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| USA Field Hockey |
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USA Field Hockey News
USA Field Hockey to Open World Cup Against Defending
Champ Argentina
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| Tiffany Snow and the USA will open the World Cup against rival Argentina |
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The USA Field Hockey women's national team will meet a familiar foe to open the 2006 World Cup when the USA takes defending World Champion Argentina on the opening day of the tournament, Sept. 27 in Madrid.
In the World Cup schedule released by the International Hockey Federation, the USA will meet Argentina to open play in Pool B followed by No. 3 seed and 1998 World Cup champion Australia on Sept. 28. The USA continues Pool B play Sept. 30 against Japan before meeting South Africa on Oct. 2. The team concludes pool play in the 12-team tournament on Oct. 4 against Korea.
Pool A includes No. 1 seed The Netherlands, No. 4 seed Germany, No. 5 China, No. 8 England, No. 9 Spain and No. 12 India. The USA enters the event as the tournament's No. 11 seed.
In opening against Argentina, the USA will face a long-time Pan Am region nemesis whose international resume includes the 2004 World Cup Championship, five Pan American Games titles, the 2004 Olympic bronze medal and 2000 Olympic silver medal.
The USA's second game opponent, Australia is currently ranked No. 3 in the world and won the World Cup in 1994 and 1998 and won the Olympic gold medal in 1996 and 2000.
U.S.
head coach Lee Bodimeade and the USA team will get a good look at both
Argentina and Australia prior to the World Cup when the USA hosts the
two teams as well as No. 1 ranked Netherlands at the AstroTurf March on
Madrid Four National Tournament, Aug. 17-27 in College Park, Md. and
Virginia Beach, Va.
The double-round robin tournament will give the USA at least two games
each against the World Cup's top three contenders prior to the event.
Following its games with Argentina and Australia, the USA continues World Cup play against No. 7 seed Japan. The USA earned its last victory against Japan at the 2000 World Cup in a penalty stoke win in the 9th/10th place game while Japan topped the USA 4-1 in the bronze medal game at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament earlier this year.
The USA will meet another familiar opponent in Pool B in No. 10 seed South Africa. the two teams have met three times in the past two World Cups including a 3-0 USA win in 2002. South Africa won the last meeting between the two teams, 2-1, at the 2005 Champions Challenge in Virginia Beach.
The USA concludes pool play against a Korea team that earned a second place finish at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in April. Korea defeated the USA 3-0 at the Qualifier. The USA last beat Korea in major international competition in 1996 with a dramatic 3-2 win to open the Atlanta Olympic Games and played to a 1-1 draw with Korea in pool play at the 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The USA placed 9th at the 2002 World Cup in Perth, Australia and earned its best-ever World Cup finish in 1994 when the team earned a third place finish in Dublin.