University of North Carolina Athletics
U.S. Wins Four Nations Tournament
March 5, 2012 | Field Hockey
March 5, 2012
The U.S. Field Hockey Women's National Team won its Four Nations tournament in Terrassa, Spain, recently, finishing with a 3-1-2 record as the 10-day event wrapped up on March 3.
The roster for the trip included three Tar Heels: Rising senior Kelsey Kolojejchick, who has taken the spring semester away from UNC to train with the National Team, and Carolina alums Rachel Dawson and Jackie Kintzer.
The tournament ran Feb. 23 to March 3 and also included Belgium, Great Britain and Spain. The U.S. finished 2-0-1 against Belgium, 1-0 against Great Britain and 0-1-1 against Spain.
The team opened play Feb. 23 with 3-3 tie against Belgium, in which the U.S. gave up three first-half goals before storming back. The following day, the U.S beat Belgium 2-0, scoring a goal in each half. Kintzer earned the shutout in goal on the day that she also picked up her 50th career cap.
On Feb. 26, host Spain dealt the U.S. its only loss of the event, 3-0. Spain scored all three of its goals in the first half.
The U.S. beat Great Britain, ranked No. 4 in the world, 3-2 on Feb. 28. Kolojejchick assisted on the second goal, by Katie O'Donnell, as the Americans went up 3-0 midway through the second half. Great Britain scored twice in the final 12 minutes, but the U.S. held on for the win.
The U.S. and Spain played to a 0-0 draw on Feb. 29.
The U.S. team also closed out the tournament against Belgium, winning 1-0,
"The tour has been very successful and we were able to get good results against some very good teams," said Head Coach Lee Bodimeade. "We're very pleased with the outcome of our decision to provide opportunities for younger players to perform in international competitions. We have another tour coming up in Australia and New Zealand that will give us another opportunity to progress our playing depth and level of performance."
The U.S. is scheduled to face Australia April 5-8 and to take part in a Four Nations tournament in New Zealand April 12-22.
