CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Today marked the first of the final two days of pool play, for most divisions, at the 2022 World Masters Hockey (WMH) World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.

Wednesday, October 6, 2022

O-50 Men 0 - 7 Germany

The U.S. O-50 Men's Masters Team went up against a tough Germany side.

Germany had scored 13 goals on common opponents Singapore and Malaysia. Coach Randall Hendricks put in a very defensive game plan that the team believed in and executed well.

Even though defeated by seven goals, USA was very proud of their achievement and Germany praised them after the game for having a strong game plan and sticking to it.

Great efforts by goalkeeper Michael Caddy (Drake, Colo.) kept USA in the game. His saves against a very good drag flicker where inspirational to the team and kept them playing hard.

The back line of Rino Bouwman (Ventura, Calif.), Raj Goraya (Kent, Wash.), Ranjeet Khalsa (Union City, Calif.) and Damien Lanyon (Solana Beach, Calif.) were stout in defense and kept Germany frustrated and at bay for most of the day.

Germany had a clear time of possession advantage with frequent play in USA's half of the field.

The O-50 Men still have two more pool play games left with their next coming tomorrow against South Africa Spirit of Masters at 7:45 a.m. ET.

O-55 Men 0 - 1 Argentina

A perfect cloudy and damp day for hockey in lovely Cape Town. The temperature at the start of the mid-day game was a comfortable 62° F.

Throughout the game the U.S. O-55 Men's Masters Team maintained their composure and provided the spectators a crowd-entertaining performance. Although the team is suffering from several injured athletes, the group played extremely well. Several outstanding plays were made in the second quarter by USA to include a great one-on-one sliding save by goalkeeper Pradeep Menon (Cumming, Ga.). Also during the second frame, defense player Peter Jones (Stamford, Conn.) made a spectacular save on the goal line stopping a direct shot during a penalty corner.

USA was able to go into the second half with a clean slate. In the third quarter, Argentina continued to pressure USA's defense and midfielders, however, the red, white and blue defense led by Parampal Singh (Macomb, Ill.), captain Roberto Sabella (Key Biscayne, Fla.) and Robert Mercer (Cary, N.C.) kept Los Leones at bay. A few minutes before the end of the third quarter, Argentina's Enrique Montone hit a solid direct shot at goalkeeper Prashant Aji (San Jose, Calif.) nipping his glove and entering the top of the goal.

The fourth quarter was as entertaining as the previous, with USA being awarded a penalty corner but were unable to convert. Special mention goes out to the USA midfielders Fernando Diez de Onate (Key Biscayne, Fla.), Bob Khosla (Phoenix, Ariz.), Ian Wagge (Scarborough, Maine) and Joost Douwes (Stanwood, Wash.) for brilliantly controlling the ball in the middle and making runs back to assist the defense.

The O-55 Men finished fifth in Pool A and will prepare diligently for their classification game on Saturday, October against Ireland, who finished sixth in Pool B, at 3:50 a.m. ET.

O-50 Women 0 - 2 Germany

The U.S. O-50 Women's Masters Team met a tough Germany squad in their final pool play game.

Germany got on the board in the 3rd minute off a field goal, but USA settled and maintained composure for the middle portion of the game. Germany capitalized again in the 42nd minute to take the 2-0 win.

The O-50 Women finished fourth in Pool B and will face Ireland, who finished third in Pool A, on Saturday, October 8 at 2:00 a.m. ET in a 5th-8th placement match.

O-55 Women 1 - 0 Chile

The game between the U.S. O-55 Women's Masters Team and Chile was a battle from start to finish.

The strong backfield of Nori Smith, Annie Fetter, Barb Wachowiak, Kelly Setser and Christine Cousteau were masterful in not only shutting down a persistent Chiliean team but also distributing and transferring the ball feeding the waiting forwards and midfield.

After sharing possession and penalty corner chances, it was the USA who got the game winning goal in the 35th minute. After a penalty corner opportunity, Kathy Frick (Doylestown, Pa.) tucked the rebound in off the left post. The strong backfield of Nori Smith (Suwanee, Ga.), Annie Fetter (Rutledge, Pa.), Barb Wachowiak (Hamburg, N.Y.), Kelly Setser (Louisville, Ky.) and Christine Cousteau (San Jose, Calif.) were masterful in not only shutting down a persistent Chile team but also distributing and transferring the ball feeding the waiting forwards and midfield.

The O-55 Women have their final pool game tomorrow against South Africa at 11:15 a.m. ET.

O-60 Women 0 - 3 South Africa

The U.S. O-60 Women's Masters Team were unable to overcome the pressure from hosts, South Africa.

South Africa came strong onto the pitch with an early goal putting USA on the back foot. In the second quarter, USA came out strong but South Africa scored a second goal to take a 2-0 lead at halftime.

USA continued to progress in the third quarter and played a well connected game until South Africa scored another goal in the final frame for a solid 3-0 win.

The O-60 Women finished fourth in Pool A and awaits the third place finisher in Pool B on Saturday, October 8 in a 5th-8th placement game.

O-65 Women 3 - 0 Alliance Spirit of Masters

The U.S. O-65 Women's Masters Team faced the Alliance Spirit of Masters squad.

The first quarter opened with USA controlling much of the play. After USA failed to scored on a penalty corner, the quarter ended scoreless.

The second quarter started similarly with USA on their front foot. Six minutes in yielded the first goal of the game off a penalty corner. The inserter number Deb Atkins (Quarryville, Pa.) sent a pass to Pat Rudy (Mill Hall, Pa.) who slipped the ball to Barb Doran (Old Saybrook, Conn.) who finished the play putting the ball in the net. Two minutes later, USA struck again with another attacking penalty corner. The ball was again inserted to Rudy who put it on goal with the rebound going to the goalkeeper’s left onto the stick of Janet Powers (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) who put it into the goal for a second score. The second quarter ended with the score of USA 2, Alliance 0.

After a halftime break with both coaches making their adjustments the Alliance came out with a strong effort testing the strength of USA's defense. After about five minutes, USA reasserted themselves and went more on the attack. At the end of the third quarter the score remained unchanged.

Within a minute of the start of the fourth frame, USA drew a penalty stroke due to a foul in the circle. The penalty stroke just caught the crossbar and the score remained the same. With five minutes to go, USA pushed into the attacking circle. The ball was kept alive by Loretta DiPietro (New Haven, Conn.) and redirected onto goal by Ishbel Dickens (Lummi Island, Wash.) bringing the goal tally to three.

The O-65 Women has two more pool game and will face England LX tomorrow at 2:30 a.m. ET.

DATE	TIME	TEAM		TEAM	STREAM
Fri., Oct. 7	2:30 AM	O54W	vs	England LX	Livestream
	7:45 AM	O-50M	vs	South Africa SoM	Livestream
	9:15 AM	O-45M	vs	Malaysia	Livestream
	11:15 AM	O-55W	vs	South Africa	Livestream
Sat., Oct. 8	2:00 AM 5th-8th	O-50W	vs	Ireland	Livestream
	3:50 AM Classification	O-55M	vs	Ireland	Livestream
	7:30 AM Elimination	O55M SoM	vs	Ireland	Livestream
Mon. Oct. 9	3:50 AM Elimination	O65W	vs	Scotland	Livestream
	5:55 AM	O-50M	vs	England	Livestream

All times in Eastern Time Zone

Final Two Days of Pool Play at the 2022 WMH World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa

IMAGES COURTESY OF SOUTH AFRICAN MASTERS HOCKEY

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