No. 6 Duke Opens 2026 Campaign Versus William & Mary, Richmond

Friday, August 28

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

William & Mary

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

No. 6 Duke Opens 2026 Campaign Versus William & Mary, Richmond

8/27/2026 11:53:00 AM | Field Hockey

Game Notes (PDF)Watch Live Stats (vs. W&M)Live Stats (at Richmond)

THE OPENING HIT:

Duke field hockey opens the 2026 season with a home and away weekend. The Blue Devils host William & Mary at 12 p.m., Friday, Aug. 28, before heading to Richmond for a date with the Spiders Aug. 30 at noon.
The Blue Devils were picked to finish third in the ACC by the league's head coaches and bring back 17 letterwinners from the 2025 squad, including preseason All-ACC picks Alaina McVeigh (15g, 9a), Julia Boehringer (10g, 5a) and Madison Beach (3g, 12a). As a team, Duke returns 90 percent of its goal scoring and 79 percent of its distribution efforts.
Duke welcomes a group of eight talented newcomers into the fold, with the treasure trove comprised of five freshmen and a trio of veteran transfers.
The Blue Devils are 38-15-2 overall in season openers and 11-4 under head coach Pam Bustin. Duke is 23-7 in opening weekend series since 2011 and have only lost both games to start the season once in that span (2020).

BY THE NUMBERS:

3: Players from North Carolina -- Alessia Cicuto, Adriana Ensani and Callie McCarron -- on the Blue Devil roster
5: Starters from the 2025 squad lost to graduation
5: players named to the 2026 NFHCA Division I Watchlist -- Madison Beach, Julia Boehringer, Alaina McVeigh, Ashley Stockdale and Shae Wozniak
8: Newcomers -- five freshmen and three transfers -- to the 2026 Duke field hockey roster
9: Opponents ranked in the NFHCA preseason poll
17: letterwinners returning from the 2025 squad
23-7: Duke's record under Pam Bustin during season-opening weekend
38-15-2: Duke's all-time record in season openers
45: Career goals by Alaina McVeigh, ninth in Duke history
79: Percent of assists retained from 2025
90: Percent of scoring retained from 2025
104: Career points totaled by Alaina McVeigh, 10th on the Duke charts
350: Career wins for Pam Bustin, fourth all-time among active DI field hockey coaches
366: Total career games played by the 17 returning players

PRESEASON RECOGNITION:

In a vote of the league's head coaches, the Duke field hockey trio of Madison Beach, Julia Boehringer and Alaina McVeigh were tabbed to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team, while the Blue Devils were tied for third in the team standings.
North Carolina was picked as the preseason favorite with four first-place votes and 73 points, followed by Virginia who tallied 68 points and two first-place nods. Duke and Wake Forest tied for third with 64 points each.
Additionally, Beach, Boehringer, McVeigh, Ashley Stockdale and Shae Wozniak were named to the 2026 NFHCA Division I Watchlist. This list is intended to showcase field hockey student-athletes with the strongest potential for consideration to the current year's NFHCA All-Region and All-America teams.

SERIES HISTORIES:

Duke and William & Mary gear up for the 43rd all-time meeting between the two schools. The Blue Devils own a commanding 32-9-1 ledger against the Tribe (15-3-1 in Durham) and have won nine of the last 10 matchups, including a 9-0 victory last season in Williamsburg. The last time Duke and William & Mary battled in the season opener (2024), the Blue Devils came away with a 5-0 victory, giving Duke head coach Pam Bustin the program's all-time wins record.
The Blue Devils hit the road for the Old Dominion State, where the squad will cap their season-opening weekend against Richmond. Duke leads the all-time series, 26-6-1, with the game marking the first matchup between the teams since 2022. The Blue Devils are 10-0 in their last 10 meetings against the Spiders and hold a 10-3-2 record in Richmond.

