Tomorrow, the U.S. junior women’s national field hockey team gears up for the biennial Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile.
The event has achieved a remarkable level of consistency the last two decades. The event is being held in Chile for the fourth time since 2005. The Netherlands has medaled every year since 2005, winning four golds along the way.
But there is also another constant: the performance of the U.S. team. The Americans, with players into which hours of dedication and thousands of dollars invested by the national governing body, have not finished higher than seventh since 2005.
And this, with players who have played in the Olympics, such as Rachel Dawson, Katelyn Falgowski, Lauren Crandall, Katie Reinprecht, Paige Selenski, Michelle Vittese, Abby Tamer, and Ashley Sessa. The junior teams have also yielded a number of great coaches, such as Nikki Parsley, Hannah Prince, Georgia Holland, Laura Gebhart, and Melissa Gonzalez.
Given the quality of players who have been on junior national teams, it is mind-boggling that the U.S. juniors have had trouble with the U-21s from the established powers.
I think, however, you’re going to see a different kind of play from the U.S. team heading into this tournament. Head coach Ange Bradley is one heck of a strategist and has won an NCAA championship at Syracuse. National-team veterans like Olivia Bent-Cole, Josie Hollamon, and Reese D’Ariano are on the roster. I also think some of the other scholastic players like Ella Beach and Sofia Ferri are going to make an impact.
Several players on this side were very much in form during their college seasons, such as Dani Mendez, Mia Schoenbeck, and Alaina McVeigh. These three made the ball sing, and it will be interesting to see their skills when they are on the pitch at the same time.
To me, it’s all going to have to be on defense for the U.S. to improve upon their recent results in this competition. Juliana Boon, who represented The Netherlands at the junior level in 2022, may be the secret weapon for this side. Boon has had remarkable success for her college side, Northwestern, as the Wildcats won the most recent national championship with her in the pads.
In a game where so much is determined by fractions of an inch, Boon could be the difference.