4 Liberty Players Invited to Compete at USAFH Nexus Championships
6/24/2024 11:22:00 AM | Field Hockey
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Four Liberty Lady Flames field hockey players have been invited to compete in prestigious USA Field Hockey events in the month of July.
Reagan Underwood, Maddie Stevens and Avery Pollock have been invited to compete at USA Field Hockey's 2024 Senior Nexus Championship (NXC), presented by Osaka Hockey. Meanwhile, Ava Murphy has been selected for the 2024 U-21 Junior Nexus Championship.
The three-day Senior Nexus Championship will be held July 14-16 at the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center in Virginia Beach, Va. The event will start with a team training session on Sunday, July 14, with games starting on Monday, July 15.
The Senior NXC, formerly known as the Young Women's National Championship (YWNC), is held annually and features 144 elite collegiate and post-collegiate athletes. During the spring and early summer, athletes trialed and trained at one of the seven USA Field Hockey High Performance Centers throughout the country for an opportunity to be selected to the Senior NXC, a step along the Olympic Development Pathway program.
All athletes that were previously named to the U.S. U-18, U-21 and Development Women's National Teams were also included within the selection. The Senior NXC serves as a selection opportunity for the 2024-25 U.S. U-21 Women's National Team Selection Camps, Junior USWNT Selection Camps, U.S. Women's National Development Squad and U.S. Women's National Team.
The three-day U-21 Junior Nexus Championship (NXC) will also be held July 14-16 at the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center. The selection marks the completion of the Regional Selection Camp sessions and the next step in the Olympic Development Pathway and tryout process for the Junior U.S. Women's National Teams.
At the conclusion of the Nexus Championship, top performing athletes in qualifying age groups will be invited to participate in the 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games and additional Junior USWNT selection opportunities.
This is the fourth straight year Underwood has been selected to play in this event. Underwood, who will be a fifth-year senior midfielder for Liberty this fall, helped the U.S. U-21 Squad capture the gold medal at the Junior Pan American Championships in Barbados in April 2023.
During her senior season last fall, Underwood started all 20 games for 2023 BIG EAST regular season champion Liberty (17-3, 7-0 BIG EAST). Underwood and the Lady Flames earned their first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship and played in the event for a third straight year.
She finished the year with career bests in goals (5) and points (16) while adding six assists. Underwood was an All-BIG EAST first team selection and NFHCA All-South Region second team honoree.
Stevens and Pollock earn their first selections to the event. Both players will be freshmen this fall at Liberty after spending the spring semester on campus. Stevens is a goalkeeper from Morgantown, Pa., and Pollock is a forward from Hummelstown, Pa. Both Stevens and Pollock have competed at USA Field Hockey Nexus Championship events in the past at the U-16 and U-18 level.
This is Murphy's second straight U-21 Junior Nexus Championship selection. She will be a freshman for the Lady Flames as well this fall. Murphy is a midfielder/forward from Boston, Mass.
Reagan Underwood, Maddie Stevens and Avery Pollock have been invited to compete at USA Field Hockey's 2024 Senior Nexus Championship (NXC), presented by Osaka Hockey. Meanwhile, Ava Murphy has been selected for the 2024 U-21 Junior Nexus Championship.
The three-day Senior Nexus Championship will be held July 14-16 at the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center in Virginia Beach, Va. The event will start with a team training session on Sunday, July 14, with games starting on Monday, July 15.
The Senior NXC, formerly known as the Young Women's National Championship (YWNC), is held annually and features 144 elite collegiate and post-collegiate athletes. During the spring and early summer, athletes trialed and trained at one of the seven USA Field Hockey High Performance Centers throughout the country for an opportunity to be selected to the Senior NXC, a step along the Olympic Development Pathway program.
All athletes that were previously named to the U.S. U-18, U-21 and Development Women's National Teams were also included within the selection. The Senior NXC serves as a selection opportunity for the 2024-25 U.S. U-21 Women's National Team Selection Camps, Junior USWNT Selection Camps, U.S. Women's National Development Squad and U.S. Women's National Team.
The three-day U-21 Junior Nexus Championship (NXC) will also be held July 14-16 at the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center. The selection marks the completion of the Regional Selection Camp sessions and the next step in the Olympic Development Pathway and tryout process for the Junior U.S. Women's National Teams.
At the conclusion of the Nexus Championship, top performing athletes in qualifying age groups will be invited to participate in the 2024 AAU Junior Olympic Games and additional Junior USWNT selection opportunities.
This is the fourth straight year Underwood has been selected to play in this event. Underwood, who will be a fifth-year senior midfielder for Liberty this fall, helped the U.S. U-21 Squad capture the gold medal at the Junior Pan American Championships in Barbados in April 2023.
During her senior season last fall, Underwood started all 20 games for 2023 BIG EAST regular season champion Liberty (17-3, 7-0 BIG EAST). Underwood and the Lady Flames earned their first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship and played in the event for a third straight year.
She finished the year with career bests in goals (5) and points (16) while adding six assists. Underwood was an All-BIG EAST first team selection and NFHCA All-South Region second team honoree.
Stevens and Pollock earn their first selections to the event. Both players will be freshmen this fall at Liberty after spending the spring semester on campus. Stevens is a goalkeeper from Morgantown, Pa., and Pollock is a forward from Hummelstown, Pa. Both Stevens and Pollock have competed at USA Field Hockey Nexus Championship events in the past at the U-16 and U-18 level.
This is Murphy's second straight U-21 Junior Nexus Championship selection. She will be a freshman for the Lady Flames as well this fall. Murphy is a midfielder/forward from Boston, Mass.
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— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) June 22, 2024
Congratulations to Maddie, Reagan & Avery on their Senior Nexus selections!#RiseWithUs #EmbraceandChase pic.twitter.com/yihBPoyebE
Baby Flame heating up ??
— Liberty Field Hockey (@LibertyFH) June 24, 2024
Let's hear it for incoming freshman Ava Murphy, who will represent Liberty at U-21 Nexus! pic.twitter.com/89NXj0iwxq
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