LAST DANCE FOR MIGHTY MCVEIGH:

Graduate student Alaina McVeigh is back in a Blue Devil uniform for her final season of collegiate field hockey. After missing her freshman season to injury, McVeigh had a breakout 2023 season that culminated in ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors and a spot on the NFHCA All-America First Team. A three-time NFHCA All-American and All-ACC First Team pick for her career, McVeigh has been exemplary in her three full seasons on the turf and heads into 2026 looking to close her Duke career with a bang.
The Lansdale, Pennsylvania, standout has paced the Blue Devils in scoring and accumulated at least 20 points in each of the past three seasons. She has netted a goal in 35 of 64 career games, including 11 multi-goal outings.
McVeigh has already etched her name in the Duke lore, with a higher climb up the program charts inevitable. The two-time team captain and ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year is just the fourth Blue Devil all-time to net double-digit markers in each of her first three seasons at Duke and one of only six players to accumulate at least 20 points in each of their first three years at Duke. McVeigh is also one of just 13 players in Duke history to reach the century mark.
McVeigh was named to the 2026 USA Field Hockey Women's National Team back in May, joining former Blue Devils and USAFH veterans Leah Crouse and Jillian Wolgemuth.

AN EXPERIENCED GROUP RETURNS:

The Blue Devils return six full-time starters in Madison Beach, Julia Boehringer, Kaiya Chepow, Alaina McVeigh, Juliette Schulten and Ashley Stockdale fromlast season, along with Sofia Fidalgo Schioppa, who started 18 of Duke's 21 contests. Overall, Duke returns 17 letterwinners from its 2025 squad that went 13-8 overall and was a goal away from the NCAA semifinal.
Offensively, Duke retains 90 percent of its scoring and nearly 80 percent of its distribution totals from a season ago. McVeigh, the Blue Devils' top scorer the past three seasons, is back for her final year after putting up 15 goals and nine assists for 39 points. Beach (3g, 12a), Boehringer (10g, 5a), Maggie Kondrath (4g, 3a), Stockdale (4g, 1a) and Shae Wozniak (4g, 1a) also provide valuable offense depth and production, with each looking to build on their performances from a season ago.
Despite losing Macy Szukics and Ava Cickavage to graduation, the Blue Devils still pose a steady backline with the presence of three returners in Chepow, Sophia Miller and Schulten that helped Duke post the 11th-best goals against average (1.17) in the NCAA.
After seeing minimal time in her first season as a Blue Devil, Miller gained valuable experience appearing in 20 games. Schulten started each game as a rookie and tallied one goal and one assist. Chepow earned the starting nod in the cage for the Blue Devils in all 21 contests, where she owned 53 saves, a .679 save percentage, a 1.23 goals against average - 15th in the NCAA - and four clean sheets.

ABOUT THE NEWCOMERS:

Duke welcomed eight newcomers into the fold for 2026 season - five true freshmen and three upperclass transfers. The rookie quintet hails from three different states and one country and includes multiple All-Americans, three top-50 prospects from the MAX Field Hockey Class of 2026 rankings and a state player of the year.
A trio of transfers in Alessia Cicuto (Louisville), Philine Klas (Penn) and Callie Rogers (Maryland) bolsters the Blue Devils' depth while providing both leadership and experience. Klas started all 49 career games at Penn on the backline and is coming off a breakout offensive season in 2025 that saw her net five goals and dish two assists. Rogers started 12 of 18 games for the Terps last season and tallied a pair of helpers, while Cicuto appeared in seven contests (two starts) for the Cardinals, collecting five saves and one shutout.
The Blue Devils' rookie class features a treasure trove of talent that garnered multiple All-America, all-state, all- conference and all-region honors during their respective high school careers. Adriana Ensani and Abigail Gerdeman led their schools - Cardinal Gibbons and the Hill School, respectively - to multiple state titles, while Callie McCarron was tabbed the 2026 TISAC Player of the Year. Catherine Rosser helped lead the Kinkaid School to the Southwest Preparatory Conference 4A title, with Floor Hoogendoorn rounding out the group bringing a blend of high intensity and international flavor.

UP NEXT:

Duke travels to The Bay State to compete in the annual ACC/B1G Challenge. The interconference event - hosted by Boston College - will be played in Newton, Massachusetts.
The Blue Devils will square off against Northwestern (Sept. 4) and Maryland (Sept. 6) at the Field Hockey Complex.

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