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Here are our 10 games to watch this weekend!

Louisville vs. Miami │ Louisville, KY │ August 28 │ 12:00 PM ET │ ESPN+

One of the first Division I matches of the day, #18 Louisville will be taking on #10 Miami. Miami had a massive upset against Virginia in the NCAA and will be returning most of their key players. Louisville saw the graduation of Izzy Bianco and Rylie Wollerton this off-season, but will return Lauren Masters and Annabel Sep.

Fairfield vs. Syracuse │ Fairfield, CT │ August 28 │ 3:00 PM ET │ YouTube

2026 will be an interesting campaign for the Stags of Fairfield, as they leave the NEC and join the CAA. After years of dominating the NEC, they will be facing new challenges and tougher competition, testing to see how they rank up. They will be facing #9 Syracuse, who may be in a bit of a rebuilding season after the graduation of Bo van Kempen. The former center back for the Orange scored 23 of the team’s 60 goals in 2025.

Michigan vs. North Carolina │ Ann Arbor, MI │ August 28 │ 3:30 PM ET │ ESPN+

In the first of what feels like a million ACC/Big Ten Challenges, the #2 Tar Heels are heading up to Ann Arbor to take on #14 Michigan. UNC is seemingly in a rebuilding season with the losses of Ryleigh Heck, Isabel Boere, Dani Mendez, and Sietske Brüning, but with the entrance of so much talent in their rookie class, will it really be a rebuilding year? For Michigan, they graduated both Abby Tamer and Caylie McMahon this offseason, two major losses to their starting lineup. Watch this one to see each team’s form and to get an early look at how much of a rebuilding year it actually will be.

Rutgers vs. Monmouth │ Monmouth, NJ │ August 28 │ 4:00 PM ET │ Flo Sports

The Battle of New Jersey returns! This year, the Battle of NJ is even more exciting with Rutgers being ranked 17th and Monmouth being just under them at 18th! Monmouth ended the 2025 season with the best corner conversion percentage in the nation, but will Rutgers’ goalkeeper Emily Nicholls be able to deflate their percentage early in the season?

Penn State vs. Virginia │ State College, PA │ August 28 │ 4:00 PM ET │ B1G+

Penn State is entering the fall of a major coaching change, with the hiring of Hannah Prince this off-season. After a 7-10 record last fall, the Nittany Lions will look to make a massive improvement on the pitch this year. On the other side, Virginia had an amazing 2025 before being upset by Miami in the NCAA First Round. While they return many key players, they’ll be missing Assistant Coach Alyssa Parker on the sideline, who will now be the Head Coach at James Madison. How will the coaching carousel impact these two programs?

Liberty vs. UMass Amherst │ Lynchburg, VA │ August 29 │ 12:00 PM ET │ TBA

Another victim of the coaching carousel, the Flames lost Associate Head Coach Alan Good this offseason to the Senior National Team. They do, however, return defensive dynamic duo Dara Semmarting and Diane Saint Martin. With the two of them holding down the defense, Liberty was tabbed #8 in the preseason poll. UMass Amherst enters the season ranked #15, after falling to Miami in the MAC championship last fall. The Minutewomen went 16-4, with a 8-1 conference record.

Albany vs. Boston College │ Albany, NY │ August 30 │ 12:00 PM ET │ AE.TV

Both of these teams will surely be fighting to make their way back into the rankings this year. Albany had a 12-7 season last year, falling in the America East semifinals to New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Boston College missed out on the ACC tournament last fall, after going 1-7 in the ACC. Both teams have historically been strong programs and will be looking to bounce back from their 2025 campaigns.

Wake Forest vs. Michigan │ Winston-Salem, NC │ August 30 │ 2:00 PM ET │ YouTube

Wake Forest enters the season ranked #7 after a 15-5 record in 2025. They are one of two programs to be returning a member of the World Cup team, with Mia Schoenbeck. The biggest question for the Demon Deacons will be who will be starting in goal after the graduation of Ellie Todd last fall.

Stanford vs. American │ Stanford, CA │ August 30 │ 2:00 APM ET │ ESPN+

The Cardinals were tabbed to finish 7th in the ACC with a 7-10 record. They lost a close match in the ACC tournament to Virginia, 3-4. On the other side, American was tabbed to finish first in the Patriot League, after losing to Boston University in the Patriot League tournament. This match will give us an idea of the divide between the “top” conferences and everyone else this season.

