Women's Indoor Team in Action

2010-01-01

The USA Women's National Indoor Team are currently in Copenhagen, Denmark to compete in the 2010 WASA Cup as well as four test matches vs Sweden, Denmark, and England National Teams.   The 12 member team is led by 2009 Pan Am Indoor Silver Medalists Donna Chung GK, Denise Zelenak, Meredith Kirkpatrick, and Corri McConville. Other members of the team include Sarah Reinprecht, Kim Susko, Megan Botteri GK, Kelsey Byrne, Hannah Balleza, Colleen Boyce, Tori Lindsey, and Brit Grzywacz.  

The USA open on January 1st with a 600pm local time Test Match vs Sweden while the Wasa Cup begins on January 2nd.   Head Coach Shawn Hindy and the team are using this tournament and test matches in preparation for the 2010 Pan Am Games in August in Venezuela where the winner of the Pan Ams earns direct qualification to the 2011 Indoor World Cup in Poland.

For tons of great action photographs of the Women's Indoor Team in action in the 2010 Wasa Cup, check out their Facebook page! >>

Match Report

January 7, 2010

Lyngby, Denmark - The USA Women's Indoor National Team finished their eight-day Denmark tour defeating Denmark in an unofficial test match 4-3.  In preparation for the Indoor Pan American Cup, which will take place August 9-15, 2010 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Team USA played eight matches in six days and finished with a 3-5 record defeating Denmark and Sweden.  The Indoor Pan American Cup serves as the qualifier to the Indoor World Cup to be held in Poznan, Poland in February 2011. USA opponents (England, Denmark and Sweden) were in their final preparations for the 2010 EuroHockey Indoor Nations Championships, which serves as their respective World Cup qualifier. 

USA defeat of Denmark on the final night saw a much improved USA team take an early lead in the 1st minute, scoring a field goal by Kelsey Byrne. Also scoring in the first half was Kimberly Susko, who was on the receiving end of the best passing combination play the team displayed throughout the tour.  With 5 minutes remaining in the match tied 3-3, Byrne scored her 2nd field goal of the game to regain the lead as goal keeper Donna Chung made critical last minute saves to savor the victory.  Also scoring in the 2nd half was Brittany Grzywacz, her 6th goal tying her with Victoria Lindsey for the most goals on the tour. Starting goal keeper Megan Botteri solid play was awarded the woman of the match award.

USA next preparation tournament will be the Big Apple Cup held on February 20-21, 2010 in New York City.

Match Report

January 4, 2010

Sweden 3, USA 1

Lyngby, Denmark -  The USA Women's Indoor National Team playing in their final match of the 2010 Wasa Cup faced Sweden for 3rd place, USA defeated Sweden in pool play 4-2.  After two physical matches yesterday against eventual 2010 Wasa Cup Champions, England, and playing without injured Co-Captain Meredith Kirkpatrick the USA team fell behind in the 10th minute when Sweden scored on a field goal.

USA came right back and earned a penalty corner in the 11th minute but was unable to convert as Brittany Grzywacz drag flick was saved followed by another save on the rebound.  USA continued the pressure with another penalty corner in the 12th minute that was also unsuccessful.  Sweden lead at halftime 1-0.  In the 2nd half, the Danish crowd came alive as the two teams battled back and forth as Sweden's 25th minute penalty corner option was blocked.  USA was able to even the score in the 27th minute when Victoria Lindsey scored her 3rd field goal of the tournament.  USA had a chance to take the lead in the 29th minute but the Swedish goal keeper made a key save on the penalty corner opportunity. Sweden came back with a penalty corner of their own in the 30th minute which Grzywacz goal line saved and bounced into another USA defender then ruled by the umpire as a penalty stroke.  Sweden converted the semi-controversial penalty stroke to gain a 2-1 advantage with nine minutes to play.  USA fought back but was unsuccessful as Sweden closed the game out with a 38th minute field goal. 

USA will now face Denmark in a two-game test series starting January 5th.

