head coach Sean Nahas, who was on the U.S. coaching staff when he saw Jackson at a youth national camp and began to track her development. Nahas took over as head coach of the Courage in 2022 and invited her to train with the team in the summer.
Riley Jackson (second from the right) helped the U.S. capture bronze…
