USA Field Hockey News

Newly Selected USA Field Hockey Squad to Continue World Cup Prep
 

National Championship MVP Kate Barber will seek a third trip to the World Cup as the USA squad continues its preparations for September's event.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Field Hockey’s newly-selected women’s World Cup training squad will continue its preparations for the sport’s world championship event with a full schedule of events and competitions leading up to the World Cup, Sept. 27-Oct. 8 in Madrid, Spain

Selected at the USA Field Hockey Women’s National Championships June-29-July 4 in Virginia Beach, the World Cup training squad features 22 athletes with an additional nine players selected to the U.S. developmental squad. The two squads will combine for a series of intra-squad matches featuring US-A against US-B, July 18-22 at the USA Field Hockey National Training Center in Virginia Beach. A pool of 24 players will then be selected from which coach Lee Bodimeade will name the final 18 members of the World Cup team.

The four-match intra-squad US-A/US-B games are scheduled for July 18 at 7 p.m., July 19 at 4 p.m., July 21 at 10 a.m. and July 22 at 11 a.m.  The 24-member World Cup squad is scheduled to be announced on July 24 with the final 18-member World Cup team to be announced August 28.

The two selected squads feature a combination of veteran stars and promising young players. U.S. captain Kate Barber (West Chester, Pa.) will be looking to earn a spot on her third USA World Cup team after previously competing at the International Hockey Federation’s premier event in 1998 and 2002. Barber has appeared in 156 international matches in her career while scoring 41 goals.

Also looking to return to the World Cup, World Cup Qualifier standout Carrie Lingo (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) started all nine matches for the USA at the 2002 World Cup while Keli Smith (Selinsgrove, Pa.) returns to the squad after taking a year off from international competition. Smith’s game-winning goal in extra time against New Zealand at the 2002 World Cup gave the USA a 1-0 win to send the team into the 9^th/10^th place game.

Another member of the 2002 World Cup team, goalkeeper Jill Dedman (Orange, Conn.) returns to the developmental squad after previously playing on the U.S. national team from 2001-03. Dedman had been a member of the U.S. Indoor team and serves as assistant coach at the University at Albany.

The new squad features 17 members of the World Cup Qualifier team that earned the USA a spot in the World Cup with a fourth place finish in Rome. The 18^th member of the Qualifier team, Robyn Kenney retired following the tournament and concluded her career with 37 international match appearances.

In addition to Barber and Lingo, returning members of the Qualifier team include Kayla Bashore (Shoemakersville, Pa.), Rachel Dawson (Berlin, Pa.), Kelly Doton (Greenfield, Mass.), April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa.), Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif.), Kelsey Keeran (Columbus, Ohio), Claire Laubach, (Bristow, Va.), Melissa Leonetti (Erdenheim, Pa.), Angie Loy (Loysville, Pa.), Lauren Powley (Mountaintop, Pa.), Dina Rizzo (Walpole, Mass.), Sara Silvetti (Wapwallopen, Pa.), Tiffany Snow (Escondido, Calif.) and goalkeepers Amy Tran (Grantville, Pa.) and Barbara Weinberg (Louisville, Ky.).

Loy and Lingo led a balanced scoring attack at the World Cup Qualifier that included scores by Fronzoni, Snow and Rizzo while Tran was named the Qualifier’s Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

Also in the mix for a World Cup roster spot, Sarah Dawson (Berlin, N.J.) was a member of the 2005 USA Champions Challenge team while Kelly Dostal (Hatfield, Mass.) battled back from injuries to compete on the Argentina Four Nation Tournament earlier this year.

The pool of  potential World Cup players also includes some of USA Field Hockey’s most promising rising stars including 2005 Junior World Cup team members Lauren Crandall (Doyelstown, Pa.), Katelyn Falgowski (Landenberg, Pa.), Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Mia Link (Jenkintown, Pa.) and Katie O’Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa.) as well as USA Junior team selections recent high school graduate Kelsey  Cutchins (Suffolk, Va.) and college All-Americans Univ Jessica Javelet (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) of the Univ. of Louisville,  Dana Sensenig (Denver, Pa.) of Old Dominion and Laura Suchoski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) of Duke. A 2004 member of the USA Under-19 team, Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, Va.) moved up to a spot on the World Cup training squad following her performance at the USA Field Hockey National Championships and an All-Region campaign at Old Dominion in 2005.

Following the intra-squad matches, the USA will continue its preparations for the World Cup with the AstroTurf March on Madrid Four Nation Tournament, Aug. 17-27 in College Park, Md. and Virginia Beach, Va. The tournament features the USA taking on the world’s top-ranked teams including No. 1 The Netherlands, No. 2 Argentina and No. 3 Australia in a double round-robin format.

Tickets for the AstroTurf  March on Madrid are available at the gate on each day of the tournament. Admission is free for USA Field Hockey members with proof of membership and $5 for adults and $3 for youth 12-18 and free for children under 12.

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