Sophia Recupero carries the ball for Duke in a game against Louisville this fall. PHOTO/DUKE ATHLETICS

One year into her collegiate soccer career, Hopkinton’s Sophia Recupero is on a team that is in the mix for both a conference and national championship. The graduate of Buckingham Browne & Nichols is earning playing time for the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils, and the college experience so far is everything she hoped it would be.

“It’s been great so far, I am really happy,” Recupero said in early November. “The year has gone well. As a freshman, you have to earn time and earn minutes, but I think I have done a good job adjusting and trying to have an impact on the team.”

Through the regular season, Recupero had seen time in 10 games. She managed eight shots on goal, finding the back of the net twice. Recupero scored early in the year in a win over Eastern Tennessee State University and added a tally in her last game of the regular season, a blowout win over Boston College.

“It’s an adjustment for anyone when you go from club soccer to Division 1, you’re going into a super-intense environment where everyone is just as good as you, if not better,” she said. “It’s challenging, and you’re being challenged in practices and games at the same time, but you’re improving as a player. It’s forced me to get better.”

Duke ended the regular season as the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and a favorite heading into the NCAAs. The Blue Devils also capped off the regular season with a win over rival North Carolina, whose roster includes Caitlin Mara, Recupero’s teammate from BB&N in Cambridge.

“It was different for us to be playing against each other like this at two big rival schools,” Recupero said. “I had been used to playing with her, and now we are going head-to-head. But we are still super close off the field, and it’s obviously really cool to see us both here at this stage in our lives.”

Recupero’s family athletic prowess has been well-documented. Her father, William, played hockey at Bowdoin College, and her mother, Stephanie, played four years of college soccer at George Mason before playing semi-pro. Younger sister Maddie, a Hopkinton High School senior, is set to play for Princeton next year, and younger brother William is a member of the U-15 U.S. Youth National Team.

Though Durham, North Carolina, is different from Hopkinton, life off the field has been good for Recupero. She said she is adjusting to the different pace of college life, including having fewer classes per day.

Heading into the tournaments, Recupero was not letting herself think too far ahead, though she acknowledged that winning an ACC title and a national championship would be the ultimate goal for any college athlete. She does have some longer-term goals in mind, however.

“I want to continue to grow as a player, and I would love to play after college if the opportunity presents itself,” Recupero said. “Duke has the resources to help you pursue that if it’s something you want to do.”

Either way, Recupero said she will be graduating with a degree from a prestigious school in Duke, which will be invaluable for her future pursuits.

“There really isn’t a bad situation at all,” she said.