Moyer retires from the US women’s national team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After a stellar career, athlete for the U.S. Women's National Team Lauren Moyer (York, Pa.) has officially announced her retirement from the team. The 27-year-old competed in 101 caps for Team USA.

A native of York, Pa., Moyer began playing field hockey in middle school after her parents signed her up to be active between soccer seasons. She went on to play at Central York High School where she served as captain her senior year. A four-year starter, she led the team in goals, assists and defensive saves as a senior. She was named a York Daily Record/Sunday News Division 1 All-Star and to the YAIAA All-League/County AAA First Team her junior and senior years.

During her sophomore year of high school, Moyer began playing club, first joining East Coast Field Hockey in 2011. She quit playing club for Nook Hockey in 2012-13, which she called a full-circle moment and had the opportunity to train and be based with USWNT at the same venue, Spooky Nook Sports, in Lancaster, Pa.

After high school, Moyer went on to play collegiately at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2013-16) where she helped guide the Tar Heels to four consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances. During her senior year, she collected numerous honors including All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) First Team, All-ACC Tournament Team, NCAA Division I All-Tournament Team, Longstreth/NFHCA All-South Region First Team and Longstreth/NFHCA All-American third team. She played 93 career games for North Carolina, starting 65, recording 33 goals and six assists.

In 2011, she committed to the then-named USA Field Hockey's Olympic Development Pathway program, Futures, and was selected that year and every year since she aged out to the National Futures Championship or Futures Elite Championship. In 2012, she was named to the U.S. U-19 Women's National Team and two years later, she began a journey with the U-21 USWNT. In 2016, she was part of the squad that took silver at the Junior Pan American Championship in Trinidad and Tobago and went on to qualify for the FIH Women's Hockey Junior World Cup (8th) in Chile.

In January 2017, Moyer was named to the senior USWNT and on May 24 played his first cap in a series against Ireland in Lancaster, Pa. In the years that followed, she participated in several test series and international tournaments along with experience from world championships. In 2017, Moyer was part of the team that stunned the world hockey stage at the FIH Hockey World League semi-finals in South Africa when they beat two higher ranked teams in shootouts to win gold. The same group took bronze in the Pan American Cup in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a few weeks later. Also that year, she played in the last edition of the FIH Hockey World League final. The next year she competed in the Vitality Hockey Women's World Cup and in 2019 was part of the first three seasons of the worldwide league, the FIH Hockey Pro League. In August 2019, she helped the USA to a third-place finish at the Pan American Games in Peru and was part of the squad that made an impressive comeback at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier against India, but the effort ultimately fell short.

In the fall of 2020, Moyer joined the staff at her alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a volunteer assistant coach.

Moyer retires from Team USA after participating in 101 international games. In her six years, she scored 13 goals and was a key contributor in midfield and on the forward line for the United States.

“Being an athlete for the US Women's National Team has been a once in a lifetime opportunity,” commented Moyer. “Sports careers don't last forever, and I feel fortunate to have competed on the international stage for as long as I have. Team USA is an incredible community to be a part of and something I will always cherish.”

Moyer notes that her first senior team tour to South Africa was one of the highlights of her career that she will remember.

“It was a month-long tour filled with lots of learning as a team and especially for me as an individual and really launched the rest of my career.”

She also notes that in 2018 Vitality Hockey Women's World Cup, 2019 Pan American Games and 2019 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier as special milestones. “Despite some of the results of these tournaments and events, I will always look back on the special experiences with these teammates and staff.”

Moyer has a long list of individuals she would like to thank, who have influenced her over the years as an athlete, person and teammate. “I would first like to thank my family for their unwavering support throughout my field hockey career. With so much change during my international career, they have been a constant. Their guidance, encouragement and love have made it possible to experience so many incredible moments.”

“I also want to thank the coaches and teammates along the way who made field hockey so incredibly special, both collegiately and internationally. Karen Shelton and Janneke Schopman specifically played pivotal roles in my development, not only as a player but more importantly as a person. I am so fortunate to have been coached and mentored by two of the most prominent female role models.”

USA Field Hockey would like to send its best wishes to Lauren in her future endeavors.