Women's Field Hockey: Bam's Hat Trick and Win Over Japan Propels USWNT into Olympic Games Quarterfinal Placement

DEODORO, Brazil - August 10, 2016 - 180 gritty pitch minutes logged and 10 heart-pounding goals later and the U.S. Olympic Women’s Field Hockey Team has climbed to a panoramic view of promise by currently claiming one of the top seeds in Pool B with three consecutive victories. Halfway through preliminary pool play and with each passing match minute at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the red, white and blue has steadily scaled its way to securing a spot at the all-important quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro. Assisting with the team's intended course of action, today multiple goals, including Katie Bam's (Blue Bell, Pa.) hat trick, helped Team USA rise above Japan 6-1.

Pool B Standings
Rank	Country	Points
1	United States	9
2	Great Britain	9
3	Australia	3
4	Argentina	3
5	India	1
6	Japan	1

Team USA started off quick, grabbing a penalty corner less than 15 seconds into the match. Off of the slip, Melissa Gonzalez (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) buried a low drag flick into the right corner of the cage to give USA an early 1-0 lead. Japan quickly took possession and countered down the field but a duo defensive effort by Julia Reinprecht (Perkasie, Pa.) and Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, N.C.) maintained the pressure. Seconds later, a scare came for USA's goalkeeper Jackie Briggs (Robesonia, Pa.) as a Japan forward got a shot off at close range that went just wide of the post.
"Japan is a difficult team to manage and I think we did a professional job on picking up another three