Elite female defender selects Duke

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When [player_tooltip player_id='22631' first='Kaeden' last='Koons-Perdikis'] received the call with an offer from her dream school, it don't matter that her family was on vacation in France.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The answer was "Yes."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And like that, one of the top female prospects in Maryland had made a pledge to the Duke women's program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I've been going to their ID camps since eighth or ninth grade and I'm so happy it worked out," said the Bethesda SC and Georgetown Visitation (D.C.) defender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Koons-Perdikis was instrumental in Georgetown Visitation's Independent School League AA title last fall. She earned Washington Post first-team all-metro honors and was part of the <a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2022/07/2021-fall-all-america-honorees-mid-atlantic-girls/">PrepSoccer.com State Stars for 2021</a>. She anchored a defense that recorded eight shutouts and she scored four goals and assisted on two others.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Koons-Perdikis can play in the center back or outside back positions. A combination of her technical ability, physical presence and leadership skills impressed Duke, which had been tracking her since eighth grade and called her on the first allowable day during the recruiting cycle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"My mom went to Duke, and I grew up loving the school," Koons-Perdikis said. "I grew up cheering for Duke basketball. It wasn't until middle school or early high school that I could see myself there."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Koons-Perdikis is interested in studying pre-med and was entertaining academic schools such as Duke and several in the Ivy League. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"If I was going to play ACC, it was going to have to be at Duke," she said with a laugh. "I've always been thinking academics first. Obviously, Duke has amazing academics and athletics right there."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>She said another draw to Duke is the university's CAPE program, which is designed to provide the university's high-achieving female students, including many athletes, a pathway toward careers in medical fields. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Koons-Perdikis fielded the phone call from Duke coach Robbie Church while she was in a hotel room in France with her sister. After verbally committing, she went to the lobby to inform her parents. "We had a big celebration. People were probably wondering what was going on because we were crying in the lobby. First, I called my club coach, Ellis Pierre, and then my grandparents. But I waited until I got home to tell anyone else."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->