MALAGA, Spain - January 29, 2018 - The U.S. Men's National Team kicked off the opening day of the 5 Nations Tournament in Malaga, Spain as the final match of the day against FIH Hero World Ranked No. 23 Scotland. Despite a hard fought contest, the USMNT could not overcome an early deficit as the Blue Sticks claimed a 3-1 victory.
The game followed three days of preparation for the tournament, which included daily practices and two test matches against host No. 9 Spain.
Scotland came out in a physical fashion and set the challenge for the USMNT early with an aggressive start. After a few minutes USA gathered their composure and went on the offensive nearly scoring in the 4th minute. The scoring attempt however allowed Scotland to push a counter attack, putting USA on their heels with a long aerial that went from end to end. As a result, Brandon Karess (Allentown, Pa.) was caught in no man's land as Scotland's Robert Harwood flicked the ball over his head from the top of the circle for the 1-0 score. That momentum followed the Blue Sticks throughout the first half as they dominated ball possession. Coming up on halftime Scotland was awarded, and capitalized, on their second penalty corner of the game in the 26th minute on a shot by Willie Marshall to make it 2-0 at the break.
With the tempo reset coming into the third quarter, USA was able to reset and stick to their game plan as they slowly began to take, and maintain control of the match. In a strong build up from the back in the 45th minute, the ball was sent into the far right corner where Tom Barratt (Greensboro, N.C.) was able to beat multiple defenders before sending the ball across the goal. Nick Molscan (Wanganui, New Zealand) had perfect timing as he was waiting to bury the ball into the net to narrow the gap to a 2-1 disadvantage. USA had a few more opportunities in the final minutes, including a brilliant effort by Paul Singh (Simi Valley, Calif.) that was saved by Scotland goalkeeper David Forrester. The red, white and blue continued to press the remainder of the game. With a couple of minutes remaining in the match however, Scotland was able to take advantage of a breakaway chance up the left side, where Wei Adams was waiting for transfer on the opposite side to score and put the game away for good.
Congratulations to USMNT athlete Amrit Beaty (Simi Valley, Calif.) who registered his first international cap during the match for USA.
The U.S. Men's National Team will return to the pitch for their second match of the tournament on Wednesday, January 31 at 11:00 a.m. ET against No. 9 Spain.
