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VIENNA, Austria – The No. 10 U.S. Men’s National Indoor Team opened competition at the 2025 Rohrmax Cup against hosts and No. 1 world-ranked Austria. A high-tempo match from the start, the Wolves put up a battle but fell 3-6.
Austria opened with the first shot, which sailed high and wide just two minutes into the contest. Another close chance for the hosts came moments later when quick passing resulted in a 2v1, but USA's Aki Kaeppeler (New York City, N.Y) had a solid defense stop. Midway through the first quarter, A. Kaeppeler put USA up 1-0 after driving in from the left and shooting from the top of the circle. Austria evened it in the 9th minute after receiving the ball off the left boards and tucking it past USA goalkeeper Hamzah Hashmi (Granada Hills, Calif.).
Austria took the lead in the 12th minute after quick passing down the left found an attacker open who converted. Halfway through the frame, Kei Kaeppeler (Stuttgart, Germany) used his speed up the left side and got a reserve flick shot off. The hosts added to their lead in the 17th minute they found a striker behind USA’s defense, making for an easy conversion. USA put on some attacking threats in the closing minutes but trailed 1-3 at the halftime break.
Three minutes into the third quarter, K. Kaeppeler added one back after pulling around Austria’s goalkeeper to make it 2-3. The hosts didn’t waste time to change the scoreline again, tallying off the restart. Austria extended their lead with just 20 seconds to go in the quarter on a numbers up situation to make it 2-5.
Austria scored again in the 33rd minute after finishing on a low-angled shot. USA continued to apply offensive pressure, producing a few close chances. With 4 minutes to go, USA substituted in goalkeeper Amar Singh (Santa Clara, Calif.). Not long after, Marius Leser (Mannheim, Germany) got one back for USA to make it 3-6 in the 38th minute. On the restart, Austria produced the game’s first penalty corner, but to no avail.
The Wolves are back in action tomorrow at 6:40 a.m. ET to take on No. 3 Belgium.
The event will be live streamed on SV Arminen TV (YouTube).
For more information on the 2025 Rohrmax Cup, visit the event page.
