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VIENNA, Austria - January 4, 2019 - The second day of the 2020 Rohrmax Cup saw the U.S. Men's and Women's National Indoor Teams battle throughout the day at USZ Hietzing in Vienna, Austria. The red, white and blue showed strong second half performances but could not claim victory in their respective outings. USA Blue played first where it was a tale of two halves against the host nation as they lost 3-9. The USMNT then took the court and faced the Czech Republic falling 1-13. USA Gold wrapped up the day versus Belgium in a close matchup where a late push to tie the game came up short in a 1-5 final.

USA Blue 3 - 9 Austria

Austria was efficient in taking advantage of USA Blue's unforced errors. Austria had eight shots in the first half from 2-on-1 situations which stemmed from defensive turnovers. Seven of those attempts were goals as Austria gained a 7-1 advantage at the half. USA adjusted and positioned better in the second half and the scoreline reflected accordingly. Both teams were able to tally two goals apiece to make the final score 9-3 in favor of Austria. Ali Campbell (Lancaster, Pa.), Annika Herbine (Macungie, Pa.)and Makayla Gallen (Glen Mills, Pa.) scored for USA.

Czech Republic 13 - 1 USA

The young Indoor USMNT faced an uphill battle against the Czech Republic in their second outing of the tournament as the opposition came out with heavy pressure to start the match. After failing to convert on their first penalty corner opportunity, the Czech Republic took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute. Followed by subsequent attempts on USA, Alex Grassi (Brookeville, Md.) pushed back with a direct shot on goal but came from just outside the circle and went uncredited. Continued effort from the Czech Republic squad produced a goal on a breakaway in the 12th minute and was followed up by a successful conversion on their second penalty corner. Just before the half concluded, a shot which appeared to be wide deflected off the post and was redirected into the back of the goal to give the Czech Republic a 4-0 advantage.

USA’s Alberto Montilla (Allen, Texas) launched the second half by quickly maneuvering into the Czech Republic circle in search of an opening. A turnover followed by a breakaway left USA defending desperately as the Czech Republic found their stride and manufactured three goals and a penalty corner conversion to show for their efforts. The red, white and blue battled to regain their footing as they moved into the middle of the period. Goalkeeper Scott Sherban (Dublin, Ohio) provided a save that turned into a scoring chance led by Grassi. USA's action resulted in a goal on a penalty stroke for the Czech Republic to make it 9-0. The team's lone goal was scored by Dean Schiller (Alexandria, Va.) who fired low between the Czech Republic goalkeeper's feet. It was as close as USA would get as the Czech Republic continued to exert their dominance and experience over the younger USA team. USA continued to fight in the final minutes of the game and denied a final penalty corner conversion but was unable to capitalize on a penalty stroke opportunity. At the final buzzer, the score stood at 13-1 in favor of the Czech Republic.

"We faced a very solid team with lots of experience in all levels," said Alex Gheorghe, Indoor USMNT Head Coach. "The Czech Republic National Team capitalized on their opportunities and scored four goals in the first half, three from open play and one from a penalty corner. In the second half we experimented with different systems and we are certain that the players will learn from this challenge." 

"Today was another test against a very high quality team," added Grassi. "We were able to make some good improvements from last game but the Czech Republic team took advantage of any small mistake we made. Our team has a lot to take away from a game like that and we look forward to making more corrections for our game tomorrow against No. 1, Austria."

Belgium 5 - 1 USA Gold