Four Officials to Represent USA at Upcoming Events

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Field Hockey is pleased to announce the four officials that will represent USA at two upcoming events.

Traveling to Auckland, New Zealand alongside the U.S. Women’s National Team for the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup is umpire Benjamin Peters. The event is slated to take place June 14 to 21.

Later this summer, at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, Lurah Hess will represent USA as the technical delegate, Suzi Sutton as an umpire manager, and Erika Barbera as an umpire. The CAC Games will take place July 24 to August 4 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Coming off his most recent appointment of umpiring the FIH Hockey Pro League for the third consecutive season, Peters will be officiating at Nations Cup also for the third time. He previously was selected for the Men’s Nations Cup in South Africa in 2022, and the 2024 iteration in Poland. With more than 10 years of international experience, Peters brings a resume which includes the 2025 Pan American Cup—where he was appointed to the men’s bronze medal match—and the 2025 FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup.

Hess will assume the prestigious role of technical delegate for the fifth time, most recently serving in this capacity at the Men’s Pan American Challenge and FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup in 2024. She was a technical official at the 2025 FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile this past December, after serving as technical official at USA’s test series against Ireland last June. Hess brings a plethora of international experience, which includes four seasons of the FIH Hockey Pro League, 2022 FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands, and 2023 Pan American Games.

After an illustrious career as an international umpire, Sutton transitioned to the role of umpire manager and was added to the FIH International Panel in this capacity earlier this year. In 2025, she attended the Junior Pan American Challenge in Bridgetown, Barbados, and test series between USA and New Zealand in Charlotte, N.C. The USA Field Hockey 2018 National Umpire of the Year officiated more than 140 international matches all over the world, including the 2017 FIH Hockey World League Semifinals in South Africa, and 2021-22 FIH Hockey Pro League.

An umpire on the rise, Barbera was also in the group named to the FIH International Panel this past spring. After logging her first international tournament at the Pan American Challenge in September 2024 in Bermuda, she has since blown her whistle at the 2025 Junior Pan American Challenge in Bridgetown, Barbados, 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, and 2026 3 Nations Tournament in Dunedin, New Zealand.