Passmore Selects Roster for Pan American Games Santiago 2023

SANTIAGO, Chile – It’s the biggest stage for the sport in the America. It is an Olympic Qualifying event. And in October, all eyes will be following Team USA.

Following the conclusion of a two-match test series against Canada, U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach David Passmore and coaching staff have named the 16-athlete roster and two provisional athletes that will travel to Santiago, Chile for the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 (PAG) taking place October 25 to November 4.

“This was one of the hardest selections I’ve had to make with spots on the roster so competitive,” said Passmore. “While it is always great for a coach to have competition this also means that some athletes who have performed well have missed out simply because others were better at this time. That said, we view ourselves as one ‘united’ group and whatever players in a game, series or tournament represent the whole United Eagles squad.”

For USA, five veterans from the Peru edition were selected to the Chile roster. That includes co-captains Amanda Golini (Randolph, N.J.) and Ashley Hoffman (Mohnton, Pa.), along with goalkeeper Kelsey Bing (Houston, Texas), Linnea Gonzales (Bel Air, Md.) and Danielle Grega (Kingston, Pa.). This is paired with the new talent of Ashley Sessa (Schwenksville, Pa.) and Abigail Tamer (Dexter, Mich.).

Kelsey Bing (Houston, Texas), Sanne Caarls (Nieuw-Vennep, Netherlands), Leah Crouse (Virginia Beach, Va.), Emma DeBerdine (Millersville, Pa.), Amanda Golini (Randolph, N.J.), Linnea Gonzales (Bel Air, Md.), Danielle Grega (Kingston, Pa.), Ally Hammel (Duxbury, Mass.), Ashley Hoffman (Mohnton, Pa.), Karlie Kisha (Hamburg, Pa.), Ashley Sessa (Schwenksville, Pa.), Meredith Sholder (Fleetwood, Pa.), Abigail Tamer (Dexter, Mich.), Jillian Wolgemuth (Mount Joy, Pa.), Beth Yeager (Greenwich, Conn.), Maddie Zimmer (Hershey, Pa.)

The two provisional athletes are Kelee Lepage (Honey Brook, Pa.) and Jenny Rizzo (Hershey, Pa.).

*all times are listed in Eastern Time Zone, which is -1 hour behind local time

The No. 16 United Eagles sit in Pool A with No. 3 Argentina, No. 25 Uruguay and No. 47 Trinidad and Tobago. Pool B consists of No. 14 Chile, No. 15 Canada, No. 29 Mexico and No. 40 Cuba.

USA will open up PAG competition with Trinidad and Tobago, an opponent they last faced at the 2022 Pan American Cup, and dominated by a score of 16-0. Next, they will play Argentina, their toughest pool opponent, who they met in March during the 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League and fell in both meetings, 0-3. In their final pool game, the United Eagles will face Uruguay, a squad they haven’t seen since the 2015 edition of the PAG. In that contest, USA won 5-0.

“We are taking a week regeneration now and will come together for 3 weeks of hard training before we depart for Chile,” added Passmore. “With the scheduled matches against South Africa being canceled, we won’t have the benefit of international competition but are thankful to members of the Junior and Development U.S. Men’s National Team for supporting us with some game play before we start.”

“We have a tough pool with No. 3 ranked Argentina and a fast improving Uruguay team so first need to ensure we qualify for the semifinals which ensures our Olympic Qualifier berth. Hopefully then we will be aiming for a medal and winning the event. Recent years has seen significant development in Pan American Hockey Federation and with Chile, Canada and Argentina all competing in last year’s World Cup the team knows there will be no easy matches.”

The winner of the women’s 2023 PAG qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The teams that come in second, third and fourth will be placed in an FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier in January 2024.

For more information on the Pan American Games Santiago 2023, visit the event page.

* All selections to the 2023 U.S. Pan American Team are subject to approval by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.