Scoring Summary:
10' - SWE - Hallberg, Julia (FG)
27' - USA - Lindsey, Victoria (FG)
31' - SWE - Blomgren, Sofia (PS)
38' - SWE - Nystrom, Clara (FG)

Woman of the match - Kimberly Susko

Match Report

January 3, 2010

England 6, USA 4

Lyngby, Denmark -  In the final pool play match of the 2010 Wasa Cup, the USA Women's Indoor National Team faced England, an opponent they were destine to face later in the day in the semi-finals of the cup competition.  England started quickly with a field goal in the 2nd minute followed with a 3rd minute penalty corner against USA goal keeper Megan Botteria, making her first international start.  USA fight back when Victoria Lindsey scored a field goal in the 10th minute.  In a very tight and tactical first half, England converted another penalty corner in the 18th minute to lead at halftime 3-1.

Both teams played various systems testing each other's defense in preparation for the semi-finals match.  England started the 2nd half with another quick field goal in the 21st minute.  In the 25th minute, USA Kelsey Byrne's back hand pass found Brittany Grzywacz deflecting 
the ball past the English goal keeper moving the score to 4-2.

England playing with much experience scored back with a field goal of their own in the 25th minute.  USA playing well saw Kimberly Susko take a counter-attack into the circle to be fouled in the 30th minute to earn a penalty stroke, Corrine McConville converted the penalty stroke to intensify the remaining ten minutes of the match.  Both teams converted penalty corners in the final minutes to make the final score 6-4. USA goal coming from Grzywacz, her second of the game and fourth of the tournament.

Scoring Summary:
2' - ENG - Ball, Ashleigh (FG)
3' - ENG - Walton, Sally (PC)
10' - USA - Lindsey, Victoria (FG)
18' - ENG -  Rogers, Chloe (PC)
25' - USA - Grzywacz, Brittany (FG)
25' - ENG - Ball, Ashleigh (FG)
30' - USA - McConville, Corrine (PS)
34' - ENG - Rogers, Chloe (FG)
40' - USA - Grzywacz, Brittany (PC)

Woman of the match - Brittany Grzywacz

January 3, 2010

2010 Wasa Cup Semi-Finals - England 6, USA 0

Lyngby, Denmark - In the semi-finals of the 2010 Wasa Cup, the USA Women's Indoor Team faced England for a spot in the finals against the host country Denmark, who had already defeated Sweden in the other semi-final match.  Similar to the morning match, England scored two field goals in the first five minutes of the match.  In what was the most intense and best tactical game played by USA, saw a tough battle between two good teams trading attacks and shots for the remaining fifteen minutes of the 1st half, ending the half at 2-0.  USA able to slow the attack of England in the first half conceded a third goal in the 21st minute as the teams continued to battle until the 30th minutes when co-captain and defensive leader Meredith Kirkpatrick was injured by a charging player.  Kirkpatrick suffered a concussion and did not return to the match.  Following the injury, USA was not able to hold off the English side as the finished off the scoring to end the game 6-0.  USA coach Shawn Hindy was pleased with the team's performance quoted saying, "We played the best 30 minutes of the tour against a very tough opponent."  USA will face Sweden in the 3rd place match, a team they had previously defeated in the tournament 4-2.

Scoring Summary:
2' - ENG - Gilbert, Susie (FG)
5' - ENG - Gilbert, Susie (FG)
21' - ENG - Ball, Ashleigh (FG)
31' - ENG -  Rogers, Chloe (FG)
35' - ENG - Strong, Chloe (PC)
39' - ENG - Ball, Ashleigh (FG)

Woman of the match - Meredith Kirkpatrick

Players Update

January 3, 2010

Today, we woke up as expert hacky sackers after successfully completing a double hack last night.  Hacky sacking has become the most entertaining thing for us to do in our spare time.  I’m sure we’ll all have it mastered by the time we get home.  After eating breakfast and making our sandwiches for lunch we returned to our rooms in hopes to get a few more minutes of sleep but Hindy wasn’t too happy about that.  He found a sleeping Tori in her bed and yanked open the blinds while pulling the covers off of her.  Kelsey was lucky enough to have a couple of oranges thrown at her, which ended everyone’s hopes of a nap. Meanwhile, Colleen was trying to squeeze her rooms' lunch sandwiches into the mini bar, but accidently fumbled two glass bottles onto the tile floor shattering them everywhere.  Of course, because we’re in Europe one of those bottles happened to be beer. So after attempting to clean it up the floor is still a little sticky and a little smelly.

