SALAMANCA, Mexico - June 6, 2018 - The U.S. Men’s National Team kicked off the Hockey Series Open with an exclamation mark Wednesday morning at the Cancha de Hockey Siglo XXI in Salamanca, Guadalajara, Mexico. While controlling nearly every aspect of the game, nine different USA players registered goals as the USMNT’s offense dominated the opposition in a convincing 19-0 victory over Costa Rica.
“We were trying to score some high percentage goals," said Rutger Wiese, U.S. Men's National Team Head Coach. "I think we did that, especially in the second half. First half I think we were searching a little bit. We didn’t know exactly what to expect from this team.”
It did not take long for USA to get on a roll. From the opening whistle, the team took over possession quickly as USA was awarded the first penalty corner of the game. The attempt failed as Aki Kaeppeler’s (Stuttgart, Germany) shot went wide of the mark. With possession, Costa Rica attempted to clear but USA quickly stopped them in their tracks. Tyler Sundeen (Simi Valley, Calif.) took the ball and quickly shot as he entered the circle for the quick opening score in the 2nd minute. Sundeen would follow up his effort with another field goal strike just a minute later for back-to-back tallies and to help cement the game’s momentum in the process. In the 8th minute, a penalty stroke was awarded to USA, but Kaeppeler’s shot was denied by Costa Rica goalkeeper, Pablo Trejos. The red, white and blue were awarded two more penalty corners in the opening minutes but could not find a solution in their execution. Kaeppeler would ultimately prevail on USA’s fourth penalty corner chance of the opening quarter, scoring to make it 3-0. After the ensuing restart, USA regained control quickly, charging down field before a penalty by Costa Rica inside the circle set up USA for another penalty stroke. Ajai Dhadwal (Agoura Hills, Calif.) was successful on the attempt to make it 4-0. With time running out in the opening frame, Alex Grassi (Brookeville, Md.) made it 5-0 on the team’s next penalty corner chance.
Grassi opened the second period with his second of the game in similar scoring fashion as his first field goal. Will Holt (Camarillo, Calif.) was not far behind from getting on the scoreboard as he finished USA’s next penalty corner moments later. The offensive frenzy would cool down the next few minutes as Costa Rica was able to control the ball, but struggled to make it past the center line. USA’s defense was there time and time again to match and apprehend Costa Rica’s advance before taking back control. Following another penalty corner try, Deegan Huisman (Almere, The Netherlands) took advantage of a broken down clear by Costa Rica to make it 8-0 as halftime approached.
In the third, USA swiftly recovered the ball on a clear attempt by Costa Rica. Tom Barratt (Greensboro, N.C.) swung it deep to Dhadwal, who entered the circle for a quick shot, but was sent wide of the net. In the 35th minute, Johnny Orozco (Ventura, Calif.) struck on a field goal to push the lead to 9-0. One minute later, USA was back on the penalty corner setup, where Holt delivered another score to make it 10-0. The squad kept the offense flowing with a goal in each of the following three minutes. Dhadwal was successful on another penalty stroke attempt while Huisman and JaJa Kentwell (Spring City, Pa.) had back-to-back field goals, stretching the lead to 13-0. Huisman and Kaeppeler would round out USA’s third quarter dominance in the 44th and 45th minutes respectively.
Kaeppeler netted his third goal of the contest on a penalty corner conversion in the 46th minute, followed by another of similar fashion in the 49th minute to bring USA to 17-0. Grassi would pick up his third of the game a minute later before Christian De Angelis (Doylestown, Pa.) netted the final goal of the game, making it 19-0 as the final minutes ticked away.
“Good start to the tournament," commented Dhadwal. "The first half was kind of shaky but we got going with our goals. Overall a solid performance."
“Obviously we are trying to improve every game, so we are going back to look at the video and see where we can improve," added Wiese. "I thought certain areas were very good and we started spreading the field. We were a little sloppy in the final stages, like missed traps, bouncing passes so we will need to clean it up. But overall I thought it was a good start to the tournament.”
Liam Hawley (Ventura, Calif.) celebrated his first international cap in the team victory.
The U.S. Men’s National Team is back to action Thursday, June 7 when they take on Puerto Rico. Stay tuned and follow along @USAFieldHockey on Twitter throughout the Hockey Series Open for all the latest news and updates. #HockeySeries2018