THE YEAR THAT keeps on giving for Irish hockey, as two of the stars of the memorable World Cup campaign have been shortlisted for prestigious FIH Hockey Star awards.
Goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran, who was in the running for the RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year award, has been nominated for the women’s FIH Goalkeeper of the Year gong, while Elena Tice is in the running for the FIH Rising Star of the Year award.
McFerran, who recently completed her studies at the University of Louisville, was one of the heroes of Ireland’s run to the World Cup final in London, and was named goalkeeper of the tournament for her exploits between the posts.
20-year-old Tice, meanwhile, has been named on the Rising Star shortlist alongside four other players — Netherlands’ Marijn Veen, Ambrosia Malone of Australia, Germany’s Nike Lorenz and Argentina’s Lucina van der Heyde.
The UCD defender played a starring role for Graham Shaw’s side during the summer before spending six weeks in New Zealand with North Harbour and then a further period with the Canberra Strikers in the Australia Hockey League, where Tice’s performances earned her the player of the tournament award.
The nominations cap off a remarkable year for Irish hockey, with the women’s national side picking up the team of the year accolade at the RTÉ awards, while Shaw was named coach of the year for 2018.
The Hockey Star awards are voted for by the public and voting is open online here until 18 January, with the winners announced on 14 February.
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Andy Dunne preview another big weekend of rugby action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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