Our first game today was against England, which ended in upsetting 6-4 loss. Afterwards, we watched video of the game to see what needed to be changed about our play, but the coaches included a comic relief by replaying Sarah’s belly flopping fall over and over again, which was followed seconds later by Kelsey’s dramatic trip over the flat black line which "reached up and pulled her down."

So we made the semifinals and went on to play England for the second time in one day.  Hoping to come out on top this game we ended up losing 6-0. After the game everyone returned to the hotel, showered, and got ready for dinner.

Some of the girls went to dinner at a restaurant in the mall under our hotel and enjoyed some thick crust pizza, sandwiches, and salad.  We both had pepperoni pizza which was very tasty! Fully satisfied after dinner we headed down to the lobby to play cards. We decided to play potpourri poker, which we did by betting with potpourri petals. Hannah and I just learned tonight, and are NOT very good. Midway through our game of cards Sarah introduced a new game to the team called "mine."

The point of the game is to make a teammate say the word "mine" and they have to do 10 pushups.  We're only about an hour into the game and Colleen has done 90 pushups. She might be sore for our 10 o clock game. Other than the losses today was a very nice day in chilly Denmark.

Brit Grzywacz USA #11

Hannah Balleza USA #27

Players Update

January 2, 2010

Today was our third day in Denmark. We woke up and had a wonderful breakfast while it was snowing on the streets and Tori and I both thought to ourselves, "What a great day to walk 1200 meters to walk to Lyngbyhallen." We had to spend the day at field so the team decided to indefinitely borrow a few loaves of bread and some spare knives for sandwiches.

Our first game in the tournament was against Denmark and we lost 7-2. Denise and Britt scored our only goals but boy were they good. Cori was trying to pass the ball up the boards and instead she fired it into the opponent's bench and hit the Denmark coach. He looked quite upset but it was hilarious.

Our second game was against Sweden. We beat them again and the score was 4-2. Two of our defenders, Mare and Colleen, scored a goal each, as well as Tori and Britt. It was so exciting! On our way back to the locker room, Donna tripped again for the millionth time this week.

After the games we hurried back to the hotel to get showered and dressed for the tournament dinner back at the hall. Hindy made us get there an hour before the food was ready and the whole team was having hunger cramps. We ate dinner with the other teams at the tournament and then stayed to watch a few games. After a long day and four long walks, we watched Hindy and Binh throw snowballs at each other like two little kids from California who have just seen snow for the first time. We are now going to the sleep to the sounds of foreign Englishman singing beautiful music in the room next door.

-Kelsey and Tori

Kelsey Byrne USA #10

Victoria "Tori" Lindsey USA #9

Match Reports

January 2, 2010

Denmark 7, USA 2

Lyngby, Denmark - The USA Women's Indoor National Team started the 2010 Wasa Cup competition against the host country Denmark.  Denmark, who will be playing in the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Trophy later this month, showed the host crowd they are ready for competition as they converted on penalty corners in the 3rd and 5th minutes to take a controlling lead early in the match.  USA was able to fight back but was unsuccessful in the 15th minute as Victoria Lindsey's low drag flick penalty corner was saved by the Danish goal keeper.  Before the end of the first half, USA conceded a field goal to trail at halftime 3-0.  After the break, Denmark was able to combine for another field goal in the 23rd minute but USA answered back in the 25th minute as Lindsey manipulated two defenders to find a wide open Brittany Grzywacz for USA's first goal of the game.  Denmark retaliated and put the game out of reach with three more field goals in the 25th, 26th and 29th minute.  USA Denise Zelenak scored a field goal in the 38th to end the game 7-2.

Scoring Summary:

3' - DEN - Emilie B. (PC)
5' - DEN - Marianne N.  (PC)
19' - DEN - Lotte J. (FG)
23' - DEN - Marie J.J. (FG)
25' - USA - Grzywacz, Brittany (FG)
25' - DEN - Emilie B. (FG)
26' - DEN - Emilie B. (FG)
29' - DEN - Marianne N. (FG)
38' - USA - Zelenak, Denise (FG)

Woman of the match - Sarah Reinprecht

January 2, 2010

USA 4, Sweden 2

Lyngby, Denmark - The USA Women's Indoor National Team's second game of the day in the 2010 Wasa Cup was against Sweden, an opponent they had defeated 5-1 in a pre-tournament test match. USA Victoria Lindsey intercepted a pass and opened the scoring in the 2nd minute to mark her first of the tournament and a team leading fourth of the tour.

