DURHAM, N.C.– The Duke women’s soccer team has welcomed several new additions to their roster this season, each making valuable contributions to their successful 2024 campaign. A standout among them is Ella Hase, a fifth-year transfer from Northwestern.
The skilled forward has brought vital energy and depth to the squad, playing a key role in the Blue Devils’ strong performance so far.
However, the forward role wasn’t originally a part of her plan.
Hase’s journey in soccer began at the age of three, driven by family ties and a natural gravitation toward the sport. Like many parents, Hase recalled how her mother had thrown her and her siblings into sports growing up, but ultimately it was soccer that stuck for her and became a lasting passion for the family.
Growing up, Hase didn’t immediately settle into the position she plays today. Her early years at a Chicago-based club saw her playing center midfield, a role far removed from her current position as a forward at Duke.
“I played at a club called Chicago Inner. It wasn’t a super renowned club, we weren’t involved in ECL or anything like that. I was having fun with my friends but was a center mid, which is so crazy because I would never consider myself a midfielder now,” laughed Hase when reflecting on her early days of soccer. “I played center mid my whole life up until college and then I ended up going to an ID camp at Northwestern that my mom signed me up for, that I didn’t even want to go to, actually, which is funny. I ended up getting scouted there and then, a week later, I was on a visit there.”
Playing in the Big Ten Conference had always been in the back of Hase’s mind, especially with her older sister, Kylie, committing and playing for Purdue University.
“When she committed to go to Purdue, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I need to go to a school in the Big Ten.’ Growing up, I just wanted to go to a big conference and meet up to her expectations,” said Hase. “So, I don’t think I would have gone to Northwestern if she didn’t go to Purdue. She was influential in terms of going to Northwestern.”
When Hasse officially joined the Wildcats, she was trained as a left-back, a natural fit given her left-footed abilities.
For her first two years, she played as an outside…
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