Happy 4th of July & happy almost game day! The United Eagles will be taking on New Zealand tomorrow and Sunday, and this is everything you need to know for the match!
(Picture from Amaansportspics on Instagram)
Where:
These two matches are home matches for the United States, taking place at UNC-Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. The official address is 8730 Phillips Rd, Charlotte, NC 28262, which may show as Rec Field 13 on your GPS.
The game is free to attend, however, tickets are required. Tickets can be found here.
Parking is in the parking garage labeled CRI Deck Visitor Parking. Note that the path to the field requires walking up a rather steep hill and may not be accessible for all. Attendees will receive an email from USA Field Hockey with further information.
For those who cannot attend the match in person, there will be a livestream available for free on USA Field Hockey's YouTube.
When:
The games will be played on July 5th and 6th, both at 10:00 AM ET.
Who:
We posted our roster thoughts last month. No roster changes have been made since the writing of that article, however note that the teams are also playing unoffical matches so some players rostered may not cap this weekend.
(from USA Field Hockey’s Website)
Nina Murphy will earn her first cap for the Black Sticks after being named the Tournament MVP in the Junior Hockey League earlier this year.
A few Black Sticks are NCAA hockey alumni, with Casey Crowley having played for the University of Maine, Julia Gluyas playing for Northeastern, and Anna Willocks playing for Saint Joseph’s.
From this squad, our players to watch are captain Olivia Shannon and Anna Willocks.
The Last Match-Ups
The USA and NZL meet back at the beginning of the year, when the USA traveled to New Zealand in January.
The two official matches went New Zealand’s way, with a 1-0 match and a 3-2 match.
The 1-0 match marked Lucy Adams, Carter Ayars, Jans Croon, Katie Dixon, Dani Mendez-Trendler, Caroline Ramsey, and Mia Schoenbeck’s first caps, as well as Cassie Sumfest’s 50th. Holly Pearson scored the lone goal in the 4th quarter off a transition attack from a USA penalty corner.
In the 3-2 match, Annabel Skubisz made her debut in the net in the 4th quarter, and Mia Abello also earned her first cap. Breana Catley and Paige Blake (both not rostered), combined in the second quarter to put New Zealand up 1-0. Dani Mendez-Trendler and Carter Ayars put the “fight for four” concept to the test in the 3rd, with Mendez-Trendler scoring off a rebound and Ayars scoring on a corner to make the game 2-1. New Zealand equalized in the 4th off a set piece, scored by Blak,e and Willocks scored the game winner off a shot from Kaitlin Cotter.
Debuts & Milestones
No USA Players will be earning their first cap this weekend, and only Nina Murphy will earn one for New Zealand.
No significant milestones (i.e. 50 caps, 100 caps), will be celebrated on the USA squad in this series.
USA Players to Watch
Kelsey Bing - we hope to see Bing suited up and back in goal for the first time post-Olympics this weekend.
Ashley Sessa - Sessa also looks to make her post-Olympic return after dealing with an injury for the last few months.
Reese D’Ariano - straight off of U16 and U19 National Club Championship wins with WC Eagles, the 16-year-old still looks to earn her first international goal.
Make sure to cheer on our United Eagles this weekend! For more informations, check the Event Page