Sweden equalized in the 5th minute with a field goal of their own.

USA then responded in the 9th minute as Brittany Grzywacz scored her second field goal of the tournament to take back the lead. In the 13th minute, USA extended their lead as Kelsey Byrne penetrated the shooting circle to find Colleen Boyce for her first international goal. Scoring the fourth USA field goal of the half was vice-captain defender Meredith Kirkpatrick, ending the half 4-1. In the 2nd half, Sweden earned four penalty corners to USA's two, as Sweden converted in the 26th minute to make the score 4-2. Sweden continued to press USA in the final fourteen minutes but the strong defense and goal keeper play of captain Donna Chung allowed USA to capture their first victory of the tournament. USA will play England in the final pool play match in the morning and then play in the semi-finals in the afternoon.

Scoring Summary:

2' - USA - Lindsey, Victoria (FG)
5' - SWE - Fantini, Emilia (FG)
9' - USA - Grzywacz, Brittany (FG)
13' - USA - Boyce, Colleen (FG)
15' - USA - Kirkpatrick, Meredith (FG)
26' - SWE - Blomgren, Sofia (PC)

Woman of the match - Colleen Boyce

Wasa Cup 2010 Schedule

Saturday, January 2

10.30 1 MB Denmark vs Dinamo Electrostal
11.20 2 MA Orient Lyngby vs Sweden
12.20 3 W Denmark vs USA
13.20 4 MB USA vs. Dinamo Electrostal
14.20 5 MA Orient Lyngby vs Danish Allstars
15.20 6 W Sweden vs. USA
16.20 7 MB USA vs. England Tigers
17.10 8 MA England Pumas vs Danish Allstars
18.00 9 W Denmark vs. England
18.50 10 MB Denmark vs England Tigers
19.40 11 MA England Pumas vs. Sweden
20.30 12 W Sweden vs England


Sunday, January 3

09.00 13 W Denmark vs Sweden
09.50 14 MA Sweden vs Danish Allstars
10.40 15 MA Orient Lyngby vs England Pumas
11.30 16 W England vs. USA
12.20 17 MB USA vs Denmark
13.10 18 MB England Tigers vs Dinamo Electrostal
14.00 19 Boys Orient Lyngby Gentofte
14.40 20 W Nr. 1 vs Nr. 4
15.30 21 W Nr. 2 vs Nr. 3
16.20 22 Cross-over Nr. 2 B vs Nr. 1 A
17.10 23 Cross-over Nr. 3 B vs Nr. 4 A
18.00 24 Cross-over Nr. 1 B vs Nr. 2 A
18.50 25 Cross-over Nr. 4 B vs Nr. 3 A


Monday, January 4

9.00 26 7. -8. place - Men Loser match 23 vs Loser match 25
10.00 27 Bronze - W Loser match 20 vs Loser match 21
10.50 28 5. -6. place - Men Winner match 23 vs Winner match 25
11.40 29 3. -4. place - Men Loser match 22 vs Loser match 24
12.30 30 FINAL - W Winner match 22 vs Winner match 24
13.30 31 FINAL - M Winner match 23 vs Winner match 25
14.20 Medal Ceremony

All games are 2*20 minutes
If a cross-over or classification match ends with a draw it goes directly to penalty shoot-out

Players Update

It's day two in beautiful, dark, cold Copenhagen where the sun rises at 10:00 AM and sets at 3:00 PM. . .haha, but it's actually an amazing country. Last night some of us had the opportunity to experience New Year's Eve in the town square of Copenhagen, and we could not even fathom what that would mean when policemen handed us safety goggles at the metro center. The madness began around 11:45 PM when it seemed as though every person in Copenhagen had their own personal arsenal and deployed their stash of fireworks at will. After a half an hour of the madness, a few of us headed back to our hotel in Lynsby to meet up with the rest of the team and get a good night's sleep before our match against Sweden the following day.

Today was our first match and our first real test as a team. Most of the team is new (myself included), and I know we were all dying to play against someone other than each other. After breakfast, we went for a team run to loosen up and attempt to get rid of the inevitable pre-game nerves. Most of us came prepared to play INDOOR hockey, but we managed to survive our run outside in limited clothing with minimal frostbite.

