2026 WMH Masters World Cup Underway, Nine USA Teams in Action
Nine USA Masters teams took to the field over the past two days as the 2026 World Masters Hockey (WMH) Masters World Cup got underway. USA’s Men’s O-35, Men’s O-40, Women’s O-35, and Women’s O-40 teams got things started in Schiedam, Netherlands, while the Men’s O-45, Men’s O-50, Women’s O-45, Women’s O-50, and Women’s O-35 IMC were in action over in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Before getting out on the field, both locations were treated to opening ceremonies at their respective venue. The celebration was a time for athletes from across the world to engage in the type of camaraderie that only a massive, international sporting event can bring.
The first day of play was a good start for USA, featuring two wins, one draw, and a loss. USA picked up another three wins the next day, highlighted by a 2-1 win from the Men’s O-35 over the Netherlands.
July 23, 2026
O-40M: South Africa 4 – 0 USA
The USA Men’s O-40 team battled fiercely against the reigning champions, ultimately enduring a hard-fought 4-0 defeat. Despite creating several strong scoring opportunities, the Golden Wolves were unable to capitalize. Goalkeeper Trevor Shattuck delivered a standout, player-of-the-match performance, anchoring the defense as the squad began to find their rhythm and gel in the second half.
O-35W: USA 1 – 1 Australia
The Women’s O-35 squad came out to play against a solid Australia team. USA saw connections all through the backfield, and used that skill to shut down a majority of Australia’s offensive chances. Kristi Blumer scored the lone goal to tie Australia 1-1, and Erin Tarburton was named player of the game for her stellar defense.
O-35M: USA 1 – 0 New Zealand
USA’s Men’s O-35 won a hard-fought game, 1-0, against New Zealand. The man of the match and game-winning goal scorer was Robbert Schenk. The defensive clean sheet was led by captain Andres Fuenzalida and Oliver Polkamp. It was an ultimate team performance with everyone contributing to the win.
O-35W IMC: Alliance 0 – 2 USA
The Women’s O-35 IMC earned a well-deserved 2–0 victory over Alliance with a complete team performance. Patricia Zini opened the scoring with a beautiful deflection on a penalty corner, giving the red, white, and blue the early advantage. Lorrie Kiger doubled the lead by calmly converting a penalty stroke to seal the win. From start to finish, the team worked cohesively as a unit, creating dangerous attacking opportunities while maintaining a strong defensive effort to secure the shutout.
July 24, 2026
O-50W: USA 0 – 3 Argentina
USA’s Women’s O-50 opening match was a 3-0 loss, but it was a battle against a strong Argentina side. There were great defensive efforts across the back line, and especially strong defensive pressure from Megan Callahan, who was named player of the match. The match also featured tireless play from the midfielders, who worked to shut down the Argentine midfield. USA’s forward line worked the press to create a few late scoring chances.
O-45W: Belgium 2 – 1 USA
It was a lively first match for the Women’s O-45 team against Belgium. USA struck early with the first goal from midfielder Jill Myers, but Belgium answered back with two goals of their own before the match headed into halftime. After a USA penalty corner goal was called back, Belgium added a third tally, and the score stayed there for the remainder of the match. USA dominated much of second half play, with several chances to score created by Ruthie Golley, Pattie Gillern, and Heather Lockhart. Golley was named Player of the Match.
O-40W: USA 4 – 1 Czechia
The Women’s O-40 squad opened the tournament with a convincing 4-1 win over Czechia, responding well to an early Czechia goal with four unanswered. Alli Lokey recorded a hat trick, capitalizing on excellent passing combinations with Katie Grant, while Janelle Benner made two outstanding defensive saves, and goalkeeper Heather Long came up with a key stroke save to help secure the victory.
O-45M: USA 2 – 4 South Africa
The match between USA Men’s O-45 and South Africa started off calmly, with great passing throughout from both sides. A foul in the circle led to South Africa’s first penalty corner, and off of that a goal snuck in. It was 1-0 going into the second quarter when South Africa earned another penalty corner, this time a drag flick to the back of the net made it 2-0.
But USA didn’t let that be the end. With only a few minutes left in the first half, the Golden Wolves earned a set piece, and off a rebound DC Juneja ripped a shot from the from the top of the circle into the back of the net. Going into the third quarter, the play was even, with much of the action in the middle. However, before the end of the quarter South Africa got a reverse shot off from the highest of angles to take a 3-1 lead.
The fourth quarter started off very similar to the third, with the play going back-and-forth. It wasn’t long before USA struck again, when Malkiat Singh got out of a triple team at the top of the circle, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and sent in an excellent shot to make it 2-3. Unfortunately with 1:30 left in the match, South Africa finished out the game with a fourth goal from a penalty corner.
O-50M: Wales 2 – 1 USA
After two back-to-back goals from Wales in the first frame, USA's Men's O-50 could not find the full comeback needed. Federico Baudini made it interesting with a goal in the second, but USA lacked the final push to tie it up.
O-35W: Paraguay 0 – 4 USA
The Women's O-35 had a convincing 4-0 win over Paraguay. Showing off a large bandwidth of talent, there were four different goal scorers in Daphne de Poot, María Baldi, Melissa Mccarthy, and Kristie Blumer. Two goals were off of penalty corners and two were open play. De Poot received player of the game for her contributions.
O-35M: Netherlands 1 – 2 USA
The first quarter was tense and scrappy, but the USA Men's O-35 team grew in confidence as the period wore on and began to break through the press, finding significant space up front. In the second quarter, USA had two breakaway chances, but 0-0 at halftime was a fair reflection of the half. The red, white and blue took the ascendancy after the break, but it was a Netherlands penalty corner that broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.
The lead was short-lived. A well-worked move up the right ended with a fine cross from Reginald le Maire that stranded the goalkeeper and landed squarely on Matt Py’s stick; he thumped it home ahead of the defender. The score was now 1-1, game on, a quarter to play. USA poured on the pressure and eventually the dam broke. It came with two minutes left to play: Alber Aguila received the ball from Liam Ganly, committed the goalkeeper on the end line, and found Darian Isla five yards out. Isla made no mistake to make it 2-1 for the win!
