USA Field Hockey NEWS USA Gold Wins Rohrma...

USA Gold Wins Rohrmax Cup Bronze, Indoor USMNT & USA Blue Finish Final Day Strong

Jan. 06, 2020, 11:58 a.m. (ET)

VIENNA, Austria - January 6, 2019 - On the final day of competition at the 2020 Rohrmax Cup in Vienna, Austria, both the U.S. Men's and Women's National Indoor Teams had multiple scoring opportunities against their opponents. The Indoor USWNT's Blue squad opened the day against SV Arminen in the seventh place match. A tight game from the start, a scoreless deadlock was not broken until the third period when USA tallied two in the final frame for a 2-1 win. The Indoor USMNT dropped their final match for seventh place against SV Arminen, 12-0. USA created more quality chances but were unable to convert against a well-structured opponent. Lastly, USA Gold faced No. 5 Czech Republic in a hard-fought, physical battle. After being down 2-0 at the end of the first period, USA made some adjustments and continued to attack together on their way to a thrilling 8-5 bronze medal victory.

USA Blue 2 - 1 SV Arminen

Both USA Blue and SV Arminen created numerous chances in an open, exciting game but found their opposing goalkeepers in good form. The deadlock was not broken until after the horn sounded at the end of the third period when SV Arminen converted on a penalty corner. USA Blue changed to a high press at the beginning of the fourth quarter to win more possession in the offensive end. Mayv Clune (Quakertown, Pa.) picked up a loose ball in the circle and beat SV Arminen's goalkeeper with a pinpoint shot into the bottom corner of the net to tie the game. 

With time running down Clune dumped a ball into the circle to Makayla Gallen (Glen Mills, Pa.) who beat the goalkeeper to the ball and forced it home with five seconds left.
“This team has played so well throughout the tournament," said Jun Kentwell, Indoor USWNT Head Coach, who was pleased with the result. "Today they eliminated the unforced errors which has hurt them in each of the other games and showed that they can play quality hockey.”
With the win USA Blue finished the Rohrmax Cup in seventh place, with a record of 1-1-2

USA 0 - 12 SV Arminen

The Indoor USMNT dropped the final match for seventh place at the Rohrmax Cup in Vienna, Austria played at USZ Heitzing. SV Arminen set the tone with an early goal in the opening period and USA’s numerous chances to score fell short.

After a shaky start, USA’s Vincent Heller (Stuttgart, Germany) made a break for SV Arminen’s circle and was taken to the ground by the goalkeeper, which resulted in a penalty stroke earned for the red, white and blue. Sadly, SV Arminen’s goalkeeper was stellar between the pipes and denied USA the goal.

SV Arminen subsequently capitalized on two penalty corners and a penalty stroke opportunity to increase their advantage to 4-0. USA continued to apply pressure and earned a penalty corner late in the second period but were unable to convert. While the opponent continued their forward progress with much success, USA did not falter in their attempts to manufacture goals. Multiple shots and circle penetrations throughout the remainder of the second and third periods ultimately resulted in a solid combination from USA’s Michael Young (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Colin Hennessy (Marlborough, Mass.) who put the ball across the goal line. Unfortunately, the goal was waved off.

USA created more quality chances in their final match of the tournament but ultimately were unable to convert on any of their multiple opportunities. SV Arminen played a well-structured game and earned the win with a final 12-0 tally.
 
"We saw real progress in the first quarter of the game but missed chances and defensive mistakes allowed [SV] Arminen to take the lead," said Billy McPherson, Indoor USMNT Special Consultant Coach. "Throughout the remainder of the match we played with more structure and composure. Overall a vast improvement on the first game of the tournament."
"We started the game very well and created several opportunities to score," said Alex Gheorghe, Indoor USMNT Head Coach. "We were definitely more composed, aggressive and efficient in pressing. SV Arminen were a very good team with a lot of experience and they capitalized on each of our small mistakes.Overall, this was the best competition we could have prior to the Indoor Pan American Cup and highlighted areas that we will focus on in our final months of preparation."

USA Gold 8 - 5 Czech Republic

USA Gold fought back from being down 0-2 at the end of the first period to beat No. 5 Czech Republic 8-5 in a thrilling bronze medal game. Having made some adjustments during the break USA Gold attacked from the opening whistle of the second period. Midway through the period Anarose McDonough (Kennett Square, Pa.) took a quick free hit, dribbled into the circle and shot past the Czech Republic goalkeeper. Despite numerous opportunities, the score remained 2-1 at halftime.

As USA Gold continued to pressure, the quickness of Ashley Sessa (Schwenksville, Pa.) started to cause the Czech Republic defense some problems. Stealing the ball on the halfway line, Sessa rolled and found Corinne Zanolli (Newtown Square, Pa.) who deflected the pass on to Elizabeth Yeager (Rye, N.Y.) to tie the game at 2-2. It was Sessa again who intercepted an outlet pass and sent it through to Zanolli to give USA Gold the lead. Then it was Yeager’s turn to win the ball at midfield and fed Sessa who cut into the circle and deflected it past the rushing goalkeeper. Hope Rose (Dauphin, Pa.) converted a penalty stroke to give USA Gold a 5-2 lead before the Czech Republic put a goal back to make it 5-3 at the end of the third. 
 
Two flowing, passing moves extended USA Gold's lead in the fourth. First, Sessa found Zanolli who released a penetrating pass to the overlapping Kelly Marks (Huntington Station, N.Y.) to score. Then Sessa, who was causing the Czech Republic defense issues with her darting runs, stole the ball, released Zanolli on the left who eluded two defenders and shot into the empty net. 


The Czech Republic scored a penalty corner before Zanolli smartly took a quick free hit and ran it in to score to give USA Gold an excellent 8-5 win in an exciting and highly charged game against a quality Czech Republic team. 


Rose received the Top Goal Scorer Award, a tremendous achievement at only 16 years old in such elite company.

“We learned a lot and grew with every game in the tournament,” said Kentwell. "Playing against five of the top eight teams in the world was a very good experience for our young team and gives us a strong foundation from which to continue to grow.”

 

USA Field Hockey would like to thank Osaka for their sponsorship of the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Indoor Team programs, as well as the United States Men’s Field Hockey Foundation. Another special thanks to Longstreth for providing gear to each indoor team, as well as the USA Field Hockey Foundation and Board of Trustees for their generous contributions.

For more information regarding the upcoming Rohrmax Cup, including the full schedule and results, visit the event page by clicking here.