Duke Opens 2024 Campaign Friday

The Opening Hit

• Duke enters the 2024 season following a banner year in 2023. The Blue Devils finished 18-5 and 5-1 in the ACC to earn a share of the regular season title. The 18 wins are the most by a Bustin-led program, while the 8.5-game improvement over the 2022 season ranked tied for 12th in NCAA Division I history. Duke advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the seventh time, falling to Northwestern who the Blue Devils face in their third game of the year.
• Duke returns three of its top four scorers from a season ago, including top scorer Alaina McVeigh. The Blue Devils face 10 teams that finished in the top 20 last season and will travel to the West Coast to face ACC newcomers Cal and Stanford.
• Duke head coach Pam Bustin shares a unique connection with the mother of Blue Devil freshman Madison Beach. Bustin and Madison’s mother – Katie Beach (Kauffman) – both were members of the U.S. Women’s Field Hockey National Team that played in the 1996 Olympics and took fifth.

By the Numbers
7 – Newcomers to the Blue Devils – five freshmen and a pair of graduate student transfers
13 – Points needed by junior Alaina McVeigh to become the 43rd Blue Devil to record 50 career points
8 – Returning starters from the 2023 campaign
76 – Percent of Duke’s points from the 2023 season returning to the turf for the Blue Devils in 2024
10 – Contests against teams that finished ranked in the top 20 in 2023
0.74 – Goals per game average for Alaina McVeigh last season to lead the ACC
162 – Duke wins for head coach Pam Bustin, one shy of passing Duke Hall of Famer Jacki Silar as Duke field hockey’s all-time wins leader
9 – Different states represented on Duke’s roster in 2024
3 – Of the past five meetings Duke has shut out William & Mary
 
Preseason Recognition

• Duke heads into the 2024 campaign with high expectations both inside and outside of the program. The Blue Devils were picked to finish third in the ACC by the league’s head coaches and are preseason No. 5 in the NFHCA coaches’ poll.
• Graduate student Charlie van Oirschot and juniors Paige Bitting and Alaina McVeigh were named to Preseason All-ACC.
• The quartet of Paige Bitting, Kira Curland, Alaina McVeigh and Charlie van Oirschot also were selected to the 2024 NFHCA Watchlist announced August 29. The list is comprised of 171 student-athletes from 55 Division…