USA Field Hockey has a problem.
It will persist until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and more than likely into the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
What is it? Talent is booming.
Aspiring field hockey athletes, who weren’t selected on the final Olympic roster, are off the charts talented. Several of them will return to their respective NCAA college teams and dominate the 2024 Fall season.
Head coach David Passmore told FAN in June that it wasn’t easy to tell the athletes not going to Paris that they weren’t selected. And, that’s not going to end any time soon.
Looking at the lower rung is a Junior Women’s National Field Hockey team brimming with power, speed, and enthusiasm. This year’s squad qualified for the 2025 FIH Junior World Cup finishing second to Argentina in the recent Junior Pan American games held in Canada.
Abby Tamer, for example, was on the junior team in 2023 when USA won gold (defeating Argentina) for the second time in USA history, and then fast forward to earlier this year when she scored the goal-clincher in Ranchi, India that secured Team USA a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Looking at the youth grassroots level, there are clubs bursting with talent. And, clinics, camps, and showcases are popping up nationwide.
Young athletes are gunning for more experience.
Clubs have started traveling internationally, as well as hosting foreign competition, for more experience, participating in events that aren’t sanctioned by USA Field Hockey. That experience then shows up during governed-events, which does two things: one, visibly shows innovation, skill execution, and mental preparedness; and, two, ups game play for everyone who competes against more experienced teams.
Could USA Field Hockey finally break its 1984 curse of not medaling since then in 2024?
Maybe.
USWNT head coach David Passmore told FAN he expects the United Eagles to medal in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The 2024 USA Field Hockey Olympic edition, they’re having fun.
In an interview with Maddie Zimmer, of Hershey, several years ago, when she had just been promoted to the senior US women’s team, Zimmer said she knows it’s cliche, but she loves the game. That matters so much more than screaming accomplishments from the mountain tops.
Entering the games with the love for it, it could be what USA needs to crack a pattern of finishing fifth or eighth.
USA women medaled in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics earning bronze in its win over Australia. And, the women’s team has also made subsequent appearances in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, and 2016 Rio Olympics, where the team finished fifth in Brazil.
All the selected athletes on the 2024 Olympic roster has climbed her way up from club to college, having participated in USA Field Hockey events like the AAU Junior Olympics, the National Club Championships, and the Junior and Senior Pan American Games.
The 2024 Paris Olympic roster includes current NCAA Division I athletes.
Pennsylvania has the most athletes on the roster, and specifically, eight out of the 16-athlete roster are from PIAA District 3. The three reserves are Sanne Caarls (The Netherlands), Jenny Rizzo (Hershey, Pa), and Cassie Sumfest (Lewisburg, Pa).
Each athlete has a long list of accomplishments. Here is the 2024 Olympic roster.
Kelsey Bing – Houston, Texas
No. 31 Goalkeeper, 86 caps
Age: 26
College: Stanford University
High School: St. John’s School
Club: Texas Pride
Leah Crouse – Virginia Beach, Virginia
No. 20 Midfielder/Forward, 48 caps
Age: 24
College: Duke, Maryland
High School: Frank W. Cox
Club: TCOYO Hockey
Brooke DeBerdine – Millersville, Pennsylvania
No. 8 Midfielder, 50 caps
Age: 25
College: Maryland
High School: Penn Manor
Club: Nook Field Hockey
Emma DeBerdine – Millersville, Pennsylvania
No. 27 Midfielder, 44 caps
Age: 23
College: Maryland
High School: Penn Manor
Club: Nook Hockey
Phia Gladieux – Oley, Pennsylvania
No. 23 Forward, 5 caps
Age: 21
College: Penn State
High School: Oley Valley
Club: Xcalibur
Amanda Golini – Randolph, N.J.
No. 12 Midfielder, 154 caps
Age: 29
College: Lafayette College
High School: Randolph High School
Club: Uprise
Ally Hammel – Duxbury, Mass.
No. 21 Defender, 69 caps
Age: 28
College: Boston University
High School: Duxbury High School, The Loomis Chaffee School
Club: HTC Field Hockey
Ashley Hoffman – Mohnton, Pennsylvania
No. 13 Defender, 123 caps
Age: 27
College: University of North Carolina
High School: Twin Valley High School
Club: XCalibur
Karlie Kisha – Hamburg, Pennsylvania
No. 25 Defender, 68 caps
Age: 28
College: University of Connecticut
High School: Hamburg Area High School
Club: High Styx
Kelee Lepage – Honey Brook, Pennsylvania
No. 24 Midfielder, Caps 42
Age: 26
College: Maryland
High School: Twin Valley High School
Club: XCalibur
Ashley Sessa – Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
No. 3 Forward, 50 caps
Age: 20
College: North Carolina, Northwestern
High School: Episcopal Academy
Club: WC Eagles
Meredith Sholder – Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
No. 2 Midfielder, 49 caps
Age: 25
College: University of North Carolina
High School: Emmaus High School
Club: Firestyx, WC Eagles
Abby Tamer – Dexter, Michigan
No. 1 Forward, 31 caps
Age: 21
College: Michigan
High School: Dexter High School
Club: Pinnacle
Megan Valzonis– San Diego, CA
No. 6 Forward, 35 caps
Age: 25
College: California
High School: Serra High School
Club: Rush
Beth Yeager – Greenwich, Connecticut
No. 17 Midfielder, 53 caps
Age: 21
College: Princeton University
High School: Sacred Heart Greenwich
Club: WC Eagles
Maddie Zimmer – Hershey, Pennsylvania
No. 9 Midfielder, 53 caps
Age: 22
College: Northwestern
High School: Hershey
Club: Alley Cats
