USA Field Hockey News

USA Field Hockey Men's Trinidad & Tobago Series Team Announced

Shawn Hindy (right) and the USA defeated Trinidad & Tobago in extra time at the 2003 Pan Am Games

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Field Hockey and men's coach Nick Conway have announced their 16-member team to represent the USA in its three-game series with Trinidad & Tobago, July 14-17 at the USA Field Hockey National Training Center in Virginia Beach.

Matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. July 14, 4 p.m. July 16 and 10 a.m. July 17 a the Training Center. All games are open to the public and there is no charge for admission.

A mix of veteran international players and bright new stars recently selected at USA Field Hockey's Men's National Championships, the team for the series features eight members 2003 Pan American Games team including Pat Cota (Camarillo, Calif.), Pat Harris (Moorpark, Calif.), Shawn Hindy (Westlake Village, Calif.), Jarred Martin (Saratoga Springs, Calif.), Shawn Nakamura (Camarillo, Calif.), Arjan Reyatt (Brea, Calif.), Ian Scally (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and goalkeeper Jason Wellings (Thousand Oaks, Calif.).  An assistant coach at Radford University, Hindy brings the most experience to the series for the USA with 49 international matches while Cota has competed in 40.

Also back for the USA, Rutgers assistant coach Brian Schledorn (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) was a member of the 1999 USA Pan American Games team while Binh Hoang (Westlake, Calif.) was among the USA leading scorers at the 2001 World Cup Qualifying Tournament Team and was the "Man of the Match" of the championship game at USA Field Hockey's National Championships.

The series also represents the debut of some of the men's squad's promising new additions. Goalkeeper Brett Dunn (Fairfax, Va.) and defenders Mick Harner (Hanover, Pa.) and Ryan Sherburne (Greenfield, Mass.) will look to earn their first international caps while Jen Cunningham (Moorpark, Calif., 1 cap), Jon Ginolfi (Moorpark, Calif., 3 caps ), Malachi Mahon (Camarillo, Calif., 2 caps) will look to gain additional international experience at the series.

"Results are always important," said Conway on the USA's approach to the series. "However in this series, we hope to develop in the internal workings of the team. Specifically, we want to develop the leadership and the ability to handle pressure that are essential for international success. If we can develop these elements of our professional behavior, I have no doubt we will continue to grow and develop with our on-field structure."

For Trinidad & Tobago, the matches represent a final tune-up before competing in the Central America and Caribbean Games, July  20-29 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The top two teams at the tournament will qualify for the 2007 Pan American Games.

The CAC tournament is of special interest to the U.S. men in that it could determine the USA's opponent in a best-of-three series to determine the final berth in the Pan Am Games. The USA will play either a Central America/Caribbean team or a South American team in the qualifying series to be held in early 2007.

The USA won the last meeting between the two teams with a 3-2 extra time victory in the 5th-6th place game of the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg.

Trinidad & Tobago is currently ranked 23rd (tie) in the world standings while the USA ranks 27th.

USA Field Hockey/Trinidad & Tobago Series Team