Passmore Determines Women’s 2026 FIH Hockey Nations Cup Auckland Squad
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach David Passmore has named the traveling squad for the 2026 FIH Hockey Nations Cup taking place June 14 to 21 in Auckland, New Zealand. The fourth edition of this event offers top-level competition to the best-ranked teams not participating in the FIH Hockey Pro League and gives the winning team promotion to the FIH Hockey Pro League next season.
“After a long block of training during the spring the squad has grown significantly in fitness levels and in the hockey areas we have focused upon,” commented Passmore. “The four scrimmages we had to select the group were nicely competitive and many of the athletes who missed out can consider themselves unlucky as selection was very tight and came down to the slimmest of margins.”
“Our aim is to win the Nations Cup tournament as we feel the team is ready to be competitive in FIH Hockey Pro League again and the athletes are hungry to play at that level again. This won’t be easy with the level of opponents, but the ambition is there within the group and everyone in the squad knows their form needs to remain strong given the depth we now have moving towards the World Cup in August.”
The selected traveling roster will be led by co-captains Emma DeBerdine and Meredith Sholder. They are paired with other experienced athletes in Leah Crouse, Ashley Hoffman, Ashley Sessa, Abby Tamer, Beth Yeager, and Maddie Zimmer, but also welcome some younger talent in Reese D’Ariano, Ryleigh Heck, and Mia Schoenbeck.
The selected goalkeepers selected are Kelsey Bing and Jenny Rizzo.
The squad, along with reserves Bethany Dykema, Dani Mendez, Makenna Webster, and Jillian Wolgemuth, will depart on May 25 for Perth, Australia where they will be playing four unofficial games against No. 8 Australia in preparation.
Passmore will be assisted by Maddie Hinch, Bert Remmerswaal and Tracey Fuchs, with Nazia Rashid as team manager, Alan Good as the video analyst and Hannah Jaussen as the athletic trainer.
No. 12 USA sits in Pool A with No. 9 India, No. 15 Japan, and No. 17 Uruguay. Pool B consists of No. 10 New Zealand, No. 11 Chile, No. 16 France, and No. 18 Korea.
The Eagles start competition on Sunday, June 14 against No. 9 India at 6:45 p.m. ET. On Monday, June 15 they face No. 17 Uruguay at 6:45 p.m. ET and finish pool play on Wednesday, June 17 against No. 15 Japan at 9:00 p.m. ET. Crossovers and semifinals will take place on Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20, with the finals on Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21 (because of the time zone difference).
Date | Time ET | Teams |
|---|---|---|
Sun., June 14 | 6:45 PM | India vs. USA |
Mon., June 15 | 6:45 PM | USA vs. Uruguay |
Wed., June 17 | 9:00 PM | USA vs. Japan |
Fri., June 19/Sat., June 20 | Crossovers + Semifinals | |
Sat., June 20/Sun., June 21 | Placement + Final | |
“The four friendlies we have against Australia will provide ideal preparation before we head onto Auckland and are also key and those traveling to Australia will have the opportunity to remain in contention for World Cup selection,” added Passmore.
This event will be streamed pay-per-view on Watch.Hockey.
For more information on the 2026 FIH Hockey Nations Cup Auckland, visit the event page.