Saint Joseph’s vs. UConn │ Philadelphia, PA │ August 30 │ 2:30 PM ET │ ESPN+

#11 UConn will be taking on #20 Saint Joseph’s, in what is new becoming an regular opening weekend match-up for the two teams. Having played one another in opening weekend the last three seasons, SJU leads the series 2-1, but the scores are always close. Last year’s meeting ended with an SJU win in overtime, while the 2024 meeting was a 5-4 win for the Huskies.

Why This Is a Good/Expected Result

Heading into this World Cup, the United States was ranked 12th in the world. Based on our Nations Cup result, this was an extremely accurate rating for the team: the 9 best teams are in the Pro League, and then 2 teams finished higher than them in the Nations Cup.

When calculating our predictions for where the USA would finish in this tournament, we predicted 10th place. While the 10th-place prediction was based on a final match between the USA and a team that they will not be facing, even finishing 10th felt somewhat optimistic for the USA squad at the beginning of the tournament. It would have been reasonable to place the Americans somewhere between 11th and 14th.

Going back to that “gold or bust” mentality, people might assume that a 9th- or 10th-place finish is a disappointing result, but it is an improvement from our recent history.

In the 2018 World Cup, the United States finished 14th out of 16th, scoring just 3 goals and recording 2 draws. Then, in 2022, the USA did not qualify for the World Cup at all.

While the tournament format has changed since 2018, making a direct comparison difficult, this year’s performance is undeniably a step forward.

The same can be said when comparing the World Cup with the 2024 Paris Olympics. Through five matches, the United States has already matched or improved upon its Olympic performance.

This does not mean the USA has suddenly become a medal contender overnight, but it does provide evidence that the program is moving in the right direction. After missing the previous World Cup and Olympics, the United States has returned to the global stage and put together a more competitive tournament than it did in Paris.

Room For Improvement

Yes, 9th- or 10th-place is not a medal. And yes, that is the goal for every team in the world.

This USA program does not come without its flaws. There were still moments throughout the tournament that left fans groaning or rolling their eyes, and there are undoubtedly plenty of things the team will want to improve on before LA28.

One of the biggest questions moving forward is how the United States can consistently play more high-level hockey throughout the year.

Looking ahead at the FIH calendar leading into Los Angeles 2028, there is the 2027 Nations Cup, 2027 Pan American Games, and then either Pro League if they qualify or another Nations Cup. That is not nearly enough matches to close the competitive gap with the top teams.

The difference is already visible when looking at the buildup to this World Cup. Before the tournament, in 2026, the Netherlands had played 12 matches, while the United States had played 8.

The geography of the United States does not help with playing more matches. For many European teams, playing a series of international matches can involve relatively short travel. For the USA, playing another country often requires an entire tour and significant travel expenses.

There are some positives. Several National Team players have already announced that they will be playing in the Hoodfklasse or Hockey One League this fall, and a few will be heading back to their colleges. That will give individual players additional opportunities to compete in strong environments.

But when comparing the overall structure of the United States program with those consistently ranked inside the top 10, the gap in competitive opportunities remains significant. That may be the biggest challenge facing the USA between now and LA2028.

Conclusion

A 9th- or 10th-place finish should not be dismissed as a failure because it does not come with a medal. For a team that entered the tournament ranked 12th and had missed the previous World Cup, this World Cup represents progress.

The World Cup showed us that the United States can compete. The next step is to figure out how to create enough high-level competitions to ensure that this was not just one positive tournament, but the beginning of sustained progress.

So, let’s dive in!

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We have been posting D1, D2, D3, and High School Watchlists for the past 3 seasons, and every year, it becomes our most controversial post. We’re talking hundreds of complaints via DMs, emails, and texts.

As we enter watchlist week(s), we wanted to break down the reasoning and process of building a watchlist to hopefully pre-answer questions.

What is the point?

This answer is different depending on who is making the watchlist, but for The Field Hockey Analyst, the watchlist is 2 things:

1. Who we think is most likely to be receiving our in-season and post-season awards (i.e., Best XI of the Month, Top 10%, Rookie Class)
2. Players whom we love to watch and think are exciting.

We build our watchlists independently, with the exception of the programs that are competing in their first season this year. These lists are based on stats and watching a lot of hockey.

Why a Rookie List?

In previous years, the watchlists have heavily favored returning athletes (which you will understand more later in this article), so for this season, we have separated the rookies to their own watchlists.

We also post Rookie Classes at the end of the year, separate from the Top 10% Lists, so it makes sense to separate the rookies for this, since it is a prediction of who will make the postseason list.

