US Field Hockey News

USA Field Hockey National Indoor Tournament Returns to Virginia Beach

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Temperatures may be on the rise outside, but the nation’s top young field hockey players will be heating up the floor indoors at USA Field Hockey’s Under-National Indoor Tournament, March 5-7, at the Pavilion in Virginia Beach, Va.

Returning to Virginia Beach for a fourth consecutive year, the tournament features athletes in the Under-19 age group playing a faster, tighter version of the outdoor game. The tournament is the first of three weekends of USA Field Hockey’s indoor championships with the Under-16 and Under-14 age groups scheduled for April 2-4 in Loudonville, N.Y. and the tourney for adult women March 20-21 at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. Approximately 700 athletes from 64 teams will take part in the Virginia Beach event.

“Virginia Beach has been very good to USA Field Hockey, the National Indoor Tournament, and the sport of field hockey” says USA Field Hockey Assistant Executive Director Karen Collins. "It really is a great atmosphere, and the sport of field hockey has really taken off in this area. We’ve really found a home here."

Virginia Beach serves as the home of the USA women's national team and the USA Field Hockey National Training Center. The Training Center will host this summer’s Futures National Tournament, July 1-4, and will host the semifinals and finals of USA Field Hockey's Summer League, July 3-4. The USA national team is currently in Australia preparing for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, March 18-28 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Indoors, the National Tournament features some of the nation's top athletes including four members of USA Field Hockey's Under-21 team, ten members of the Under-19 team and eight members of the U.S. Under-16 team. The team also includes 19 selections from last season's National Field Hockey Coaches Association High School All-America team.

Members of USA Field Hockey's Under-21 team competing in the tournament include Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, N.C. – Queens of the Hill Black), Laura Suchoski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa. – Valley Styx Orange), Christine Suggs (Durham, N.C., Queens of the Hills Black) and Caitlyn Williams (Greenland, N.H. – Re-United).

Members of the USA Under-19 team expected to compete in the tournament include Katelyn Falgowski (Landenberg, Pa. – Strikers I), Gwen Hunter (Seaville, N.J. – Spirit USA North), Anne-Marie Janus (Wilkes-Barre, Pa. – Valley Styx Orange), Alexandra Malatesta (North Wales, Pa. – Mystx Storm), Caitlyn McCurdy (Mountaintop, Pa. – Strom Trooper Lightning), Sara Reinprecht (North Wales, Pa. – Mystx Storm), Paige Schmidt (Westtown, Pa. – Spirit USA North) and Mallory Weisen (Middleburg, Pa. – Blue Angels).

USA Under-16 team members scheduled to appear in the tournament includePatricia Dean (Bear, Del. – Strikers III), Michelle Drummonds (Elkton, Md. – Strikers III), Kelly Ftizpatrick (Palmyra, Pa. – spirit Eagles White), Kathleen O’Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa. Mystx Sonics), Brooke Patterson (Eemaus Pa. – Firestyx), Gina Shannon (West Chester, Pa. - Xcalibur Justice) and Boyd Vicars (Durham, N.c., Queens of the Hill Black)

High School all-America selections, Falgowski, Kasold, McCurdy, Reinprecht, Schmidt, Suchoski, Suggs, Weisen and Williams will be joined at the tournament by fellow all-America picks Meredith Brown (Elkton, Md. – Strikers I), Alyssa Emrick (Bangor, Pa. - High Styx Stampede), Shayna McGeehan (Hummelstown, Pa. – Barracudas), Shannon Mobley (Virginia Beach, Va. – Beach Premier Waves), Devon Shapiro (Concord, Mass. – Cape Ann Red), Kadi Sickel (Plaistow, N.H. – Seacoast United Gold), Allison Tanner (Quarryville, Pa. – Strom Trooper Sandstorm), Stephanie Walker (Waterboro, Maine – Seacoast United Gold), Lauren Walls (Voorhees, N.J. – Spirit USA North), Melissa Walls (Voohees, N.J. – Spirit USA North), Kiersten Wood (Lititz, Pa. – Sutter’s Brigade) and Jessica Zutz (Claymont, Del. – Strom Trooper Quicksand)

Initiated in 1980, the National Indoor Tournament has quickly become one of the sport’s premier off-season events. Once considered no more than a wintertime diversion, the game has grown to a full-time devotion for athletes looking to hone their skills and impress collegiate recruiters. The popularity of the event has spawned a qualification process where Under-19 and Under-16 teams earn berths in the National Tournament through performances at regional qualifying events held throughout the winter.

The U19 Division of the National Indoor Tournament features teams from ten states including Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Virginia.

Teams from host-state Virginia include Spartan Elite (Richmond & Virginia Beach), Hot Shots Blue (Newport News/Yorktown/Virginia Beach), Norfolk Fury (Norfolk/Virginia Beach), Beach Premier Waves (Virginia Beach), Beach Premier Ripcurls (Virginia Beach/Suffolk) and Rampage I (Centreville)

A furiously paced version of the outdoor game, indoor field hockey features six players on a team trying to push a ball into the opposing team’s goal. Players use special indoor sticks that are thinner and flatter than their outdoor counterparts and must “push,” rather than “hit” the ball while attempting to score.

Schedules, rosters and results for the National Indoor Tournament are available at the USA Field Hockey website at www.usfieldhockey.com/indoor