USA Field Hockey and women's national team coach Lee Bodimeade have announced the 16-member team to represent the USA at next month's Samsung World Cup in Madrid, Spain.
Bodimeade is expected to select an additional two athletes to the team on 10 September 10 for a full 18-player roster for Madrid.
The selections come after the USA hosted the AstroTurf March on Madrid Four Nation Tournament featuring No. 1 ranked The Netherlands, No. 2 Argentina and No. 4 Australia. The Netherlands won the tournament followed by Argentina, Australia and the USA.
"The AstroTurf March on Madrid Tournament has given us a really good gage of where we are and where we want to be," said Bodemeade on his World Cup team selections. "Obviously we want our best 18 for the World Cup. We took a look at our structure as well as our strengths and weaknesses coming into the tournament. We also want to give ourselves some flexibility with the players selected. Now we can focus specifically on the World Cup."
The first 16 players selected include Kate Barber (West Chester, Pa.), Kayla Bashore (Shoemakersville, Pa.), Lauren Crandall (Doyelstown, Pa.), Rachel Dawson (Berlin, N.J.), Sarah Dawson (Berlin, N.J.), Kelly Doton (Greenfield, Mass.), Katelyn Falgowski (Landerberg, Pa.), Carrie Lingo (Rehoboth Beach, Del.), Angie Loy (Loysville, Pa.), Lauren Powley (Mountaintop, Pa.), Dina Rizzo (Walpole, Mass.), Sara Silvetti (Wapwallopen, Pa.), Keli Smith (Selinsgrove, Pa.), Tiffany Snow (Escondido, Calif.) and goalkeepers Amy Tran (Grantville, Pa.) and Barbara Weinberg (Louisville, Ky,).
The USA captain with 163 international caps, Barber earns her third trip to the World Cup and joins a list of six USA athletes to earn selection to three or more World Cup teams. Current Univ. of Michigan Assoc. Head Coach Tracey and current James Madison Head Coach Antoinette Lucas own the USA record for appearances with four (1990, '94, '98, '02). Lingo and Smith are the only other members of the current team to represent the USA at World Cup after appearing on the 2002 World Cup roster in Perth, Australia.
A seventeen-year-old high school senior, Falgowski becomes the youngest USA player to make an appearance at the World Cup. Falgowski made five appearances for the USA at the AstroTurf March on Madrid, including a start in the second game against eventual champion The Netherlands.
The team also includes college senior All-American Rachel Dawson of North Carolina and Crandall of Wake Forest. Their selections to the World Cup team will mean they will miss part of their collegiate seasons, however both players have understanding coaches when it comes to the World Cup: North Carolina head coach Karen Shelton played on the 1983 USA World Cup team while Wake Forest coach Jennifer Averill was a member of the 1986 USA World Cup team.
The USA will meet Argentina in the team's World Cup opener on 27 September and will meet Australia in the second game on 28 September. The USA earned its first victory over Argentina in 16 years with a 2-1 win during the AstroTurf March on Madrid and earned a 1-1 draw with Australia during the first round of the event.
