NORFOLK, Va. – Danielle Grega and Kealsie Robles, two former members of the Old Dominion field hockey program, have both been chosen by U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Janneke Schopman to accompany the team to Bhubaneswar, India to play No. 9 India for a chance to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The teams will play two games, the first coming tomorrow on Friday, November 1 at 8:30 a.m., while the second will take place the following morning on Saturday, November 2, also at 8:30 a.m. If the No. 13 United States wins both matches, the team secures one of just 12 spots in the women’s tournament. If the U.S. wins just one of the games, the team can still qualify through a tie-breaking procedure based on the goal differential over the two matches.
Grega graduated from ODU in 2018 and in her four years in the Monarch midfield, she scored 26 goals and accrued 61 points. She was named First Team All-BIG EAST twice and First and Second Team NFHCA All-South Region. In her senior season, she was named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
Shortly after graduating, Grega was promoted to the U.S. Senior Women’s National Team on August 27, 2018, becoming the first Monarch on the Senior National Team since 2012. Prior to her call-up to the senior team, she played with the U.S. Development Team from 2017 to 2018.
Robles played in 56 games between the posts in her four years at ODU before graduating in 2019. While in goal, she saved 233 shots for a goals against average of 2.11, while posting five shutouts in her career.
Going into her senior season, Robles was promoted to the U.S. Development Team. She was then promoted to play with the U.S. Senior National Team at the Sompo Cup in Japan, causing her to miss three games in her senior campaign.
The ODU field hockey program has had 15 formers members play in the Olympics, and former head coach Beth Anders also coached in two Olympic Games for the United States. With a successful two games India, both Grega and Robles could be added to that list of Monarchs who represented their country on one of the world’s biggest stages.
The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers will be live streamed on fih.liveand Bleacher Report Live.For more information about the FIH Olympic Qualifier, visit the official event page by clicking here.