While we do not make a Rookie Class post for High School, we do a separate 50-player watchlist for the High Schoolers. High school awards heavily favor upperclassmen, which is why we keep the list to such a limited number of athletes.

How Do I Get on the College Returning Watchlist?

The College Returning Players Watchlist is essentially a top returning players list. We look at our 2025 Player Efficiency Rating and add the top 3 returning players who were in the Top 500 players (teams with no players in the Top 500 will have their top returning player added).

We have a list of notable transfers and goalkeepers that get added to the list, but ultimately, returning field players tend to make up the majority of the list. With this method, first-year players were given the least priority, which is why we are doing a separate list in 2025.

We keep these lists capped at 3 returning athletes per team to allow room for all teams to have at least one player on the lists. We prefer to recognize all schools rather than have many players from a select number of schools.

How Do I Get on the College Rookie Watchlist?

While tracking commitment data, we also note important accomplishments for every player, such as NEXUS, JOs, All-American, and All-Region. For the D1 programs, we add the players who have the most points in our ranking system.

For programs that do not have players with the above accomplishments, we view their recruiting profiles, check for awards such as All-State, All-Conference, etc., and make the decision based on these.

This year we are incorporating more international players into the Rookie Watchlist than in 2025, due to the data found in our post-season evaluation. In 2025, 81.4% of the TFHA Rookie Class were internationals.

How Do I Get on the High School Watchlist?

As mentioned above, we track data for every commit, so for 2027s and committed 2028s, the same data is used. We also track the same data for uncommitted athletes and 2029s, although they tend to have less data since All-Region and All-American typically go to upperclassmen.

Since TFHA does not compile post-season awards at the high school level, the watchlists are more for players who we predict will win All-State, All-Region, or All-American. Because of this, we also look at All-State awards and stats leaders from sources such as MaxPreps.

We also watch a lot of club hockey, so at events like NEXUS, NITs, RCCs, and any streamed club events, we are making notes of players to add to our radar.

How Do I Get on the High School Rookie Watchlist?

The High School Rookie Watchlist is limited to only 50 players, because it is very hard to find information for the younger players and post-season awards are typically not given to first-years.

We have watched a majority of these players in person at various events. Most, if not all, the players on this year’s watchlist attended NEXUS this year or last year.

Having an up-to-date recruiting profile is extremely important when it comes to making the high school lists.

Didn’t You Used to Do Nominations?

We have not done nominations since the 2024 season.

The NFHCA accepts nominations (and is currently taking nominations) for their watchlists, and we recommend that coaches nominate their players for the NFHCA Watchlists.

What About Younger Players?

We know that some 7th and 8th graders play up to high school teams or play on competitive middle school programs, and in the past, we did post stats for 8th graders. However, we have since moved away from doing so because we believe that focusing on awards and stats at a young age can negatively impact a player’s natural love for the game.

Why is [Insert Player Name] Not on the Watchlist?

As mentioned before, for college, the list is limited to 3 players per team, meaning that some top players are left out due to this restriction. The purpose of the limit is to limit the lists to under 500 players.

For high school, there are over 60,000 players who play high school field hockey. We are naming approximately 400 players to the list in 2026, meaning the list only reflects approximately 0.7% of players. Most high school players will not make the list.

We do not provide specific feedback for why a player does not make the watchlist.

We hope this answered your questions about our watchlists and that you are excited to watch some great hockey players this fall! Comment with any other questions you have!

Using pre-2026 ELO ratings and 2026 Division I schedules, we simulated every regular-season game to predict each team’s expected record.

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As one of the biggest events in international hockey approaches, it creates an opportunity to evaluate how the players at the “end” of the pipeline used the pipeline to make it to the senior level.

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While the rankings are intended to identify the nation's top-performing clubs over a two-year period, they remain one of the more debated systems in the youth game. The methodology often rewards clubs that consistently attend sanctioned events rather than simply those playing the best hockey at a given moment, leading to significant movement when teams skip tournaments.

Even with those shortcomings, the rankings provide an interesting snapshot of the current club landscape. They highlight which clubs have built sustained success across multiple seasons, where regional strength exists, and which programs made the biggest jumps following the spring championship season. They also offer insight into how much tournament participation, not just results, can influence a club’s national standings.

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The topic came up, as many parents and players question the validity of the USA Field Hockey pipeline, and whether the athletes within the national team junior programs are actually making it onto the senior national team.

