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USA Field Hockey News
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The USA Field Hockey Women's National Team will take its first steps in its preparations for next year's Olympic Qualifying Tournament when the USA hosts Olympic-bound Japan in a five-game series Oct. 7-13 at the Univ. of Maryland. USA Head Coach Lee Bodimeade will use the series to take a good look at a squad of 25 players as the USA prepares for its Olympic Qualifying Tournament, April 19-27 in Kazan, Russia. The USA will need to win the six-team tournament to earn a spot in the 2008 Olympic Games. “One of the benefits of playing a home series is that you don't have to limit your playing group to 18 players and you get the opportunity to see the progress of a large percentage of your squad,” said Bodimeade whose team will see its first international action since July's Pan American Games. “There are limited opportunities for players to present their case for selection between now and the qualifier, and then for the Olympic Games should we qualify. Japan is arguably the form team in the world at the moment after their win in the Asia Cup and they will provide the ideal opposition for us to gauge how well our players going.” In addition to providing a showcase for established international stars such as five-time USA Field Hockey Athlete of the Year Kate Barber (West Chester, Pa.), WorldHockey All-Star goalkeeper Amy Tran (Grantville, Pa.) and Pan American Elite Team selections Kelly Doton (Greenfield, Mass.), Carrie Lingo (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) and Tiffany Snow (Escondido, Calif.), the series will mark the international debuts of some players in the USA's growing talent pool. First-year national squad member Natalie Martirosian (Richmond, Va.) is expected to see action in her first career senior international match during the series along with Univ. of North Carolina senior Jesse Gey (Green Lane, Pa.) and former Univ. of Delaware standout Katie Evans (Newtown Square, Pa.) who were called up from the USA developmental squad roster for the series. The USA will also benefit from the services of current college players Gey, Rachel Dawson (Univ. of North Carolina), Katelyn Falgowski (Univ. of North Carolina), Michelle Kasold (Wake Forest) and Katie O'Donnell (Univ. of Maryland) who will split time with their college teams while playing for the USA in Maryland. “The added advantage that we have for this home series is that we have received, once again, tremendous support from the college coaches and respective colleges, enabling us to select players that are in the middle of their college seasons,” said Bodemeade. “Being able to have these players involved helps the individuals continue to develop at the international level, but also enables us to work on our offensive and defensive structures, with these players involved.” In one of international field hockey's newest and most competitive rivalries, the USA and Japan have met 16 times since 2000 including a 1-0 Japan win in the 5th/6th place game at the 2006 World Cup and an epic USA victory in penalty strokes in the 9th/10th place game at the 2002 World Cup. Japan qualified for the Olympic Games as the quota team from Asia following a second place finish at the 2006 Asia Games. Following the Japan series, the USA squad will reconvene at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. in January 2008 to continue its preparations for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The USA is expected to base its training in Chula Vista through the 2008 Olympic Games. Matches for the Japan series are scheduled for Oct. 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13 at the Univ. of Maryland. Game time for the Oct. 7 match is 4 p.m. with all other matches scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Univ. of Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. The USA's Oct. 7 and 12 matches will be played as part of an NCAA/International doubleheader with the Univ. of Maryland taking on Boston University on Oct. 7 (2 p.m.) and Maryland vs. Old Dominion on Oct. 12 (5 p.m.). Sun Safe Play Campaign Initiated in June 2007 in memory of former USA Field Hockey teammate Maria Whitehead, the Sun Safe Play! Campaign is an effort by the USA Field Hockey National Team and the Melanoma International Foundation to provide athletes who regularly play, practice and compete in the sun with educational information on melanoma and skin cancer prevention. A former member of USA Field Hockey teams and a college coach, Whitehead died from melanoma in November of 2006. USA Field Hockey’s Sun Safe Play! Campaign encourages all outdoor athletes to practice sun safe habits and make healthy decisions while playing in the sun.
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