NEW HAVEN, Conn. – First-year midfielder/forward
Emma Mueller (Barrington, R.I.) and forward/midfielder
Ella Ou (Houston, Texas) of the Yale field hockey team recently earned gold at USA Field Hockey's Junior Nexus Championships, held July 19-20 at USA Field Hockey's Regional Training Center in Virginia Beach, Va. Mueller and Ou were on the victorious Team Atlanta.
Team Atlanta advanced to the championship game with a 3-2 win over Team Salt Lake City in the semifinals, scoring the game-winning goal in the final 30 seconds. In the championship game, Team Atlanta and Team Amsterdam were tied 2-2 after regulation and Atlanta won in a shootout.
Mueller has been selected for the Nexus program for five years in a row. At Barrington High School, she was a three-time Rhode Island Player of the Year nominee and four-time all-state selection (first team three times, second team once).
Ou has been to the Nexus Championships for five years in a row now. She earned silver at the event in 2021 and 2023. A captain at The Kinkaid School, Ou was ranked one of the top 150 players in the Class of 2025 by MAX Field Hockey.
Two other Bulldogs, sophomore midfielder/back
Gigi Caldero (New Canaan, Conn.) and junior midfielder/forward
Emma Ramsey (Summit, N.J.), competed at the Senior Nexus Championship.
Nexus is USA Field Hockey's Olympic Development Pathway Program, and part of the tryout process for the Junior U.S. National Teams.
Junior Nexus (formerly just Nexus) is for athletes who are 11 years old and older who are not yet enrolled in college. Senior Nexus (formerly High Performance Centers) is for athletes who have enrolled in college or older. It serves as a selection opportunity for the 2025-26 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.
This is the third year in a row Yale has had players selected for the Nexus Championships. In addition to the Yale players, Yale assistant coach
Belle Bressler coached at the U-18 Nexus Championship.
Yale Field Hockey Nexus Championships Selections Since 2021
USA Field Hockey's Junior Nexus Championship began in 2021 as a rebranding of the previously named National Futures Championship, which had been around since 1991.
The Senior Nexus Championship was established in 2022, replacing the Young Women's National Championship.
