Days away from announcing Regional Champion and U.S. Women’s National Squad

Days are dwindling at the Women's National Championship in Norfolk, Va. and U.S. head coach Craig Parnham is only days away from announcing U.S. Women's National Squad

NORFOLK, Va. – May 27, 2013 – 6:00 a.m. wake up call.

6:30 a.m. shakedown (a.k.a a heart rate spike.) 

7 a.m. breakfast.

7:45 a.m. depart for the field.

8:00 a.m. go over last minute game plan details.

8:15 a.m. on field warm-up.

 9:00 a.m. game time.

10:30 a.m. cool down and treatments.

11:00 a.m. lunch.

Back to the field at noon to watch the remaining matches.

6:00 p.m. dinner.

7:00 p.m. meetings and video.

10 p.m. bed.

The following recap is a typical day in the life of a Women’s National Championship athlete. And if you are AmandaFleischut, add studying in to the mix. Now repeat by six. Seems exhausting to read, let alone complete, right? But when the prize at the end of it all is an invitation to join Team USA, athletes will do whatever it takes.

On day four of the Women’s National Championship in Norfolk, Va., the temperature outside was not the only thing heating up. Pennsylvania moved up in the standings and is now leading the pack with 10-points. New Jersey earned their second victory of the tournament and could make a comeback with two matches still to be played at Old Dominion University.

After a scoreless first half, All McEvoy (Gilbertsville, Pa.) scored the only goal of the match on a penalty stroke in the 50th minute to put Pennsylvania up 1-0 over Mid-Atlantic/South. In the final minutes, Mid-Atlantic/South pulled their goalkeeper to add an extra attacking player but unfortunately the risky move did not pay off.  

Although Melissa Gonzalez (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) put New England/North on the board first in the 5th minute, Midwest/California came back in the second half to earn a 3-1 victory. Torrie Albini (Escondido, Cali.) evened the match at 1-1 on a penalty corner in the 43rd minute. Meghan Beamesderfer (Iowa City, Iowa) added a second goal for Midwest/California to take the lead, 2-1, in the 55th minute. And Kelsey Kolojejchick (Larksville, Pa.) added a security goal with less than seven minutes remaining in the match. The 3-1 victory over New England/North was California’s first of the tournament.

Kelsey Byrne (Wayne, Pa.) wasted no time putting New Jersey on the board, scoring in the 1st minute of play. The rest of the half saw a lot of action but no reward. Bryne’s goal sent team New Jersey into halftime with a one goal advantage over the Under-21’s. Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, Va.) tallied a second goal for New Jersey in the 48th minute on a penalty stroke. Today’s 2-0 victory over the Under-21’s puts New Jersey in fourth place with 6-points, but not far off from Under-21’s and Mid-Atlantic/South who sit in second and third place, respectively, with 7-points apiece.

The schedule for tomorrow is as follows: At 9:00 a.m. Pennsylvania takes on Under-21’s, at
11:00 a.m. Mid Atlantic / South faces Midwest / California and at 1:00 p.m. New Jersey goes up against New England / North.

USA Field Hockey is only days away from announcing the Regional Champions and the 2013-14 U.S. Women’s National Squad. Stay tuned. 

All matches are played at Powhatan Sports Complex on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. Admission is free and open to the public. For more Women’s National Championship coverage, checkout usafieldhockey.com and @USAFieldHockey for tournament updates, results and features.