PARIS, France — UNC-Chapel Hill alumna Ashley Hoffman and Team USA's women's field hockey faced South Africa in the team's final pool match Saturday morning.
This is the final pool match before the quarterfinals begin Monday. It's been a tough series of pool matches for Team USA.
The team faced off against Great Britain on Thursday in a women's tournament pool match, falling 5-2. Team USA competed against Australia on Wednesday morning, falling 3-0. On Monday, the team competed against Spain in the Women's Pool B event, ending in a draw, at 1-1. Hoffman first made her Olympics debut last Saturday with the women's field hockey team, though the team fell to Argentina, 4-1.
The team won on Saturday, beating South Africa's team in a 1-0 match. After quarterfinal standings were finalized, the team did not qualify to advance.
Hoffman played field hockey at UNC-Chapel Hill for four years and started in every game each year. She captained the team her senior year through a perfect season, including the championships for both the ACC and NCAA tournaments. She won multiple awards with the team, including being named MVP for the NCAA and ACC tournaments.
She's also joined on the team by fellow UNC alumna Meredith Sholder and Charlotte's own Kelee Lepage. Hoffman said she and Sholder have reflected back on their time at UNC together, and how they've grown since then.
It was Sholder's score on Saturday that helped the team take down South Africa.
"We still have that friendship and it just keeps growing, it's just really an amazing and unique opportunity," Hoffman said.
Competing in the Olympics is a full-circle moment for Hoffman: Her mom is an Olympian, having won a bronze medal in 1984.
"I owe my career to her, she's shown me the way forward, and was a coach and is still a coach to this day for me," Hoffman said. "I'm so grateful for her influence on my career."
Team USA's women's field hockey team had been gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics, practicing in the Queen City at UNC Charlotte. After the team fell short of qualifying for the Summer Games in Tokyo, the team has been focused. The team is now working to go from the underdog to the top dog, and Hoffman is a big part of that drive as the team's co-captain.
This year, the team's advantage started stateside. They practiced on the same turf they are playing on during the 2024 Paris Games.