USA Field Hockey News

USA Field Hockey's AstroTurf March on Madrid Tournament moves into second round

USA Coach Lee Bodimeade receives congratulations from Carrie Lingo following the USA's 2-1 win over Argentina in the AstroTurf March on Madrid. The teams now move to Virginia Beach for the final round of the double-round-robin tournament.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va..  – The AstroTurf March on Madrid Four Nation Field Hockey Tournament heads into the second round with a change of venue as the action moves from the Univ. of Maryland to the USA Field Hockey National Training Center in Virginia Beach.

The world's top-ranked team, The Netherlands leads the tournament with a 2-0-1 (7 points) record followed by the USA and Argentina with identical 1-1-1 (4 points) marks and Australia with a 0-2-1 (1 point) record.

The tournament serves as a prelude to next month's World Cup in Madrid, Spain.

"It's been a fantastic tournament so far," said USA coach Lee Bodimeade. "All of the expectations we had coming in with the top three countries in the world has really lived up to the hype. We're starting a new tournament with the second round but we're looking forward to what's ahead of us."

The tournament resumes with games Aug. 23, 24 and 26 before concluding with the championship and consolation games on Aug. 27.

With its split-venue format, the tournament allows coaches to utilize and evaluate additional players and roster combinations for possible selection to their countries' final World Cup teams.

"We've got four new players coming into it," said Bodimeade on his roster changes from the Maryland leg of the tournament. "What we're hoping for from them is that they come in and really press for selection to the World Cup Team and that their performances will continue our progression. We're really keen for these players to come in and have an impact."

Bodimeade is scheduled to announce his final 18-player roster for the World Cup on Aug. 28.

After a hard-fought 2-1 loss to The Netherlands in the first game of the tournament, the USA came back to tie No 4 ranked Australia 1-1 before upsetting No 2 ranked Argentina, 2-1 before a capacity, standing room only crowd at the Univ. of Maryland.

The win over Argentina was the USA's first victory over its South American rival since 1990 and at No. 2 in the world, Argentina was the highest-ranked opponent to fall to the USA since the FIH established the world ranking system in 2003. The USA is currently ranked 12th in the world.

"To have this opportunity to play against the world's top teams is priceless for us," said Bodimeade. "It gives the chance to see where we are and where we need to be and then to have three weeks to go and work on it, really puts in a great situation heading into the World Cup.

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