Pool Play Wraps Up for Most Teams at 2024 WMH World Cup Auckland

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - All U.S. Masters Teams have wrapped up pool play at the World Masters Hockey (WMH) World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand following day 5 and 6. The O-60 Men will face France in the quarterfinals, O-45 Men and O-65 Women will play in their respective 5th-8th placement games and the O-55 Men and O-60 Women will play for 9th-10th place.

The O-60 Women faced hosts New Zealand in pool play. After a scoreless first quarter, the Black Sticks converted on a penalty corner in the 23rd minute, for what was the game winner of the match. USA put up a valiant effort against an opponent that was offensive poised and determined. Two minutes following the leading goal, the Golden Eagles earned a set piece of their own which saw the ball get past New Zealand's goalkeeper but it unfortunately hit a USA foot. With 55 seconds to go in the first half, the Black Sticks earned a penalty stroke but sent it wide.

New Zealand held much of the possession in their attacking end in the third quarter but USA held strong. With under a minute to go in the frame, the Blacks Sticks added to their lead, again off a penalty corner.

USA continued to fight and midway through the final quarter produced some threats inside their attacking end and great circle entries. It wasn't enough to overcome New Zealand's penalty corner conversions as they fell 0-2.

After a two-day hiatus, the O-65 Women turned in another draw against Scotland. Play was end-to-end for most of the match, with great defensive play by Deb Wile (The Villages, Fla.) and goalkeeper Pam Sherry (Collegeville, Pa.). Scotland missed a golden opportunity to score in the second quarter. USA gained momentum late in the game, yet were not able to convert on a penalty corner in the last minute of play. 

The O-60 Men's defensive structure and efforts led to a 1-1 draw against Germany.

Germany opened the scoring in the 21st minute off a penalty corner. With 30 seconds to go before the halftime break, USA answered when captain Manzar Iqbal (Nashville, Tenn.) perfectly placed a hard, flat ball into the circle that was deflected into the net by Ian Wagge (Scarborough, Maine).

The score remained 1-1 throughout the contest.

The O-55 men took on Australia in their third pool game on a beautiful day in Auckland. USA's athletes and staff were mentally positive and prepared to play a team ranked as one of the top three in the world at the 55+ age group. However, the outcome was not what the team prefered as Australia went on to defeat the USA 3-0.
USA played a disciplined game with the defense holding off numerous attacks by the aggressive Australia's forwards. Defenders Manny Morales (Miami, Fla.), Rino Bouwman (Ventura, Calif.), Param Singh (Macomb, Ill.) and team captain Hugo Mazzalupi (Wayne, Pa.) played an excellent game ensuring that the Kookaburra strikers were kept out throughout the game. However, three minutes into the first quarter, Australia scored their one and only field goal. USA defended eight penalty corner attempts by Australia. The Aussies went on to convert two penalty strokes. USA goalkeepers Pradeep Menon (Cumming, Ga.) and Prashant Aji (San Jose, Calif.) played well, with Prashant recording an excellent stick save keeping the ball out of the net. 
Overall, USA was proud with their performance and are looking forward to playing New Zealand next.

In an intense and hard-fought matchup, the O-50 Women faced off against Australia IMC in a thrilling contest that saw both sides trading blows, but ultimately, Australia IMC coming out on top with a 2-1 victory.

The game kicked off with high intensity, and it was USA that drew first blood. Carol Gulija (Flemington, N.J.) was at the heart of the action, as she made a powerful run into the circle and was awarded a penalty stroke after a challenge from the Australia goalkeeper. Calm and composed, Gulija converted the stroke to give USA the lead, 1-0.

However, Australia responded quickly. A penalty corner in the first half saw the Hockeyroos make no mistake, leveling the score at 1-1 off a straight shot from the top of the circle. The game was now evenly poised, with both teams looking to assert their dominance.

In the second half, the momentum swung in favor of Australian. They capitalized on a well-worked move to score the go-ahead goal, taking a 2-1 lead. Despite the setback, USA never gave up. The squad continued to create chances and push forward, testing the Australia defense and goalkeeper.

In the final minutes, with the game on the line, USA pulled their goalkeeper in a desperate attempt to level the score. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't find the equalizer, and Australia held on for the win.

