From February 18th through the 22nd, the best female bandy players from around the globe will congregate in Oslo, Norway for a spectacular competition and celebration of sport.  The US team taking part in this prestigious biannual tournament is a veteran-laden squad with high hopes of earning the program’s first-ever World Championship medal.  The core of the team has been training together consistently, year-round, and has improved significantly since the last time they competed on the world stage: a fifth-place finish in 2018 in Chengde, China.

Leading the way for Team USA are their three veteran captains.  Goalkeeper Sarah Ahlquist Schneider (South St. Paul, MN) is the longest-tenured player on the team, as this will be her fifth World Championship.  An acrobatic goalie with catlike reflexes, the former Princeton Tiger was named “Best Goalkeeper” at the 2016 World Championship and would love nothing more than to add a World Championship medal to her impressive trophy collection.  Power forward, Amy Stech (Duluth, MN) will be playing in her fourth World Championship and will be a critical piece to the puzzle if the US is to medal in 2020.  Stech, who boasts one of the hardest shots in the USA Bandy program – both women’s and men’s – will be a consistent threat up front for the Red White and Blue.  Like Stech, the 2020 World Championship will also be the fourth go-round for midfielder, Kelly McGinty Engebretson (Orono, MN).  The smooth-skating midfielder has exceptional vision and knowledge of the game; she does an outstanding job distributing the ball around the field and serves as a strong, stable voice in the middle of the ice. 

Three other players will also be making their fourth appearance in a Bandy World Championship, in 2020.  Kelsey Kennedy (Eagan, MN) has traditionally served as a midfielder for Team USA, but this season was moved back to the halfback position.  The former NCAA All-American hockey defender is a natural fit in that role, and she will play a key part in Team USA’s lauded backline, which has become one of the National Team’s greatest strengths.  Joining Kennedy on that backline will be Jenna Christensen (Albert Lea, MN) playing halfback on the other side.  Like Kennedy, Christensen has outstanding speed and vision.  Both of these players will play a huge role in stopping opponent advances as well as making quick transitions for Team USA’s offense.  Stepping in at one of the fullback positions on the backline will be Briana Jentner Carlson (Akron, OH) who has been a mainstay on the team since 2013, but had to miss the 2018 World Championship due to the birth of her second son.  Jentner Carlson is an extremely smart player, who positions herself well and because of that, regularly breaks up opponents’ advances. 

For the rest of the US backline, 2020 will mark their third appearance in a World Championship.  Leading this group is sweeper, Mollie Carroll (Eagan, MN) who began playing that position in 2017 and has flourished there.  Carroll is an exceptionally strong athlete who excels both at taking balls out of the air and at powerfully chipping balls out of her team’s defensive zone.  She also has an incredibly hard shot and will likely step up and become a factor on Team USA’s offensive corner strokes during the 2020 World Championship.  Playing next to Carroll on the backline will be fullback, Maddie Bergh (Eden Prairie, MN).  Bergh is a tenacious defender who backs down to nobody and will stop at nothing to protect her team’s goal.  Like Carroll, she also is outstanding at taking balls out of the air.  Another player who will see time on the US backline is Mikayla Rogers (St. Paul, MN).  Rogers played in both the 2012 and 2014 World Championships as a high schooler, but had to take a break from bandy as she spent the next four years playing NCAA Division-I hockey for the Maine Black Bears.  Rogers was set to return to Team USA for the 2018 World Championship, but was a last-minute scratch from the roster due to illness.  She recently was a key contributor for the US National University Team that competed in the 2019 Winter Universiade and boasts a hard, accurate shot.

Like much of the backline, for two US forwards, 2020 will also mark their third World Championship appearance.  Meagan Wanecke (Delafield, WI) skated her way into the USA Bandy history books in 2016 when she became the first Women’s National Team player to score a goal against Team Sweden.  Wanecke has blinding speed and a dangerously accurate shot; look for her to get on several scoresheets in Oslo.  Fellow forward, Margot Fleming (Wayzata, MN) is basically the left-handed version of Wanecke.  She's fast, she has a hard shot, and she's a regular on the scoresheet.  And like Wanecke, Fleming also scored a memorable goal in the 2016 World Championship, when she found the net late in Team USA’s group play game against Norway, ultimately earning the Americans a tie in that match.  Both Wanecke and Fleming have been key contributors in the American Bandy Association’s First Division club league over the course of the past two seasons and there is little doubt that their success will continue on the international stage.  

For four players on the US National Team, 2020 will be their second World Championship experience.  Midfielder, Tam Meuwissen (Chanhassen, MN) made quite an impact in her first World Championship, when she scored a key goal for the Americans in their play-in game against Finland.  Meuwissen is an all-around athlete; she played three varsity sports during her college days at Gustavus Adolphus and currently plays elite women’s hockey and races for the US Ice Cross team, in addition to playing bandy.  She exhibits outstanding speed and unrelenting tenacity, and will be a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the ice.  Also enjoying her second go-around at midfield in a World Championship will be Jill Reynolds (Medina, MN).  Reynolds is a tall, powerful skater with excellent rink vision.  She is skilled at both rushing and distributing the ball and is not afraid to step up and take a shot on net.  Joining Meuwissen and Reynolds at midfield will be Kalli Funk (Roseville, MN).  Funk, who previously played on the US backline has been moved up this season, as it better suits her skill set and will afford her more opportunity to rush the ball.  In addition to playing bandy, Funk is currently a forward on the Minnesota Whitecaps women’s professional hockey team.  A final player who will be enjoying her sophomore experience with Team USA at the 2020 World Championship is goalkeeper, Marah Sobczak (Stillwater, MN).  Sobczak is an intelligent, well-positioned goalie who boasts excellent lateral movement and outstanding rebound control.

And finally, Team USA will have one player making her World Championship debut in 2020.  Allie Schwab Johnson (Stillwater, MN) would have undoubtedly made the 2018 roster, but missed that tournament due to the birth of her first child.  While this will be her first World Championship, it will actually be her second international tournament, as she participated in the 2016 Women’s World Cup of Bandy, in Kunglav, Sweden.  Schwab Johnson has an excellent skill set which includes outstanding skating agility and elite ball control.  She will play primarily at midfield, but also has experience at halfback and could step in there, if needed.

Like the players who will compete on the ice, the US staff for the 2020 World Championship also includes some familiar faces.  Head Coach, Mikael Sandberg will coach in his fifth Women's World Championship in 2020.  He will be joined by Assistant Coach, Chris Middlebrook, a longtime Men’s National Team coach, who will be participating in his second World Championship on the women’s side.  Newcomer, Peter Engebretson will serve as the team manager, as longtime manager, Katie Lundquist Swor will be unable to make this trip.  Rounding out the US roster is general manager and USA Bandy legend, Magnus Skold, who has represented America on countless bandy excursions since being instrumental in the inception of the program, 40 years ago.

The US Women’s National Bandy Team has never finished higher than fifth place at a World Championship, but looks to change that this year.  The team opens up the 2020 World Championship against host, Norway in a group play match at 9:30 AM on February 19th at Voldslokka Stadium.  Team USA’s group play schedule is listed, below.

Feb 19   9:30 AM      USA vs Norway    Voldslokka

Feb 19   1:30 PM      USA vs Russia       Voldslokka

Feb 20   12:30 PM   USA vs Sweden    Voldslokka

Feb 20   5:30 PM      USA vs Finland     Voldslokka