Field Hockey was held in 1908 and 1920 but didn’t fully take its place in the Olympics until 1928. The women’s version of things didn’t start until 1976. The US didn’t qualify for the men’s tournament this year, so only the women’s team will be participating. The US has won two medals in field hockey and one of them was when the men’s tournament in 1932 only had three teams. The US “won” bronze of course. The women’s team did make the 1984 bronze medal match and won the bronze on penalty strokes. The US women’s team made the Beijing Olympics, an accomplishment as they hadn’t made the Olympics since 1996. Now they look to build on that experience.
The Team:
The US Team is made up of 16 women, seven of whom were with the team in Beijing.
Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.
USA Field Hockey
Melissa Gonzalez
Rachel Dawson*
Michelle Vittese
Amy Swensen*
Keli Smith Puzo*
Paige Selenski
Julia Reinprecht
Katie O’Donnell
Michelle Kasold
Caroline Nichols*
Katie Reinprecht
Claire Laubach
Katelyn Falgowski*
Shannon Taylor
Kayla Bashore-Smedley*
Lauren Crandall*
* – Was on team in 2008 – Beijing
Schedule:
There will be a five game group stage followed by a tournament amongst the four teams which finish in the top two spots of the two groups. Wins are worth three points and draws a single point in the group stage.
All Times ET
Sunday July 29th
4:15 PM – Women’s Field Hockey vs. Germany – Group Stage
Tuesday July 31st
2 PM – Women’s Field Hockey vs. Argentina – Group Stage
Thursday August 2nd
5:45 AM – Women’s Field Hockey vs. Australia – Group Stage
Saturday August 4th
2 PM – Women’s Field Hockey vs. New Zealand – Group Stage
Monday August 6th
5:45 AM – Women’s Field Hockey vs. South Africa – Group Stage
Wednesday August 8th
3:30 AM – 3 PM – Women’s Field Hockey – Classification 9-10, 7-8, Semifinal #1, Semifinal #2
Saturday August 10th
3:30 AM – 3 PM – Women’s Field Hockey – Classification 11-12, 5-6, Bronze Medal, Gold Medal
Past Results:
The US didn’t do horribly at the last Olympics as they managed to draw three of their five games, win one other, and only lose to the group winner Germany. The US did beat Argentina at the latest Pan American Games, a good result considering Argentina won the bronze in the last Olympics and won the latest women’s hockey world cup. The US missed out on the last world cup because of a loss to Argentina 7-6 on penalty strokes at the Pan American Cup.
It would be surprising to see the US medal in London, especially with a group that finished 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 10th at the latest World Cup. Still, the US has shown the ability to compete internationally and should be a tough opponent in London.
