Crossovers Continue at WMH World Cup, O-40 Men Get First Win

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Play at the World Masters Hockey (WMH) World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa continued through days 7 and 8 with four matches. The U.S. O-35 Women fell on both days, the O-40 Women fought tooth and nail against Uruguay, but dropped the contest, and the O-40 Men produced a well-deserved win.

The U.S. O-35 Women met Australia IMC in the crossovers. USA found themselves chasing from the start, but despite the outcome, it was an incredible performance across the board.

Australia opened the scoring in the 5th minute and held much of the scoring advantage throughout the contest. The Hockeyroos tallied again in the 23rd and 27th minutes to make it 0-3 at the halftime break. Australia’s midfield press proved suffocating in the first half, but after key adjustments USA dominated the second half, controlling possession and creating chances.

Australia added another in the 37th minute, but 6 minutes later USA got on the board. Molly Shoemaker (Perkiomenville, Pa.) scored off a penalty corner to make it 1-4, and USA got their fist goal of the tournament. With 3 minutes remaining, the Hockeyroos scored a reassurance goal to bring the final to 1-5.

In a tight, intense contest, which saw six cards across both squads, the U.S. O-40 Women took on Uruguay.

USA got on the board first when Jennifer Romano (London, U.K.) converted a penalty stroke. With two minutes to go before the first quarter break, Uruguay equalized off a penalty corner.

Uruguay went ahead in the 17th minute off a field goal and two minutes later, increased their lead to 1-3. Cathy Callahan (West Hartford, Conn.) brought the red, white and blue within one, 2-3, in the 22nd minute as they entered halftime.

To start the third, Uruguay scored off a penalty corner to hold a 2-4 advantage. There were no other score changes for a period of time, but both sides produced opportunities. The final minutes were action packed - including three yellow cards. With 1:20 remaining, the red, white and blue cut it within one when Susan Mitchell (Penn Valley, Pa.) deflected in a penalty corner off the right post. USA ran out of time for the comeback and fell 3-4.

The U.S. O-40 Men and Kenya met in the crossovers. Scoreless after the first half, Kenya opened the third quarter on the front foot and grabbed a penalty stroke in the 40th minute. Kenya was unable to convert on the chance but earned another penalty stroke following a foot behind USA goalkeeper Lindon Ball (St. Matthews, Ky.) on a penalty corner. This second stroke sailed over the cage. USA did produce some attack, including a few penalty corner chances, but the score remained deadlocked, 0-0, for the first three frames.

Twenty-five seconds in the fourth quarter, USA earned a series of penalty corners but couldn't convert. In the 47th minute, Kenya had their hand at a set piece but it was well defended by USA and led to instant offense and an attacking 3v2 opportunity. After back-to-back shots for USA were stopped by Kenya's goalkeeper, USA's Andrew Todd (Brooklyn, N.Y.) put in a low angle backhand to give USA the 1-0 lead. In the 55th minute Kenya evened the score off a deflection but less than a minute later, USA regained the lead and found the game winner. After good pressure on Kenya's defense, Todd ripped a shot from the top right of the circle into the bottom left of the cage. USA held on for the well-deserved, collective team 2-1 win.

The U.S. O-35 Women took on South Africa IMC in a crossover match. Scoreless after the first quarter, South Africa scored first in the 21st minute on a field goal from Camilla Stone. Play was static for a period before South Africa added to their lead in the 44th minute off a penalty corner.

Those second and third quarter goals from South Africa were the only tallies of the game as USA fell 0-2. They will play in the 13th/14th place match tomorrow against Zimbabwe at 2:00 p.m. ET.

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