Name: Michael Mendoza
Position: Defender
Caps: 4
Sport: Field Hockey
DOB: 6/28/2002
Hometown: Monument, Colo.
High School: Palmer Ridge High School
College: Stanford University
College Year: 2024
Team/Club: San Jose Khalsa
World Championship Experience
  • Bronze - 2021 Junior Pan American Championship (Santiago, Chile)
  • 2023 Junior Pan American Championship (St. Michael, Barbados)
Other Career Highlights
  • 2023: Five Rivers Tournament (Glendale, Ariz.)
  • 2022: Named to U.S. Men's National Team (September)
  • 2022: Named to U.S. U-21 Men's National Team (September)
  • 2022: Series against Austria (Vienna, Austria)
  • 2020: Series against South Africa (Durban, South Africa), Recorded first cap on February 8 against South Africa
  • 2021: U-22 Young Men's National Championship, Named Player of the Tournament, 3-Nations Series (Moorpark, Calif.)
  • 2021: Named to the U.S. U-21 Men's National Team (July)
  • 2020: Series against Argentina (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
  • 2020: Named to the U.S. U-21 Men's National Team
  • 2019: Netherlands Tour, Series against Canada (Moorpark, Calif.)
  • 2019: Named to the U.S. U-21 Men's National Team (October)
  • 2019: Named to the U.S. U-21 Men's National Team (June)
  • 2018: Series against Chile (Santiago, Chile), Junior Nations Invitational Tournament (New Haven, Conn.), U-18/23 Canada National Championship (Toronto, Canada), Series against Chile (Greenwich, Conn.)
  • 2018: Named to the U.S. U-19 Men's National Team (July)
  • 2017: Named to the U.S. U-18 Men's National Team (August)
  • 2017: Netherlands Tour, Series against Canada (Moorpark, Calif.)
  • 2017: Named to the U.S. U-16 Men's National Team (February)
Personal: Son of Tracy Gagnon and Richard Mendoza...Has seven siblings, Noah Mendoza, Makaila Mendoza, Selah Mendoza, Nathan Barron, Chloe Brooks, Justin Gagnon, Marissa Gagnon...Game Day Mantra: "We ball."...Favorite Sports Quote: “I'd rather regret the risks that didn't work out than the chances I didn't take at all.” - Simone Biles...Best Words of Advice: If you must fail, fail fast....Year Joined Junior USMNT: 2017
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Mendoza started playing field hockey in fourth grade during an after-school program and never looked back.