US Field Hockey News

FIELD HOCKEY: Japan Wins International Atlantic Cup; USA Falls to Germany in International Atlantic Cup Consolation Game

Virginia Beach, Va. (Oct. 12) –Japan captured the championship title at the International
Atlantic Cup with a 3-2 victory over Great Britain, while the United States fell to Germany, 3-2 in the consolation game at the USA Field Hockey National Training Center.

 Japan held on to defeat Great Britain after building a 3-0 lead midway through the second half on goals by Akiko Kitada, Tomoni Komori and Sachimi Iwao and held on to win after Great Britain added goals by Linda Clement and Emma Rochlin in the final five minutes.

In the day’s first game, Alexandra Kollmar scored with 10 seconds remaining to lift Germany to the victory over the United States in the 3^rd/4^th place contest.

Kollmar’s goal – her second of the game – capped a German comeback that included three goals in the final 24 minutes of play.

“We fell apart a little in the second half,” said USA captain Katie Beach. “We didn’t play a whole 70 minutes. Unfortunately, if you do that at this level, against this type of competition, you’re going to get beat.”

Controlling play throughout the first half, the USA took a 2-0 lead into halftime on two Tracey Fuchs penalty corner goals. Fuchs put the USA on top in the 13^th minute with the first on her two scores, and added a second goal as time expired to complete a first period dominated by the USA.

“We felt confident going in,” said Beach. “We controlled the first half, but we have to learn to play the entire game. It’s a tough loss to end the tournament on, but we’re growing and we’re going to keep moving forward.

After Kollmar cut the lead to 2-1 in the 46^th minute, Friedericke Barth tied the game with a penalty corner blast 12 minutes later and the game appeared to be headed into extra time. But a quick start on a free hit inside the USA 25-yard line gave Germany a three-on-two advantage, and Kollmar put the ball past USA keeper Peggy Storrar as the final seconds ticked off the clock to stun the partisan USA crowd.

In  the championship game, Japan capped a perfect 4-0 run at the tournament and brought a rare smile to the face of coach Tsuda Toshiro who said his team was very happy to capture the International Atlantic Cup, but conceded that his team needed more practice.

Although Great Britain’s comeback fell short, coachMike Gilbert was pleased with his team’s effort.

“I was a tad disappointed to play the way we did in the first half (in giving up two goals),” said Gilbert. “I’m glad we showed more of what we are capable of plying like in the second half.”

“Overall, the tournament was great for our preparation for the Qualifier,” added Gilbert. “Hopefully, we’ll take this momentum into (that) tournament.”

The tournament concludes the USA’s international schedule for 2003 as the team will now focus on next spring’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. Germany, Japan and Great Britain will all join the USA at the 10-team Qualifier with the top four or five teams from the tournament earning a spot in the 2004 Olympic Games.

“We have fifteen weeks from tomorrow,” said Beach in counting down the days to the Qualifier. “We’re just going to come out and train. We’ll be seeing the teams that we saw here, so we know what we need to fix and what we need to do to fine-tune things for the Qualifier. We’ve fixed the big things. Now we just have to take care of the little things.

Germany 3, USA 2

USA: Tracey Fuchs (13:00, PC)
USA: Tracey Fuchs (35:00, PC)
GER: Alexandra Kollmar (46:00, FG)
GER: Kriedericke Barth (58:00, PC)
GER: Alexandra Kollmar (70:00, FG)

USA Starters: Peggy Storrar (GK), Tara Jelley, Tracey Larson Tracey Fuchs, Kelli Gannon, Katie Beach, Keli Smith, Jill Reeve, Carrie Lingo, Kate Barber, Dina Rizzo
Reserves: Kristen McCann, Abbey Woolley, Rachel Barger

GERMANY Starters: Yvonne Frank (GK), Nadine Ernsting-Krienke, Natascha Keller, Fredericke Barth, Silke Muller, Cornelia Reiter, Marion Rodewald, Anke Kuhn, Miriam Schmid, Franziska Gude
Reserves: Mandy Haase, Nina Kramer, Cornelia Reiter, Alexandra Kollmar, Kerstin Hoyer, Kerstin Hoyer, Eileen Hoffman

Japan 3, Great Britain 3
JPN: Akiko Kitada (10:00, PC)
JPN: Tomomi Komori (27:00, FG)
JPN: Sachimi Iwao (49:00, FG)
GBR: Linda Clement (65:00, PC)
GBR: Emma Rochlin (68:00, PC)

JAPAN

Starters: Rie Terazono, Keiko Miura, Akemi Kato, Yukari Yamamoto, Chie Kimura, Akiko Kitada, Sachimi Iwao, Naoko Saiyto, Akiko Kitada, Tomomi Komori, Rika Komazawa, Sakae Morimoto
Reserves: Rika Ishida, Yuka Ogura

Great Britain Starters: Katy Roberts (GK), Jennie Bimson, Linda Clement, Frances Houslop, Rachel Walker, Emma Rochlin, Louise Carroll, Sarah Blanks, Sarah Thomas
Reserves: Kath Gray, Jennie Bimson, Anne Panter

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