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US Field Hockey Men to Meet Chile in Moorpark

Colorado Springs, Colo. – The U.S. Field Hockey men’s national team will continue its preparations for next year’s Pan American Games when the team hosts Chile in a three-game series, July 19-22 at Moorpark College, Moorpark, Calif.

The U.S. junior national team will open the weekend against Chile with a match at 5:30 p.m., July 19 at Moorpark, followed by the three-game national team series, 11 a.m., July 20; 11 a.m., July 21; and 5:30 p.m., July 22. 

The series represents a significant test for the young U.S. team as it prepares for the 2003 Pan American Games, August 1-16, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The two teams are expected to meet again in Santo Domingo, and Chile has defeated the U.S. in two of the last three meetings between the two teams. A 1-1 draw with Chile at the 1999 Pan American Games kept the U.S. team out of the bronze medal match and raised Chile to a spot above the U.S. in the continental standings. The U.S. eventually placed fifth at the 1999 Pan American Games while Chile settled for a fourth place finish.

In a similar scenario, a 3-0 loss to Chile at the inaugural Americas Cup in 2000 cost the U.S. a trip to the bronze medal game and helped lift Chile to its first World Cup Qualifier appearance since 1989. At the World Cup Qualifier, Chile defeated the U.S., 2-1 and went on to place 12^th while the U.S. finished 14^th.

“We continue to mature and improve,” says U.S. coach Shiv Jagday in comparing his current squad with the teams that previously faced Chile. “We are definitely an improved team, and we can be a very good team when we play to our potential.”

The U.S. squad has shown signs of that improvement in recent domestic competitions where the team placed second in the California Cup at the end of May, and won the championship at the annual Guru Nanak Tournament in early July.

Jagday will select his team for the series from the entire squad prior to each of the three matches with Chile. One possible lineup for the series could feature members of the Cal Cup team including 1996 Olympian Steve Danielson (San Diego, Calif.), Jang Badesha (Santa Clara, Calif.), Rinku Bhamber (Simi Valley, Calif.), Shawn Hindy (Westlake Village, Calif.), Binh Hoang (Westlake, Calif.), Daraspreet Kainth (Fullerton, Calif.), Koijan Kainth (Fullerton, Calif.), Ryan Langford (Camarillo, Calif.), Jarred Martin (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), Shawn Nakamura (Camarillo, Calif.), Daljeet Sagoo (Fullerton, Calif.), Bryan Rauschenberger (Simi Valley, Calif), Ian Scally (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and goalkeeper Afzal Siddiqui (Berkeley, Calif.).

            The U19 team could include Sean Harris (Moorpark, Calif.), Todd Robinson (Ventura, Calif.), Ramandeep Sandhu (Camarillo, Calif.), David Schmoyer (Doyelstown, Pa.) as well as U16 team members Michael Halsell (Camarillo, Calif.), Malachi Mahan (Camarillo, Calif.), Richard Jordan (Camarillo, Calif.), Gurpal Kundi (Glendora, Calif.) and Chris Niles (Camarillo, Calif.). Kulwinder Ahluwalia (Irvine, Calif.), Sandev Grewall  (Laguna Nigel, Calif.), Daniel Jordan (Camarillo, Calif.), Jaspal Grewall (Laguna Nigel, Calif.), Arjan Reyatt (Brea, Calif.) and  goalkeeper Jeb Saez (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) could round out the U19 squad.

“We can’t place unnecessary pressure on ourselves,” says Jagday. “We have to be able to perform when it counts the most. We have to play our style. If we do these things, the results will come.”

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