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USA's Carrie Lingo fends off India's
Nagaspam Devi as the US advances to the World Cup. (Adrian Kerry photo) |
US Field Hockey Women
Defeat India, 3-1, to Advance to
the World Cup
Cannock, England – The U.S. women’s field
hockey team waited nine months for a chance to earn a spot in the International Hockey
Federation World Cup. The team wasn’t about to let it slip away.
The U.S. used three second
half goals to defeat India, 3-1, in the decisive
third game of their three-game series to earn a trip to the World Cup, Nov. 28-Dec. 8 in Perth, Australia.
“It’s just great,” said U.S. captain Tracey Fuchs
who scored two goals on the day to raise her series total to four. “We played a great
game today. We got down a goal and we never stopped fighting. Everybody stepped up today
and because of that, we’re going to Perth.”
The U.S. fell behind in the
first half when India’s Jyoti Sunita
Kullu converted a penalty corner in the 19th minute to give India a 1-0 halftime lead.
“We felt we were playing really well and dominating the game,” said the USA’s Katie
Kauffman. “We didn’t make that may adjustments at halftime. We just needed to
stick with it.”
The U.S. roared back in the
first minute of the second half when a drive by Carla Tagliente into the India circle resulted in a
penalty stroke. Fuchs easily converted the stroke in the lower left corner to tie the game
at 1-1. Two minutes later, Kelli Gannon connected on a field goal to send the team to Perth.
“We were just on fire,” added Kauffman. “We had such adrenaline
pumping. It was great.”
The U.S. capped the scoring
when Fuchs netted her third penalty corner of
the tournament in the 49th minute. A veteran of two Olympic Games and three
previous World Cups, Fuchs added to her U.S. record with her 219th
career international appearance.
The victory concluded
a long and much-delayed qualifying process that began when the U.S. was unable to attend
the 16-team World Cup Qualifying Tournament last September following the terrorist attacks
on New
York and Washington, D.C. At that time, the FIH granted the U.S. an alternative
opportunity to qualify for the World Cup by playing the qualifier’s 7th place team in
a best-of-three series. India eventually claimed
seventh place at the Qualifier.
World events further delayed the playing of the series including the most recent
attempt to determine the final World Cup team. Scheduled for June 3-5 in New Delhi, the series was again
re-scheduled when a U.S. State Department warning forced the U.S. team to return home
prior to the start of the games.
With the win, the U.S. secures its 6th
consecutive trip to the World Cup. The team earned its best finish with a bronze-medal
showing in 1994 and placed 8th in the most recent World Cup in 1998.
The U.S. will enter the World
cup as the number 11 seed and will play in pool B with #2 The Netherlands, #3 Australia, #6 Spain, #7 England, #10 South Africa, #14, Japan and #15 Ireland. Pool A includes #1
Argentina, #4 china, #5 New Zealand, #8 Korea, #9 Germany, #12 Russia, #13 Ukraine and #15
Scotland.
The U.S. and head coach Tracey
Belbin were scheduled to depart England on Tuesday evening
and return to the team’s residency home in Virginia Beach. The team will host Mexico and World cup-bound Ireland and Scotland in the Atlantic Cup,
Oct. 9-13 in Virginia Beach.
“It was a great day. We’ll keep the celebration going,” said
Kauffman who recently married husband Keith Breach on June 15, the day before the team
left for England.
“Now I can leave for my honeymoon.”
www.usfieldhockey.com |