Our game was a success, and our manager, Binh, proved to be a true team player after a pair of shoes was left at the hotel. The game began with our team fully equipped thanks to Binh's hustle. In the end, our possession and patience won out, and we defeated Sweden in 5-1. It was a great way to start the tour, and I know it was an incredible experience for those of us earning our first cap. We begin the WASA cup tomorrow with matches against Denmark and Sweden, and we hope to build off today's success.

Sarah Reinprecht - USA #21

Match Update

January 1, 2010

USA 5, Sweden 1

Lyngby, Denmark - The USA Women's Indoor National Team started the decade strong as they defeated Sweden by a score of 5-1 in a pre- tournament test match. In a very tough and physical match, USA were able to convert on their 2nd penalty corner of the day as Victoria Lindsey's drag flick found the net in the 14th minute. USA led at halftime 1-0 and had four penalty corners to Sweden's one. Goalkeeper Donna Chung, member of the 2009 Pan Am Indoor Silver Medal Team, made many critical saves in the first half. In the 25th minute, Sweden earned a penalty stroke off of their 2nd penalty corner of the game. Chung made a magnificent diving glove save to turn away the potential equalizer. USA was able to build from the momentum and connected passing combinations as Lindsey, playing in her first international match, scored two more field goals in the 30th and 32nd minutes to complete her hat trick. USA strong play continued as Kelsey Byrne, also playing in her first international match, scored field goals in the 33rd and 34th minute. Sweden closed out the scoring on a penalty stroke in the 38th minute. Goal keeper Megan Botteri, Sarah Reinprecht, Hannah Balleza, Brittany Grzywacz and Colleen Boyce also earned their first international cap. USA will start the 2010 Wasa Cup with matches against Denmark and Sweden on January 2nd.

Scoring Summary:

14' - USA - Lindsey, Victoria (PC)
30' - USA - Lindsey, Victoria (FG)
32' - USA - Lindsey, Victoria (FG)
33' - USA - Byrne, Kelsey (FG)
34' - USA - Byrne, Kelsey (FG)
38' - SWE - Blomgren, Sofia (PS)

Woman of the match - Donna Chung (GK)

Players Update

Dec 31, 2009

Happy New Years! So, we made it to Denmark without any real obstacles. In fact, the trip couldn't have been smoother, besides the fact that we arrived at the airport over 2 hours before our flight only to breeze through security in less than 10 minutes. As far as flights go, Scandinavian Air is the way to go. They don't charge you to check your bags, actually feed you for free (multiple meals), and everyone has a personal TV and remote. They even give you a nice hot towel to wipe off your face before breakfast - even my Mom doesn't do that!

Anyways, today we had a sweet breakfast buffet - coolest cheese cutter ever - and Corri learned what a soft-boiled egg was, so pretty productive morning. Interspersed with LOOOOONG naps, we walked around the local area, got a nice laugh when Donna bit it on the sidewalk and made it to the hockey facilities, which unfortunately were closed for the holiday. Hotel, besides breaking the toilet on first use, it's nice, I'll let you know how nice it is rooming with a goalie after 6 days of playing.

New Years Eve in Denmark, even crazier than Times Square. We got off the train in downtown Copenhagen to security guards handing out safety goggles for the fireworks, since obviously anyone can set them off anywhere at any time. Walking around downtown was, well absolutely frigid, but the excitement of the New Year made up for it. Most restaurants were already full for dinner, so we chose Shawarma out of the 3 Shawarma restaurants on the block. If you don' t know what a Shawarma restaurant is, dishes range from kebobs to falafel and everything comes with Hummus. Who doesn't love Hummus?

As for the Danes, as the guidebook says, "Drinking beer in public is not only legal, it's encouraged. " To back this statement up, we ran into a group of guys each with their own case of beer and a large funnel, New Years is not to be taken lightly.

For the ringing in of the New Year for the team, half the group stayed for the fireworks and the other half went back to the hotel early. Being in the tired group, we got to see the fireworks from the 7th story of the hotel, which ended up being a beautiful panoramic of fireworks exploding for an hour across the city. Absolutely stunning and no safety goggles required here. Going to bed, we play the Swedish team tomorrow, goodnight!

Kim Susko