The match was a true test of determination, with both teams creating solid attacking chances throughout the contest. 

The O-45 Men put up an outstanding performance in the quarterfinals when they came from behind to tie Argentina in regulation, but ultimately fell in a sudden victory shootout.

Los Leones jumped out to an early lead, when they tallied just 50 seconds into the contest. An unphased USA didn't waste time taking possession into their attacknig end but struggled to successfully enter the circle. In the 9th minute, Argentina doubled their lead off a well executed penalty corner that was scored back to the inserter.

Trailing 0-2 to start the second period, USA cquickly took control, dominating possession and executing impressive passes. In the 25th minute, TJ Bamrah (Roseville, Calif.) sent an overhead to DC Juneja (Clovis, Calif.) who dribbled past two defenders and ripped a backhand, hard into the boards to bring it to 1-2.

As time ticked on, the match intensified. In the 48th minute, goalkeeper Michael Caddy (Drake, Colo.) came up with an important block to keep the scoreline within one. With just under 6 minutes to go in the third, USA had a penalty corner go unrewarded but continued to push forward. In the 57th minute, Juneja connected with Alan Golding (Washington, D.C.) on a baseline cross, that allowed Golding to score the equalizer and make it 2-2. Moments later, USA forced an interception at midfield. Sudhir Subbaiah (Issaquah, Wash.) quickly passed to Junega, who skillfully maneuvered past three defenders before being brought down by an Argentina defender. A penalty stroke was awarded to the USA, but the opportunity slipped away when Bamrah’s shot hit the post, leaving the score tied as the game moved into a shootout.

The shootout was just as action packed as the match, as USA put David Eddie (Winchester, Mass.) into the goal to defend. USA tallied first in the the opening round, through Juneja, while Eddie batted away Argentina's attempt. The Golden Wolves went ahead 2-0 at the start of the third round, through Shawn Hindy (Moorpark, Calif.), but Argentina got one back. Following USA's miss in the fifth round, Agentina capitalized to make it 2-2 and force it into a sudden victory round. After the first head-to-head went unchanged, both sides traded goals in the second, third and fourth rounds of sudden victory. In the fifth round, Argentina scored and USA was unable to as they fell 4-5.

USA’s remarkable fightback from a 0-2 deficit and their strength in taking Argentina through 20 shootouts displayed their resilience and skill in a hard-fought quarterfinal. USA will now play in the 5th and 8th placement games against New Zealand.

In their final pool game, the O-60 Women took on South Africa in a very close contest. The first quarter saw both sides settling in with a lot of the play between the circles. South Africa had the only shots on goal, both from penalty corner strikes, that were saved by goalkeeper Elaine Knobloch (Granite Falls, N.C.). The second frame followed suite with even possession, until the 20th minute when USA earned a set piece. On the chance, quick passing got it behind South Africa's goalkeeper but it unfortunately hit a USA foot before going in the goal. The first half closed scoreless.

Eight minutes into the third, South Africa got on the board off a penalty corner rebound. The final 4 minutes of that frame saw USA take control in their attacking end and with 90 seconds to go they found the equalizer. Off the penalty corner, Christine Couteau (Skillman, N.J.) sent a hard shot into the back of the goal.

Anyone's game for the taking, both sides ramped up the pressure. With just 5 minutes to go, South Africa broke the deadlock when quick passing and individual skill resulted in a field goal. USA kept fighting but fatigue started to set in as South Africa secured the win with a goal in the final 46 seconds.

USA will play a friendly against Australia IMC on November 14 before facing Argentina in the 9th/10th place match on November 16.

Similar to their previous match, O-65 Women put a narrow, scoreless contest when they faced Alliance IMC.

The O-60 Men met France in their final pool game. A even contest across the statistical board, USA was unable to capitalized, especially on the three cards to France, as the game closed scoreless.

In their final game in Pool B, the O-55 Men took on the hosts. A strong and aggressive New Zealand dominated most of the game, outplaying the USA in the first quarter scoring four goals. The team regrouped in the second half, allowing the Black Sticks only two more goals.
USA will play Singapore for 9th-10th place.

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