Duke Opens 2021 Preseason

DURHAM – The 2021 Duke field hockey season officially got underway Wednesday morning with the first training session of the 10-day preseason period. The Blue Devils' campaign opens at home August 27 against Rutgers at 6 p.m.

Duke is Back
It's hard to believe it has only been 116 days since Duke was last on Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium to close out the 2020-21 season. And in 16 days it will be the first time since Oct. 27, 2019 the Blue Devils will get to play in front of fans on their home turf.

"It's extremely exciting to be back on the field," said head coach Pam Bustin. "Even though we were just out here in the spring, it feels like it's been a long time. They've come back clearly ready and eager to get at this season and that is really exciting."

Duke announced a return to full capacity for its athletic venues in early June. Fans should stay up to date with COVID-19 regulations at Duke and in Durham by visiting GoDuke.com prior to attending the game.

Glancing at the 2021 Roster
The Blue Devils have one of their biggest rosters in recent seasons with 27 players, which includes five graduate students and five seniors. Three players returned for a fifth season – Lexi Davidson, Eva Nunnik and Lily Posternak, while Duke welcomed two graduate student transfers from Princeton in Grace Brightbill and MaryKate Neff.

"I think [a big focus during preseason is] bringing them together and getting the connectivity and finding their rhythm as a team," Bustin said. "We have a large group right now so making sure each of them gets to play with the other and just kind of get a vibe of who we are as a team right now."

Among the 27 players are seven freshmen, the largest rookie group since 2014.

Back to Originally Scheduled Plans
The 2021 field hockey season returns to its traditional fall schedule with the ACC Championship coming the first week of November and the national championship being played the final weekend of the same month.

"It's just refreshing and really exciting to know that it's back to our regular season schedule," Bustin said. "I like the fall. I like that it's the grind. I like knowing our championship is later in November and so we can plan that way. And that's what [the players] like too. They like that challenge."

Duke will play 16 regular season games in just over two months. Eight of the Blue Devils' opponents played in the 2019 NCAA Championship – the last time there was a full 16-team bracket. In addition to the five ACC programs that made the 2019 NCAA Tournament field, Duke will host Maryland, and Northwestern and travel to Princeton.

The Blue Devils host eight games at Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium, including the Big Ten/ACC Cup with Boston College, Northwestern and Maryland.

Crouse to Play for USA Field Hockey
Senior Leah Crouse will be wearing the red, white and blue for Team USA at the end of August when she travels to Santiago, Chile for the Junior Pan American Championship (JPAC). Crouse is among 18 players picked for the roster announced at the end of July.

Crouse and the United States will take on Trinidad and Tobago and Chile in pool play with the top three of the six nations advancing to the 2021 FIH Junior Hockey World Cup in December.

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Players Mentioned

Grace Brightbill

Leah Crouse

Lexi Davidson

MaryKate Neff

Lily Posternak

Duke information