Four years after competing for the U21 Team, where are those athletes at now?

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With two days left in the month, however, the Class of 2028 surpassed the total number of first-month commitments from each of the previous three recruiting classes.

With 5-for-5 passing just a few days into the recruiting timeline, this class has been an anomaly in so many ways.

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2026 is the second year since the updated selection pathway, switching from selecting Junior Olympians from the NEXUS Championships to NEXUS Regionals, and making it so that athletes can only compete in one of the two events.

Now that we are two years into this rule change, we are beginning to see more fluidity between the two events, with athletes who previously would have competed at NEXUS Championships instead moving into the Junior Olympics pipeline.

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Senior NEXUS is comprised of athletes age-eligible for the U18 and U21 national teams, as well as players eligible for future U.S. Women’s National Team trials.

The best way to describe these selections is just weird.

Today we’ll be getting into why that is.

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The rule change has two major parts: giving athletes 5 years of eligibility, and the eligibility clock will begin when an athlete turns 19 years old or graduates from high school, whichever comes first.

The legislation also effectively eliminates traditional medical redshirts. Under the new structure, additional seasons will only be granted for military service, religious missions, or pregnancy-related absences.

What Is Still Unknown

The Impact on Division II and III

Just like the 27-player roster cap implemented last summer, this legislation was approved only at the Division I level. As of now, the rule applies exclusively to Division I athletes.

However, there are signs that Division II could eventually follow suit. Back in January, the Division II Committee forwarded a proposal regarding the matter to the Division II Executive Board for further review, meaning formal legislation has at least been discussed at the DII level.

DIII has remained relatively quiet on the issue so far; however, it is important to note that the redshirt rules at the Division III level are different.

The Olympic-Shirts

One of the biggest questions surrounding the new rule is what happens to athletes who leave college temporarily for centralized national team training ahead of the Olympics.

For example, Team USA athlete Reese D’Ariano’s eligibility situation now becomes much more complicated.

While USA Field Hockey has not announced their selection guidelines, nor a requirement to centralize, for the 2028 Olympics, most are assuming that this will be the case. During the lead-up to the 2024 Olympics, players such as Sessa, Tamer, and Zimmer were still competing collegiately and were able to preserve a season of eligibility through Olympic-related waivers.

With the elimination of traditional redshirts, it is unclear whether similar protections will exist moving forward. That could directly impact athletes like D’Ariano, who may miss what would otherwise be her freshman season at UNC while training in Charlotte.

The Recruiting Class Size Thing

Just this morning, we posted the estimated remaining spots in the Class of 2027, and we have started to see many Class of 2028 commitments roll in this morning.

With the aforementioned 27-player roster caps, there are already finite spots on a Division I roster. Now, these spots are going to be split across 5 years in many institutions.

Using simple math, the average recruiting class size could decrease from approximately 6.5 players per class to around 5.4. Across Division I field hockey, that translates to roughly 82 to 164 fewer recruiting spots available per graduating class compared to previous years.

Other Potential Impacts

Older, More Experienced Rosters

One likely outcome of the rule is that college teams become older overall. While the rule is meant to not allow 20+ year-old freshmen in other sports, programs can now retain fifth-year athletes or add them through the transfer portal. Programs that have 5th-year athletes will have more experience, maturity, and depth.

This can cause problems at institutions that do not have masters degress, widening the divide between them and everyone else.

Earlier Recruiting Pressure

There may be more pressure felt to commit earlier as there are fewer spots to go around. This may shift the recruiting timeline earlier than in previous years.

Increased Transfer Portal Traffic

The portal was relatively calm this off-season, but now that 5th years are back in play, we expect to see Covid-era numbers of players in the portal. Whether it is seniors who are looking to do their Master’s elsewhere, or younger athletes who are looking to have a larger role sooner, more names will be entering the portal again.

Let us know your thoughts on this rule in the comments!

The NEXUS Championships serve as a major identification opportunity within the Junior and Senior National Team pipeline, bringing together athletes from across the country to compete against other top players in their age group.

Today we are breaking down the selections by region, club representation, graduation years, college commitments, and more.

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So to celebrate just over a year of NextGen, today we are finally going to be breaking it all down.

The Idea Behind It

The idea of NextGen all started with a tweet that was circulating during the 2025 WNBA draft.

For those unfamiliar with the WNBA, Paige Bueckers was the 2025 No.1 Draft Pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings and later won Rookie of the Year. During the draft, the above tweet from when she was just a sixth grader began circulating again online.

