Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus #1 Stanford on December 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1
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Final
Women's Soccer
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Photo by: Duke University
Appearance vs. USWNT Comes After Long Recovery for Kayla McCoy
7/6/2021 5:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM – After a 10-month recovery process from a torn ACL in August of 2020, former Duke women's soccer standout Kayla McCoy made her return to the pitch with the Jamaican National Team on June 13.
Her first action in a match came in the 60th minute against none other than the U.S. Women's National Team, when Jamaica took on Team USA as part of the 2021 Summer Series. McCoy's side did not earn the result it was looking for, falling 4-0, but the outcome played only a small role in what the night meant for the Blue Devil star. To McCoy, it was a moment to cherish – a culmination of the grueling rehab that she endured to get to that match.
"I think I felt like I was going to come on and just be frantic, and not have a chance to sink in and enjoy the moment," McCoy said. "But there were definitely times where I was able to look around me and really take in this feeling of, 'I'm on the field again after not playing in a really long time and I'm playing against one of, if not the best team in the world right now.'
McCoy had unfortunately grown accustomed to rehabbing from knee injuries since graduating from Duke in 2019. The two-time All-ACC performer and 2018 All-American was preparing to compete for Jamaica in the 2019 Women's World Cup, before an ACL tear put her lifelong dream on hold. By the time she had fully recovered, she set her sights on earning more playing opportunities with the NWSL's Houston Dash, which drafted McCoy in January of her senior year.
She did not see action during Houston's run to the 2020 Challenge Cup championship in July, but as she and the team returned to prepare for the Fall Series, McCoy was ready to compete for extended minutes. Less than a month before the first match, however, she was dealt another blow, once again tearing her ACL in training.
The process of recovering from an injury for any athlete is often as physically demanding as it is emotionally frustrating. For McCoy, though, she knew all too well how to navigate the exercises and structured regimen of getting her body back to playing shape. She even acknowledged that this time around, she bounced back quicker from a physical standpoint. However, the deflation that came with restarting the process after a full recovery was difficult to face, and would prove to be the toughest element of her rehab.
"It's really hard and I can't downplay for anyone going through an injury, regardless of whether it's an ACL or something that leaves you out for longer or shorter," McCoy said. "It's mentally challenging, especially when you're rehabbing by yourself or when you're not with other people that are injured and you're just in it by yourself. It's tedious and slow, and you have to be really patient. I think this past one has probably been more challenging mentally than physically."
While the rest of the world was faced with the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, McCoy had the added task of finding a way to properly rehab as many areas remained on lockdown. She decided to travel to Scotland, where her boyfriend and former Duke men's soccer player Ciaran McKenna resides, hoping to come into contact with a physiotherapist that would assist in her recovery while she waited for training facilities to reopen.
"I was able to find a physio who ended up being really great," McCoy said. "He would meet with me and help me keep progressing, which really helped me keep on track and gave me exactly what I needed for that time. The timing actually worked out pretty perfectly that once I was allowed to start training again in an actual team environment, it was just starting to open back up and clubs were starting again. At that point, I started reaching back out to clubs and Rangers was the most attentive and most responsive."
Rangers W.F.C of the Scottish Women's Premier League had given McCoy the opportunity she had been waiting for, to train with a team before returning to international play with Jamaica. Though she had not signed with a club, she would be able to step onto a pitch with other professional players for the first time in nearly nine months. For McCoy, the chance to finish recovering while getting back into playing shape against high-level competition and within a team structure was a welcome circumstance.
"It was really great," she said. "The girls were welcoming. I wasn't signed with a team or anything – I was just there to train and rehab. It was really great of them to have me. The club physio was great working with me, and I felt like I was in an environment where I was getting every possible thing that I could need. To be able to give that to a player that's not playing for you, I think that says a lot about a club that's willing to invest in a player that's not even their player. I really liked that, and it's been a great environment to train in."
McCoy acknowledged her enjoyment of Scotland away from the pitch as well, even while she had to wait for months before lockdown restrictions were lifted.
"It is definitely a different culture. They do things differently, as every country does, but I do like it. It's a very friendly culture. The people are really nice. It rains a lot and it's kind of gloomy a lot of the time, but when it's sunny, it's beautiful and everybody goes outside, so it's fun in that sense. I haven't been there when it's been fully opened up to really do adventurous things and see different parts of the country, which hopefully I'll get the chance to do at some point."
As it pertains to her immediate future, McCoy hopes to return to Europe and join a club permanently, however as the last two years have taught, there are not any moments to be passed over or taken for granted. Whether it is training in Orlando now or competing for Jamaica during the 2023 World Cup qualifiers later this year, McCoy approaches each day in the sport with a perspective of gratitude. The former Blue Devil standout has fought her way back from a reality every athlete hopes to never endure, and as her career continues to blossom, she knows that there is no mountain too tall to climb.
"I'm just going to try and enjoy every moment that I am playing because every injury has taught me you need to enjoy where you're at, because you never really know if something is going to happen," she said. "I'm just taking it one day at a time. Ultimately, Jamaica's 2023 World Cup run is something that I'm really looking forward to. They have qualifiers starting at the end of the year. That's in my head as a long term goal. Regardless of where I play or how long, that's what I'm shooting for."
