2026 Junior Nexus Championship Gets Underway with U-14 Girls Division
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The 2026 Junior Nexus Championship (NXC), presented by Osaka Hockey, kicked off on Thursday with the U-14 Girls division at the Regional Training Center in Virginia Beach, Va. The Junior Nexus Championship is a culmination of hard work, bringing together hundreds of athletes who are selected from regions across the country.
Day one started off with practice, where athletes and coaches joined together on teams named after countries participating in the upcoming 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup. Following practice, the day concluded with a goalkeeper session.
Matches got going on day two, and after teams competed in pool play, the top four pool finishers competed in the semifinals on the third day. Belgium took a big 5-0 win over England in their semifinal, while Chile's last-minute penalty stroke forced the match to shootouts, where they were victorious over United States.
The final between Belgium and Chile was as tight as it could be, finishing 1-1 in regulation and needing eight rounds of shootouts to determine a winner. Brinkley Fowble (Sykesville, Md.) scored Chile's lone goal early on, and Isla Martinez (Bellaire, Texas) of Belgium tied it up. It would be Chile on top in the dramatic sudden victory shootout, and Belgium going home with silver.
The bronze between England and United States ended up a bigger margin of victory for the United States. Caroline Bigos (Pennsauken, N.J.) was in top form for her team, notching a hat trick in the 3-1 victory, while Lilyana Barrueto (Phoenix, Md.) tallied the fourth and Eloise Mann (Etna, N.H.) scored the lone goal for England.
USA Field Hockey would like to thank all the athletes, coaches, selectors, umpires, umpire managers, Nexus staff, and volunteers who continue to make the U-14 Girls NXC a success. The 2026 Junior NXC will continue on Sunday, July 12 with the U-16 Girls division.
Congratulations to this year's winners!
First Place: Chile
Coach: Haley Buffenbarger
Brynnleigh Cleary, Annika Dodge, Eloise Edwards, Brinkley Fowble, Quinn Hoang, Samantha Holman, Adriana L'Heureux, Ally MacCormack, Molly Maloy, Brynley Martell, Aliya Mohamed, Marikate Reinhardt, Reheth Sandhu, Samantha Swentner, Hannah Twilley, Zuzana Weiss, Alexandra McKenney
Second Place: Belgium
Coach: Hallie Reiger
Carson Boorstein, Sloane Burnett, Kendall Burns, Jacy Gabrish, Paityn Givens, India Graham, Sydney Grossman, Courtlyn Kunkle, Isla Martinez, Adalyn Mowery, Charlotte Olsen, Kylee Orange, Emmy Soshnik, Ava Vuille, Zayla White, Lucy Whitmore, Kasey Moran
Third Place: United States
Coach: Don Warner
Lilyana Barrueto, Ava Barry, Caroline Bigos, Leigh Devlin, Olivia Fragner, Molly Frances Harden, Analea Linneman, Avery Martelli, Payton McCorristin, Mika Nakamura, Ryleigh Polischeck, Meghan Smith, Katherine Sweeney, Elise Tozzi, Nora Troy, Chloe Weiman, Arizona Swartz
Each year during the Nexus Championship, USA Field Hockey hosts a fundraising raffle that benefits the future of the field hockey community. All funds raised in the raffle help make field hockey more accessible and inclusive to all aspiring athletes in the player pathway who would otherwise be unable to participate without financial assistance. The financial assistance given each year allows more than a hundred athletes to participate in the Olympic Development Pathway.
The Nexus Championship team that sells the most combined raffle tickets receives a gift from presenting sponsor, Osaka Hockey, for the entire team.
Most Sold Raffle Tickets (Team): United States
Coach: Don Warner
Most Sold Raffle Tickets (Individual): Haven Holuba
Team: India
Barbara Longstreth Sportsmanship Award: England
Coach: Jess Paulin
Amelie Andrews, Elizabeth Apicerno, Emilia Devendorf, Adeline Flick, Gwyneth Gilner, Rowan Green, Evie Holland, Elizabeth Jarrett, Emmy Jones, Briar Keighery, Hazel Kozloff, Eloise Mann, Finley Rousseau, Michaela Sloan, Samantha Thurmond, Georgette Welch, Eloise Fauls
