VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Lauren Curran, Maddie George, Pyper Friedman, and Jayden Moon have been selected to compete in the 2023 Senior Nexus Championship (NXC), presented by Osaka Hockey, USA Field Hockey announced earlier this week. The multi-day event will be held at the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center in Virginia Beach, Va., from July 11-16.
 
Incoming freshmen Josie Gruendel and Sophie Ermellini will also participate in the U21 Nexus Championship, which will be held at the same location on July 15 and 16.
 
Formerly known as the Young Women's National Championship, the Senior NXC is held annually and features 144 elite high school, collegiate and post-collegiate athletes. During the spring and early summer, athletes trialed and trained at one of the seven USA Field Hockey High Performance Centers throughout the country for an opportunity to be selected to the Senior NXC, a step along the Olympic Development Pathway program. All athletes that were previously named to the U.S. U-18, U-21, and Development Women's National Teams were also included within the selection.
 
The event will start with a team training session on Tuesday, July 11, with games starting on Wednesday, July 12. The opportunity to be selected for the 2023-24 U.S. Women's National Team and Junior USWNT Selection Camps are at stake.
 
William & Mary's NXC participants return to the field after a strong 2022 that saw them rack up impressive individual and collective achievements. Between the pipes, George led the CAA in goals against average (1.423) and shutouts (5), while also ranking 10^th nationally in save percentage (.781). Both Friedman and Moon were invited to the Junior Pan American Championship Selection Camp, and Curran led the Tribe with 26 points last fall. As a team, the Green and Gold posted three victories over top-20 teams and spent six straight weeks in the national rankings.