#GoDuke
Her first action in a match came in the 60th minute against none other than the U.S. Women's National Team, when Jamaica took on Team USA as part of the 2021 Summer Series. McCoy's side did not earn the result it was looking for, falling 4-0, but the outcome played only a small role in what the night meant for the Blue Devil star. To McCoy, it was a moment to cherish – a culmination of the grueling rehab that she endured to get to that match.
"I think I felt like I was going to come on and just be frantic, and not have a chance to sink in and enjoy the moment," McCoy said. "But there were definitely times where I was able to look around me and really take in this feeling of, 'I'm on the field again after not playing in a really long time and I'm playing against one of, if not the best team in the world right now.'
McCoy had unfortunately grown accustomed to rehabbing from knee injuries since graduating from Duke in 2019. The two-time All-ACC performer and 2018 All-American was preparing to compete for Jamaica in the 2019 Women's World Cup, before an ACL tear put her lifelong dream on hold. By the time she had fully recovered, she set her sights on earning more playing opportunities with the NWSL's Houston Dash, which drafted McCoy in January of her senior year.
She did not see action during Houston's run to the 2020 Challenge Cup championship in July, but as she and the team returned to prepare for the Fall Series, McCoy was ready to compete for extended minutes. Less than a month before the first match, however, she was dealt another blow, once again tearing her ACL in training.
The process of recovering from an injury for any athlete is often as physically demanding as it is emotionally frustrating. For McCoy, though, she knew all too well how to navigate the exercises and structured regimen of getting her body back to playing shape. She even acknowledged that this time around, she bounced back quicker from a physical standpoint. However, the deflation that came with restarting the process after a full recovery was difficult to face, and would prove to be the toughest element of her rehab.
"It's really hard and I can't downplay for anyone going through an injury, regardless of whether it's an ACL or something that leaves you out for longer or shorter," McCoy said. "It's mentally challenging, especially when you're rehabbing by yourself or when you're not with other people that are injured and you're just in it by yourself. It's tedious and slow, and you have to be really patient. I think this past one has probably been more challenging mentally than physically."
While the rest of the world was faced with the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, McCoy had the added task of finding a way to properly rehab as many areas remained on lockdown. She decided to travel to Scotland, where her boyfriend and former Duke men's soccer player Ciaran McKenna resides, hoping to come into contact with a physiotherapist that would assist in her recovery while she waited for training facilities to reopen.
"I was able to find a physio who ended up being really great," McCoy said. "He would meet with me and help me keep progressing, which really helped me keep on track and gave me exactly what I needed for that time. The timing actually worked out pretty perfectly that once I was allowed to start training again in an actual team environment, it was just starting to open back up and clubs were starting again. At that point, I started reaching back out to clubs and Rangers was the most attentive and most responsive."
Rangers W.F.C of the Scottish Women's Premier League had given McCoy the opportunity she had been waiting for, to train with a team before returning to international play with Jamaica. Though she had not signed with a club, she would be able to step onto a pitch with other professional players for the first time in nearly nine months. For McCoy, the chance to finish recovering while getting back into playing shape against high-level competition and within a team structure was a welcome circumstance.
"It was really great," she said. "The girls were welcoming. I wasn't signed with a team or anything – I was just there to train and rehab. It was really great of them to have me. The club physio was great working with me, and I felt like I was in an environment where I was getting every possible thing that I could need. To be able to give that to a player that's not playing for you, I think that says a lot about a club that's willing to invest in a player that's not even their player. I really liked that, and it's been a great environment to train in."
McCoy acknowledged her enjoyment of Scotland away from the pitch as well, even while she had to wait for months before lockdown restrictions were lifted.
"It is definitely a different culture. They do things differently, as every country does, but I do like it. It's a very friendly culture. The people are really nice. It rains a lot and it's kind of gloomy a lot of the time, but when it's sunny, it's beautiful and everybody goes outside, so it's fun in that sense. I haven't been there when it's been fully opened up to really do adventurous things and see different parts of the country, which hopefully I'll get the chance to do at some point."
As it pertains to her immediate future, McCoy hopes to return to Europe and join a club permanently, however as the last two years have taught, there are not any moments to be passed over or taken for granted. Whether it is training in Orlando now or competing for Jamaica during the 2023 World Cup qualifiers later this year, McCoy approaches each day in the sport with a perspective of gratitude. The former Blue Devil standout has fought her way back from a reality every athlete hopes to never endure, and as her career continues to blossom, she knows that there is no mountain too tall to climb.
"I'm just going to try and enjoy every moment that I am playing because every injury has taught me you need to enjoy where you're at, because you never really know if something is going to happen," she said. "I'm just taking it one day at a time. Ultimately, Jamaica's 2023 World Cup run is something that I'm really looking forward to. They have qualifiers starting at the end of the year. That's in my head as a long term goal. Regardless of where I play or how long, that's what I'm shooting for."
#GoDuke
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