This made me start thinking about when we were interviewing the 2024 Olympic Team. There was so little media coverage of the players from their time on the senior national team, let alone anything from their junior national team days.

Even Erin Matson, one of the most publicized American field hockey players ever, has very limited media coverage from before her time at UNC.

In today’s sports landscape, where branding and storytelling matter more than ever, one of the next steps in growing the game is giving fans athletes they can follow and invest in long before college.

So What Actually Is NextGen?

NextGen is a media sponsorship built around a selected group of athletes from each recruiting class.

They are the only recruiting-aged athletes that are posted to our main timeline, the only recruiting-aged athletes featured on our podcast, and the only commitment announcements posted to our main feed.

Throughout the year, you’ll also see them doing Instagram takeovers during tournaments, appearing in highlight videos during the high school season, and featured in dedicated story highlights on our profile.

Beyond that, we are actively working on partnerships with companies like InstantReplay to help grow these athletes’ brands. They also receive complimentary access to the PCFH x TFHA Recruiting Database.

Since being announced in December, our Class of 2029 athletes have collectively gained more than 700 followers across social media platforms.

The Selections

Our main 2 factors for selection are:
1. Some of the best kids in the class
2. From All Around the USA

The reason for one is simple. We are investing in media coverage of these athletes at a young age. We are picking players that we expect to have stories in hockey, whether they choose to play just in college or play beyond college.

While choosing players, we do try to be conscious of not picking all our players from the same club. Currently, we have players representing Texas, Virginia, Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. While PA is the hotbed of field hockey, we want to make sure we are still doing our part in recognizing there is so much talent outside of PA.

While talent is obviously important, we are also looking for athletes who represent the future growth of the sport. That can mean leadership, personality, work ethic, etc.

A perfect example of this is 2029, Murphy Gamse, who is not only an extremely talented defender, but is also coming off of an ACL tear.

Throughout her return-to-play process, her commitment to the sport and passion for the game never changed. She has become an incredible example for younger athletes who may someday find themselves facing a similar challenge, which is one of many reasons she was selected for the program.

At the end of the day, we want athletes who younger players can follow for years and who fans will eventually recognize at the collegiate level and beyond.

So How Do You Get Picked?

The first step is to make it onto our High School Rookie Watchlist, which consists of approximately 50 athletes in each class.

To build the watchlist, we evaluate U16 Junior National Team selections, NEXUS performances, film from events like NCCs and NEXUS, and in-person evaluations at recruiting events throughout the year, including NITs.

For NextGen specifically, we also value athletes who are active on social media and already beginning to build a platform of their own. We currently have athletes from the Classes of 2030-2032 already on our radar.

Throughout the high school season, we continue tracking the athletes on the watchlist and evaluating their development both on and off the field.

By mid-November, invite emails are sent to selected athletes, followed by meetings to ensure they are the right fit for the program.

Why Is The Group So Small?

The original plan was to start with 5 players, and then expand each class to 15-20. Instead, we kept the Class of 2028 at 5 and decreased the Class of 2029 to 3.

Part of what makes NextGen special is that we are able to dedicate real time and attention to each athlete. Whether it’s creating graphics, organizing takeovers, recording interviews, or telling their stories over multiple years, we want every athlete in the program to recieve meaningful coverage.

The small size also allows us to build familiarity with fans. When people repeatedly see the same athletes over time, they begin to follow and invest in their journeys and careers. That long-term storytelling is the entire point of the program.

What NextGen Is NOT

NextGen is not player rankings. While we firmly believe that these are some of the top players in each class, this is not a 1-5 ranking.

NextGen is not a pay-to-play program. Athletes are selected entirely based on our evaluations and vision for the future of the sport.

NextGen is not a guarantee of future opportunities at the collegiate and international level. We have no say in the recruitment or selection of these athletes.

The Long-Term Vision

The goal of NextGen has never been to simply post highlights.

We want to help create a culture where field hockey athletes have stories that fans already know before they ever reach college or the national team level.

Other sports have spent years building stars early. Fans become invested in athletes because they feel like they’ve watched them grow up. Field hockey has historically lacked that type of long-term storytelling and visibility.

If we want the sport to continue growing, we need more recognizable athletes, more investment in player brands, and more opportunities for younger players to see themselves in the next generation of stars.

That is what NextGen is ultimately trying to build.

And with the first true NextGen recruiting classes becoming eligible to commit beginning June 15th, this is only the beginning of those stories.

