Princeton University Athletics
Yeager, Wong Ready For Final Olympic Field Hockey Qualifiers
January 12, 2024 | Field Hockey
There are more direct ways to get from Chile to Paris than the routes that Beth Yeager and Elise Wong are attempting to take. If they reach France this summer, the extra miles traveled will long have been forgotten.
Yeager and Wong will represent Tiger Field Hockey beginning Saturday at the final Olympic qualifiers for field hockey, Yeager with the United States and Wong with Canada. They will be playing about 5,000 miles away from each other, though with the same task in front of them.
Yeager and the United States team are in Ranchi, India, while Wong is in Valencia, Spain, with the Canadians. Each of the two tournaments has eight teams, with two four-team groups, and the top three finishers will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, joining the six nations that have already reached the field.
The U.S. and Canada reached this stage by their finishes at the Pan Am Games this past October and November in Chile, where the winner (Argentina) automatically advanced to the Olympics and the next three made it to the last qualifying round. The United States won the silver medal, losing in the final to Argentina on a goal in the final two minutes, while Canada finished in fourth, behind Chile as well.
For the qualifying tournament in India, the United States opens Saturday with the host country and then has games against Italy and New Zealand, while Chile, the Czech Republic, Japan and Germany make up the other pool. After round-robin play is over, the top team in each group will play the second place team in the other group in the semifinals, and the winners of those games, as well as the winner of the third-place game, will reach the Olympics.
In Valencia, it will be Canada in a pool with Great Britain, Malaysia and Spain, while the other pool has Belgium, Ireland, Korea and Ukraine. The same procedure will determine the top three in that tournament as well.
Yeager is a two-time first-team All-American who has taken this year off of school to play for the U.S. national team. She will be a junior next year with the Tigers. Wong is a 2019 grad who was also a first-team All-American during his TFH days.
To follow the tournament in India, click HERE.
To follow the tournament in Spain, click HERE.
Yeager and Wong will represent Tiger Field Hockey beginning Saturday at the final Olympic qualifiers for field hockey, Yeager with the United States and Wong with Canada. They will be playing about 5,000 miles away from each other, though with the same task in front of them.
Yeager and the United States team are in Ranchi, India, while Wong is in Valencia, Spain, with the Canadians. Each of the two tournaments has eight teams, with two four-team groups, and the top three finishers will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, joining the six nations that have already reached the field.
The U.S. and Canada reached this stage by their finishes at the Pan Am Games this past October and November in Chile, where the winner (Argentina) automatically advanced to the Olympics and the next three made it to the last qualifying round. The United States won the silver medal, losing in the final to Argentina on a goal in the final two minutes, while Canada finished in fourth, behind Chile as well.
For the qualifying tournament in India, the United States opens Saturday with the host country and then has games against Italy and New Zealand, while Chile, the Czech Republic, Japan and Germany make up the other pool. After round-robin play is over, the top team in each group will play the second place team in the other group in the semifinals, and the winners of those games, as well as the winner of the third-place game, will reach the Olympics.
In Valencia, it will be Canada in a pool with Great Britain, Malaysia and Spain, while the other pool has Belgium, Ireland, Korea and Ukraine. The same procedure will determine the top three in that tournament as well.
Yeager is a two-time first-team All-American who has taken this year off of school to play for the U.S. national team. She will be a junior next year with the Tigers. Wong is a 2019 grad who was also a first-team All-American during his TFH days.
To follow the tournament in India, click HERE.
To follow the tournament in Spain, click HERE.
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