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| Full name | Ashley Nicole Sessa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | June 23, 2004 Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 1 in (155 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfield/Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | WC Eagles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Caps | Goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021- | United States | 36 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021- | United States Indoor Team | 19 | (19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021- | United States | 42 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ashley Nicole Sessa (born June 23, 2004) [1] is an American field hockey player, who plays as a midfielder and forward. [2]
Ashley Sessa was born and raised in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania. [2] Sessa has been playing field hockey since the age of four. [3] She attend Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, PA her freshman year, then transferred to Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, PA where she graduated in 2022. Sessa was a member of the University of North Carolina 2022 National Championship Team. She transferred to Northwestern University in 2024 after taking an Olympic Waiver year in 2023. Sessa won her second consecutive National Championship in 2024 with Northwestern. For the 2024 season she was named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, NFHCA Division I Watchlist, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 7, Oct. 22), NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 9, Oct. 23, Nov. 4), Big Ten Regular Season Champion, First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Big Ten All-Tournament Team, All-NCAA Tournament Team, NCAA Division I National Champion, NFHCA All-West Region First Team, NFHCA 1st team All American. Sessa also now holds the Northwestern all time record of most points in a season with 67 points (24 goals, 19 assists).
Sessa is a current member of the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team where she was one of only two players to be selected in the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team at age 16 [4] in 2021; the first was Katie Bam, selected in 2005. She was a member of the U.S. Women's National Indoor Field Hockey Team where she was selected at age 14 [5] and the U.S. U-21Junior National Field Hockey Team. She was named to the 2024 Paris Olympic Roster, she started in all 4 games and scored the first goal against Argentina for the United States. Sessa was the youngest member of the USAWNT for the 2024 games and the second youngest player ever named to a USA Fieldhockey Olympic squad.
Ashley Sessa was named to the U.S. Women's National Field Hockey Team in June 2021, her first cap was recorded on November 26, 2021 against Canada in the Canadian Test Series in Chula Vista, California. Sessa's second National Team appearance she placed 4th in the 2022 Pan American Cup in Santiago, Chile.
In 2019, Sessa made her first appearance for the U.S. Women's National Indoor Field Hockey Team, during a test series against Croatia in Sveti Ivan Zelina. She then went on to represent the U.S. at the Indoor Croatia Cup, in Sveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia, where she won a gold medal. [6] In 2020, Sessa made her second international appearance with the U.S. Indoor Field Hockey Team at the Rohrmax Cup in Vienna, Austria winning a bronze medal. She won her second gold medal in her third debut with the U.S. Indoor team in 2021, at the Indoor Pan American Cup in Spring City, Pennsylvania [7] [8] where she was also named Player of the Tournament and to the Pan American Elite Team. [9]
In 2023 Sessa accepted an Olympic waiver to take a year off of college and train full time with the Women’s National team in Charlotte, NC for the 2024 Olympic qualifying tournaments. The first was the Pan American Games (Santiago Chile), where the team won a silver medal. Sessa was also named to the 2023 Pan American Elite Team.
The silver medal win at the 2023 Pan American Games qualified the USAWNT for the 2024 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier (Ranchi, India) where they won a silver medal and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sessa was named Player of the Match in the qualifying game against Japan.
Sessa recorded her 50th cap on June 6, 2024 against Great Britain in the 2024 FIH League.
In June 2024, Sessa was named to the Paris 2024 Olympic Roster. At age 20, Sessa became the second-youngest woman to represent the USA in fieldhockey at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after Katelyn Falgowski in 2008 (19 years 292 days).
Junior National Field Hockey Team
Ashley Sessa made her debut for the U.S. U-21 Junior National Field Hockey Team team in 2021, winning a bronze medal at the Junior Pan American Championship in Santiago, Chile. [9] [10] Sessa also was a member of the U.S. U-21 Junior National Field Hockey Team which placed 8th in the 2021 Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
World Championship Experience
Other Career Highlights
Ashley Sessa started playing club field hockey at the age of 8 in the WC Eagles Hockey Club (2014 - 2022). [11] She was an eight-time National and Regional Club Champion and ten-time National Indoor Tournament Champion. Sessa was member of the WC Eagles International Travel Squad where she won a gold medal at the 2019 Holland Elite Cup in HC Den Bosch, Netherlands. She won a second gold medal and top scorer award at the 2018 Repton Cup in Repton, England and participated in the China International Series in Spring City, Pennsylvania.
The United States women's national field hockey team, represents the United States in international field hockey. The team is currently coached by David Passmore. It made its first international appearance in 1920 when a touring team visited England, coached by Constance M.K. Applebee. The team made several international appearances in the early 20th century, leading to the United States hosting the eighth International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations Tournament in 1963. Once the IFWHA merged with its counterpart on the men's side, the United States' first appearance at an FIH-sanctioned tournament was the 1983 Women's Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the Americans ended up in sixth place. They have won bronze at the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics and bronze at the 1994 World Cup.
The United States men's national field hockey team represents the United States in the international field hockey competitions. The governing body is the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA), which is a U.S. Olympic Committee organization.
Kathleen "Katie" O'Donnell Bam is an American field hockey player. She was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and attended Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania. O'Donnell began playing for the Maryland Terrapins in the 2007 season. She was the youngest member of the 2005 United States women's national team and has become known for her excellent stick skills and ability to create. Her attributes were put on full display throughout her freshman campaign as she earned a starting position for the preseason number-one team in the country at forward.
Agustina Albertario is an Argentine field hockey player. She plays with the Argentina national field hockey team, winning silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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The 2021 Women's Indoor Pan American Cup was the eighth edition of the Women's Indoor Pan American Cup, the quadrennial international women's indoor hockey championship of the Americas organized by the Pan American Hockey Federation. It was held alongside the men's tournament in Spring City, Pennsylvania, United States from June 25 to 27, 2021.
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Elizabeth Doyle "Beth" Yeager is an American indoor and field hockey player, who plays as a midfielder.
Madison Thompson is an indoor and field hockey player from Canada, who plays as an attacker.
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The women's field hockey tournament at the 2023 Pan American Games was the 10th edition of the field hockey event for women at the Pan American Games. It took place over a ten-day period beginning on 26 October, and culminating with the medal finals on 4 November.
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