Action Continues at 2024 WMH World Cup Auckland

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - The action continued at the World Masters Hockey (WMH) World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand on day 3 and 4. The U.S. O-45 Men's Masters Team is heading to the quarterfinals while the O-55 and O-60 Men and O-50, O-60 and O-65 Women are midway through pool play.

In their second game at the Masters World Cup, the O-60 Women took on Australia IMC. The contest saw the Hockeyroos with the offensive advantage, producing eight penalty corners to USA's two, but the red, white and blue captailized on their first one. In the 19th minute, a long ball into the circle was let by the Australia goalkeeper and it fortunately hit the post as the goalkeeper deliberately kicked it over the endline. On the set piece, Christine Couteau's (Skillman, N.J.) shot went in off the goalkeeper's stick for the 1-0 lead. Australia keep up the attacking pressure to close out the half and a penalty corner clear by goalkeeper Elaine Knobloch (Granite Falls, N.C.) kept it in favor of USA.

The Hockeyroos continued on the front foot in the third quarter but USA's defensive unit, now behind the leadership of Elizabeth Ferrara (Dabury, Conn.), kept them off the board for a period. The Golden Eagles were plaqued with allowing two goals within a 2-minute span to fall behind, 1-2. First, in the 35th minute, a bouncing ball got through the defense and was defleced past Ferrara. Next, a strong drive and close range shot gave Australia the lead. The remainder of the frame saw possession with the Hockeyroos in their attacking end.

In the final period Ferrara defended away three shots as USA continued to fight. With just under 3 minutes to go the Golden Eagles earned a set piece, but Couteau's shot went just wide of the goal.

The O-45 Men knew their second pool game of the Masters World Cup was going to be tough when they faced reigning champions, the Netherlands. The opening quarter saw both sides share equal possession between the 25-yard lines. USA created several offensive opportunities, first when Federico Baudini (Doral, Fla.) took an early shot and next an attempt from Alan Golding (Washington, D.C.), both which were denied by the Dutch goalkeeper. DC Juneja (Clovis, Calif.) earned USA a penalty corner in the 10th minute, where Shawn Hindy (Moorpark, Calif.) slipped it to Tajinderjit Bamrah (Roseville, Calif.) whose flick to the goalkeeper's left was saved.

The Golden Wolves had the first entry of the second quarter but the Netherlands followed it up by earning a set piece. Off the chance, a shot from the top was saved off the post by Hindy but it unfortunately hit his foot giving the Orange a penalty stroke. Wouter Stevens converted in the 21st minute to put the Dutch on top. Seven minutes later, the Netherlands doubled their lead on a hard shot into the corner.

Trailing 0-2 at the halftime break, USA knew it would be a testiment to grit to fight their way back. Both sides produced some good attempts in the third quarter but either could find an outcome.

Two minutes into the last 15, USA had a close chance when a quick outlet by Hindy got through to Golding who sent it into the circle to a diving Juneja. Moments later, Juneja had a great individual run where his backhand shot was saved by the Netherlands' goalkeeper. With 3 minutes to go, quick passing led to the Dutch extending their lead. But off the restart, USA added one back when an overhead by Hindy got behind the defense to Sudhir Subbaiah (Issaquah, Wash.) who connected with Junega for the goal. The match concluded with a final score of 1-3 in favor of the Netherlands.

In their second pool match, the O-60 Men took on Australia. In the first quarter, a lot of action took place in midfield with shared possession. Australia took control and got inside their attacking circle in the final 2 minutes but the period ended scoreless.

Play resumed in similar fashion in the second frame with shared control as both sides looked to get a positive outcome. In the 25th minute, the Kookaburras got on the board when a threaded ball got to Kevin Rule behind the defense and he capitalized. USA responded with great pressure and had two great looks moments later when shots by Kewal Singh (Fairfield, Calif.) and Thomas Khoo (Bethesda, Md.) were saved by Australia's goalkeeper. Shortly following, the Golden Wolves earned back-to-back penalty corners, with both shots going wide.

The scoreline didn't change in the third quarter, behind great penalty corner defense for USA as the unit denied five Australia set pieces.

Midway through the fourth period, the Kookaburras added another when they scored off a rebound ball.

Following the loss, the O-60 Men sit third in Pool A with two more matches to go in pool play.

In an intense match that saw the O-50 Women go down 5-0 to Argentina, where USA fought valiantly but couldn't overcome the pressure from their opponents. Despite the scoreline, the game was not without its moments of resilience and individual brilliance.

Both of USA’s goalkeepers put in stellar performances, making key saves to keep the team in the game. Jen Anderson (Owings Mills, Md.) was especially impressive in the first half, denying several close-range efforts from Argentina, while Meg Dudek (Ashburn, Va.) was called into action for the second half and came up with several crucial stops, preventing Argentina from pulling further ahead.

In addition to the goalkeeping heroics, two USA players made notable defensive contributions with critical goal-line clearances. Beth Montagano (Jenkintown, Pa.) and Annie Fetter (Rutledge, Pa.) both saved potential goals in dramatic fashion, putting their bodies on the line to keep Argentina at bay when it looked like the game could slip further out of reach.

Despite these efforts, Argentina's offensive pressure was simply too much. The South American side dominated possession and took full advantage of their opportunities. USA, while compact defensively, struggled to break through Argentina's defense and generate enough attacking chances to mount a comeback.

Although the result was disappointing, USA can take pride in their spirit and determination. The goalkeeper performances and defensive sacrifices demonstrated a commitment to fighting until the very end, and those individual moments of brilliance will be crucial to build upon moving forward.

In their final pool play match, the O-45 Men started with intensity against Sri Lanka. Within the first 3 minutes, Subbaiah intercepted the ball to spark an attack, passing to Junega, who linked up with Baudini and Golding before Junega finished the play for an early goal. Just 45 seconds later, Subbaiah set up another goal, finding Junega, who tipped it to Golding for a swift 2-0 lead.

The momentum carried into the second quarter as Subbaiah earned a penalty corner, and Junega took the flick, placing it in the top left corner to bring the score to 3-0. Near the end of the quarter, Peter Buckingham (San Francisco, Calif.) inserted to Jagpreet Sandhu (Walnut, Calif.), who completed another goal to make it 4-0. Sri Lanka capitalized on an opportunity to get on the board before halftime.

In the fourth quarter, Junega set up Harry Labana (Mountain View, Calif.), who earned a penalty stroke for USA. Bamrah converted, scoring in the top left corner.

With a final score of 5-1, USA secured their spot in the top-8 and will face Argentina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

After a morning run and stretch at beautiful Browns Bay Beach, the O-55 Men were excited and prepared to take on Wales under perfect weather conditions. However, after a well fought fight throughout the game, USA was unable to score. 
The Golden Wolves held Wales to a one goal lead in the first half. However, USA did not fare as well in the second half. Two questionable yellow cards were awarded to two USA athletes at the 35th and 38th minute marks, meaning the red, white and blue were only playing with nine players. Wales went on to score three goals awarding USA another defeat in Pool B.

The O-55 Men face an undefeated Australia tomorrow.

For more information on the WMH World Cup Auckland, including schedule, results, rosters and livestream information, check out the event page by clicking here.