CAPE TOWN, South Africa - As crossovers are on the horizon, the fourth and fifth days of the 2022 World Masters Hockey (WMH) World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa came to a close. Pool play for most divisions wrap up on Friday, except for the U.S. O-65 Women's Masters Team completing play on Saturday and the U.S. O-50 Men's Masters Team on Sunday.

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

O-45 Men 0 - 4 England

Powered by a hat trick from England's William Nurse, the U.S. O-45 Men's Masters Team fell 4-0.

O-55 Men Spirit of Masters 1 - 2 South Africa

The U.S. O-55 Men's Spirit of Masters faced a tough, host South Africa in pool play.

After a scoreless 25 minute, South Africa tallied first on a field goal from Shawn Bougard. USA equalized in the 47th minute on a goal from Richard Jagdeo (Cortland Manor, N.Y.) but the home team secured the win in the 59th minute on a score from David McKechnie.

O-50 Women 0 - 2 Scotland 

Goalkeeper Jennifer Anderson (Owings Mills, Md.) made a fantastic save on a penalty stroke awarded early on in the first quarter. Midfielders Pam Stuper (Petersburg, Fla.) and Flor Manero (Key Biscayne, Fla.) were instrumental in the middle and midfielder Sue Elliott (Fountainville, Pa.) held the left side while under constant pressure. USA's attack had several scoring opportunities but were unable to convert. 

The O-50 Women have their final pool game tomorrow against Germany at 4:00 a.m. ET.

O-55 Women 0 - 1 Scotland

The U.S. O-55 Women's Masters Team and Scotland went head-to-head in a tight contest.

Deep back Christine Couteau (San Jose, Calif.) had a strong defensive game and starting goalkeeper Maria Keesling (Dowingtown, Pa.) made many key and timely saves to keep the game close. Carol Guilia (Flemington, N.J.) had some nice possession through the midfield, but unfortunatelyUSA was unable to put the ball past Scotland's goalkeeper dropping a heart breaker. It took until the 61st minute before a goal was found, but it was Scotland who notched it off a field goal from Sonya Andrews.

The O-55 Women have two more pool games remaining with their next coming up tomorrow against Chile at 9:15 a.m. ET.

O-60 Women 0 - 7 England

The U.S. O-60 Women faced a tough opponent in England in their second pool game.

O-65 Women 0 - 2 England

The U.S. O-65 Women faced a good team in England.

With a creative tip-in strike at the very beginning of the first half, England put down their mark. In response, USA increased their intensity and strung together excellent connecting passes. In the second quarter, captain Linda Kreiser's (Middletown, Pa.) shot came the closest but hit the post and bounced out. Impressive circle play at the beginning of the second half doubled England's lead.

USA's defense prevented England from scoring for the remainder of the game. Defender Deb Atkins (Quarryville, Pa.) continues to be a powerful force in the backfield.

The O-65 Women have two more pool games remaining with their next coming up tomorrow against Alliance Spirit of Masters at 4:15 a.m. ET.

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

O-45 Men 1 - 11 South Africa

A hard defeat came for the U.S. O-45 Men's Masters Team at the hands of South Africa.

After TJ Bamrah (Santa Clara, Calif.) scored first for USA in the 22nd minute, South Africa didn't sit back. Just a minute later they found the equalizer and went on to add ten more goals.

The O-45 Men have their final pool game on Friday, October 7 against Malaysia at 9:15 a.m. ET.

O-55 Men 1 - 2 Wales

Another lovely cool morning for a competitive game for the U.S. O-55 Men's Maters Team. At a comfortable 61 degrees at the start of the game, USA was all set for their challenge against Wales.

O-55 Men Spirit of Masters 2 - 6 Alliance

The U.S. O-55 Men's Spirit of Masters Team faced a tough Alliance squad. After Alliance took a commanding three goal lead just 9 minutes into the match, the play started to settle.

Alliance went on the add another three goals int he 25th, 43rd and 54th minute, but USA fought hard to add two back. They came in the 58th and 69th minutes both field goals from Malik Akhtar ().

With the loss, the O-55 Men Spirit of Masters finish fourth in the pool and will play fifth-finisher Ireland on Saturday, October 8 in the elimination game.

O-60 Women 5 - 4 LX Spirit of Masters

After a disappointing loss to England on the previous day, the U.S. O-60 Women's Masters Team rebounded to beat LX SOM 5-4.

Both teams played a hard game, with play going end-to-end for most of the match. USA's defense and goalkeeping were sound and the midfield moved the ball very effectively throughout the game. It was the attack, however, who made the game so exciting, with their off-ball movement and their speed. Cindy Wetmore (Ithaca, N.Y.) scored first for the USA, with a reverse stick lift into the top right corner. Karen Croteau (Harpswell, Maine) then scored three successive goals, with LX answering back each time to even the score at 4-4.

The final quarter was exciting. At the start, England tied the game once again off a penalty corner goal. A few minutes later, a determined USA regained the lead when Croteau scored off a penalty corner. Three minutes later, Croteau found herself 1v1 with an England defender, got past her and fired a shot into the goal, to record her hat trick, and make it 4-2. Moments following, England was awarded a penalty stroke and converted to cut the lead to 4-3. In the 69th minute, England came back once again to score off a penalty corner but with time ticking down, USA kept pushing. Meer seconds before the final whistle, USA looked to have earned a penalty corner but the official held advantage and Wetmore scored to clinch the dramatic 5-4 win.

The O-60 Women have their final pool game tomorrow against host South Africa at 9:30 a.m. ET.