DURHAM – The National Field Hockey Coaches Association recently announced its 2022 NFHCA Division I Scholars of Distinction. Duke’s trio of Alayna Burns, Issy Carey and Alaina McVeigh represented the Blue Devils on the list.
This is the fourth consecutive Scholar of Distinction award for Bruns, while Carey and McVeigh garner repeat honors. Duke’s three representatives are tied for the second most among ACC programs with Wake Forest leading the way with four.
Burns played in 19 games this past season, scoring a goal in a win over Longwood. A stellar all-around student-athlete, the Medford, N.J., native spearheaded Duke’s first Green Game leading the charge in educating about sustainability and being environmentally conscious. Burns played in 59 career games with 10 starting assignments. She scored six goals and dished out three assists for 15 points.
A spark off the bench for the Blue Devils, Carey played in all 21 games and scored two goals and two assists for six points. She turned in a crucial performance in the NCAA First Round win over American University, notching a goal and an assist. In two seasons with Duke, Carey has played in 39 games and has 11 goals and five assists for 27 points.
Seeing the field for the first time in her Duke career, McVeigh burst onto the collegiate field hockey scene in leading the Blue Devils with an ACC-best 17 goals en route to garnering the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year award and first team All-America honors. She scored at least one goal in 14 games and had the winning marker in five, including a pair of overtime goals. McVeigh’s 17 goals are tied for 16th in Duke single-season history and are the most since Rose Tynan had 17 in 2017. Her 37 points are 25th in a single season in program lore and the most since Tynan’s 37 in 2017.
The Blue Devils had one of the best seasons in history, finishing the regular season with an 18-5 overall record and a No. 3 ranking in the NFHCA poll. Duke won a share of the ACC regular season title. Coming off a 7-11 season in 2022, Duke’s 18 wins marked an improvement of 8.5 to rank tied for 12th in NCAA history.
In the current academic year, a total of 260 undergraduate student-athletes have achieved the esteemed designation of NFHCA…
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