With attendance figures across Division I generally remaining low, it raised an interesting question: does home-field advantage actually exist in NCAA field hockey?

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Nations Cup serves as the qualifier for the upcoming 2026-27 Pro League season. The winner of this tournament is promoted to the Pro League, while the team that finishes last in the Pro League is demoted to next year’s Nations Cup.

The United States was relegated from the Pro League following the 2023-24 season, making this tournament a critical opportunity to return to consistent top-level international competition ahead of LA 2028.

Regular matches against the world’s best teams are essential for long-term player development and Olympic preparation.

How The Tournament Works

Each team plays the other three teams in their pool once. The top two teams from each pool advance to the semifinals, while the bottom teams move into classification matches.

Winning the tournament earns the team a spot in the 2026-27 FIH Pro League.

The Schedule

June 14, 6:45 PM ET: USA vs. India

June 15, 6:45 PM ET: USA vs. Uruguay

June 17, 9:00 PM: USA vs. Japan

June 19/20, TBD: Crossovers/Semis

June 20/21, TBD: Placement + Finals

How To Watch

Streaming: Watch.Hockey (PPV)

The Roster

USA Field Hockey announced the USWNT roster for this tournament earlier this month, featuring a mix of veteran leadership and emerging young talent.

Goalkeeper Kelsey Bing is expected to reach 100 caps during this tournament, sitting at 98. Abby Tamer is expected to reach 50 caps, having 46 currently.

The team has an average of 44 caps. Ashley Hoffman comes into this tournament with the most caps at 131, while Lauren Wadas and Ryleigh Heck enter with 9 each.

The Opposition

8 teams are competing in the tournament, split into two pools. Pool A consists of the USA, India, Japan, and Uruguay. Pool B consists of New Zealand, Chile, France, and Korea. France was promoted from Nations Cup 2, and India was relegated from Pro League last season.

India

India is one of the heavy favorites to win the tournament, having been relegated from the Pro League after last season.

India recently qualified for the Hockey World Cup through the FIH World Cup Qualifiers after missing automatic qualification through the 2025 Asia Cup. In the tournament, they earned wins against Uruguay, Wales, and Italy, while they drew with Scotland and fell to England.

The USA last faced India during the 2023-24 Pro League for two matches. In the first match, India took a 3-1 win. In the second match, India beat the USA in a shootout. The USA’s last win against India came in a 1-0 win during the Olympic Qualifiers, beating a shocked home team.

Japan

Japan enters the tournament ranked at #15.

Japan’s most recent tournament is also the World Cup Qualifiers, finishing in 4th place at the qualifier in Santiago. They earned wins against both Canada and Malaysia, but losses to Ireland and Chile ultimately left them just short of qualification.

Their last match against the USA was in January of this year at the 3 Nations Tournament in New Zealand. In the match, the USA had a dominant 4-0 win, with goals from Hoffman, Sholder, Heck, and Yeager.

Uruguay

Uruguay is currently ranked #17 in the world.

While Uruguay’s most recent tournament was the World Cup Qualifiers, they failed to qualify after finishing in 5th place. They beat Wales twice, once in the pool stages and once in the classifications, and won against Austria. Losses to India and Scotland ultimately kept them out of the World Cup.

The USA last faced them in the Pan American Cup, where the USA won in shootouts to qualify for the World Cup. The score at the end of regulation was 1-1, off a goal from Heck.

What Should Team USA Fans Expect?

India will be the United States’ biggest test in Pool A. While they have not faced each other in quite some time, matches between the two are typically competitive. With the tournament opening against India, the result could immediately shape the group standings and momentum for the rest of the week.

Uruguay should not be overlooked either. A win in that match will likely be essential if the United States hopes to comfortably advance to the semifinals.

If the United States advances out of the group stage, New Zealand could present the biggest challenge. New Zealand has won the last two editions of the tournament, although they have turned down promotion to the Pro League both times. The United States did beat them in two 2-1 matches back in January, but expect any match between the two to be close.

Chile is another team worth watching after the pool stages conclude. While the United States defeated Chile 5-2 during the Pan American Cup, the team did not fare as well against them in last year’s Nations Cup, losing 2-1 and 3-1. If both teams make the semifinals, the game can go either way.

While nothing is guaranteed in international hockey, the United States should realistically expect to compete for a medal position. If the team can build momentum early in the tournament, a return to the Pro League is well within reach.

There’s nothing to be scared of, but if you’re nervous about the date, here’s what you actually need to know.

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