USA Field Hockey News: USA Field Hockey Men Fall to Japan in China Four Nation Opener

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Japan scored six consecutive goals to erase an early deficit and defeat the USA Field Hockey Men's National Team, 6-2, in the opening game of the China Four Nation Tournament in Lanzhou City.

The USA jumped out to an early lead when Pat Harris (Moorpark, Calif.) connected on a penalty corner in the fifth minute for a 1-0 advantage.

But Japan, the world's number 12-ranked team stormed and top seeded team at the tournament, stormed back with field goals in the 12th and 17th minute before closing the half with a field goal in the 30th minute for a 3-1 halftime lead.

Japan's scoring barrage continued in the second half with field goals in the 43rd, 57th and 65th minute, before the USA's Jarred Martin (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) ended the match on a positive note with a penalty corner goal as time wound down in the 69th minute.

In the tournament's other game, the world's No. 15 ranked team Egypt played to a 2-2 draw with host China (No. 18). The USA is currently ranked No. 27 in the International Hockey Federation world rankings.

The tournament continues on Thursday with the USA taking on China and Egypt meeting Japan.

The tournament marks the final international competition for the U.S. men prior to the Pan American Games, July 15-29 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The winner of the Pan Am Games earns the continent's automatic berth in the 2008 Olympic Games.

USA: Pat Harris (PC, 5:00)
JPN: FG, 12:00
JPN: FG, 17:00
JPN: FG, 30:00
JPN: FG, 43:00
JPN: FG, 57:00
JPN: FG, 65:00
USA: Jarred Martin (PC, 69:00)

USA Starters: Jon Ginolfi, Brian Schledorn, Jarred Martin, Rinku Bhamber, Pat Cota, Remco Couwenbergh, Shawn Nakamura, Jed Cunnngham, Arjan Reyatt, Pat Harris, Jason Wellings (GK)

Name	Pos	Hometown	Date of Birth	Caps
Rinku Bhamber	Def	Simi Valley, Calif.	19 Feb 79	48
Pat Cota	Def	Camarillo, Calif.	14 June 79	50
Remco Couwenbergh	Mid	Northridge, Calif.	27 Oct 86	7
Jed Cunningham	Fwd	Moorpark, Calif.	19 Jan 88	8
Jonathan Ginolfi	Mid	Moorpark, Calif.	17 Aug 88	13
Mick Harner	Def	Hanover, Pa.	4 Aug 80	10
Pat Harris	Mid	Moorpark, Calif.	13 March 85	39
Shawn Hindy	Fwd	Westlake Village, Calif.	20 July 75	57
Binh Hoang	Fwd	Westlake Village, Calif.	10 May 74	21
Danny Jordan	Fwd	Camarillo, Calif.	26 Jan 85	7
Jarred Martin	Fwd	Saratoga Springs, N.Y.	2 May 82	45
Shawn Nakamura	Def	Camarillo, Calif.	1 June 78	49
Arjan Reyatt	Mid	Brea, Calif.	31 Dec 80	16
Jeb Saez	GK	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	27 Jan 84	17
Ramandeep Sandhu	Fwd	Camarillo, Calif.	28 Oct 83	9
Brian Schledorn	Def	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	5 Nov 76	33
Jason Wellings	GK	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	26 Mar 75	23
Head Coach
Nick Conway
Staff:
Asst. Coach: Tjerk van Herwaarden, Manager: Ben Maruquin, Team Leader: Sascha Roth
Umpire:
Saleem Aaron
*Caps as of April 15, 2007