June 18, 2007
BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Former Lady Monarch standouts Tiffany Snow (Escondido, Calif.), Melissa Leonetti (Erdenheim, Pa.), Dana Sensenig (Denver, Pa.), and Caroline Nichols (Va. Beach, Va.) helped the USA Field Hockey Women's National Team earn a best-ever fourth place finish at the AtaHoldings Champions Challenge.
The fourth place finish was the best-ever showing in four appearances at the biennial tournament that traditionally features the world's 7-12th-ranked teams. The USA had placed fifth in its three previous Champions Challenge appearances.
China won the tournament with a 2-1 win over Korea in the Championship game. The USA defeated China 2-1 earlier in the tournament to hand the eventual champion its only loss.
Sensenig and Nichols were among six players on the US roster making their first world-level tournament appearance.
Sensenig started all five games and scored two goals, both coming against England. Sensenig's first goal came as she spun into the circle and fired a shot off the baseline to give the USA a 1-0 lead in what would be an eventual 2-2 draw in round robin competition. Her second goal came in the team's 2-1 loss to England in 3rd/4th place match. After a scoreless first half, Sensenig gave the USA a lead early in the second half when she knocked in a penalty corner goal just one minute into the second period.
Nichols served as a reserve in the tournament's first three matches before joining the starting line-up against Azerbaijan in round robin competition and the English in the 3rd/4th place match.
Leonetti, a starting defender, also got involved in some of the scoring action. A Leonetti assist helped Team USA tie the English during the round robin portion of the tournament. With time running down, Leonetti sent a hard pass into the circle where teammate April Fronzoni directed the deflection past the England keeper Becky Duggan to knot the game at 2-2.
The tournament marked the USA's final international competition prior to the Pan American Games, July 15-29 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The winner of the Pan Am Games earns the continent's automatic berth in the 2008 Olympic Games.
The U.S. team will now compete on various USA Field Hockey High Performance Regional teams at the National Championships, June 17-24 in Virginia Beach. Competing for a National Title and possible spots on the U.S. National Team include currrent Lady Monarchs Katelyn Smither (Suffolk, Va.), Sami McLenegan (Middletown, Pa.), and Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.).