Kenah, McDonough to represent US at FIH Indoor World Cup next month

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia grad student Annie McDonough and freshman Lauren Kenah have been named to the 14-athlete roster to represent the USA at the 2023 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup (IHWC), as announced Friday by U.S. Women’s National Indoor Team Head Coach Jun Kentwell.

The 2023 IHWC was originally set to take place in February 2022 in Liège, Belgium. It will now be held at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, from February 5 to 11. The 12-team women’s tournament includes many within the top 20 of the FIH Indoor World Rankings. No. 12 USA sits in Pool A with No. 2 Netherlands, No. 8 Austria, No. 9 Australia, No. 14 South Africa and New Zealand. Pool B consists of No. 4 Ukraine, No. 5 Czech Republic, No. 9 Namibia, No. 11 Kazakhstan, No. 15 Belgium and No. 16 Canada.

Three athletes, including McDonough, were part of the squad in 2018 that competed at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Berlin, Germany. Only one athlete is remaining from the 2021 Indoor Pan American Cup (IPAC) team that qualified for the IHWC. The others named to the roster have worked their way through the Junior U.S. Women’s National Indoor Team program.

“With our starting line-up from our Indoor Pan American Cup winning team unavailable due to other national team commitments, I am pleased that veterans from our 2018 IHWC team Annie McDonough and Sarah Johnson have come back, along with Sam Carlino, to lead our young squad,” commented Kentwell. “All the players have come up through the indoor program’s junior and development squads and many have promising outdoor futures ahead of them. The IHWC will give these talented young players valuable exposure and experience on the world stage. I look to see the team grow through the tournament and hope that we can improve on our tenth-place finish at the last Indoor World Cup.”

The Quarterfinals will start on Friday, Feb. 10 with the Semifinals and Finals on Saturday, Feb. 11.

2023 INDOOR USWNT IHWC ROSTER
Abby Burnett (Zionsville, Pa.)
Samantha Carlino (Kennett Square, Pa.)
Reese D’Ariano (West Chester, Pa.)
Nathalie Friedman (Phoenix, Md.)
Annika Herbine (Macungie, Pa.)
Sarah Johnson (Lincoln University, Pa.)
Lauren Kenah (Telford, Pa.)
Sydney Mandato (Telford, Pa.)
Annie McDonough (Kennett Square, Pa.)
Sabrina McGroarty (Mickleton, N.J.)
Hannah Miller (Malvern, Pa.)
Opal Sparling (Chester Springs, Pa.)
Elizabeth Tamburro (Phoenixville, Pa.)
Melea Weber (Macungie, Pa.)