ATTACK MODE: Katie Reinprecht prepares to send the ball down the field in action for the U.S. national field hockey team. Star midfielder Reinprecht, a 2013 Princeton grad, is headed back to her second Olympics as she will be competing for the U.S. in the upcoming Rio Summer Games. Reinprecht’s younger sister, Julia, a star defender and fellow Princeton standout, will be joining her on the U.S. squad along with another former Tiger, Kat Sharkey. (Photo by Mark Palczewski, Courtesy of USA Field Hockey)

While Katie Reinprecht was thrilled to compete for the U.S. field hockey team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she wasn’t happy with how the games went.

Winning just one of six matches in London and only tallying five goals in the competition, the U. S. ended up 12th of 12 teams.

“It is something that I had been working toward for a really long time so it was a surreal experience,” said Reinprecht, a 2013 Princeton grad who was a four-time All American and the Longstreth/NFHCA Player of the Year when the Tigers won the 2012 NCAA tournament.

“I was so privileged that I would be able to go and represent my country there. We didn’t get the results we wanted.”

Taking its lumps in London led the U.S. to engage in some soul-searching.

“The core group learned a lot from that experience,” said Reinprecht. “We knew if we were to do this a second time around, we wanted to make sure we do it the right way.”

Reinprecht has earned a second chance at the Olympics as she was named to the U.S. squad that will be competing at the upcoming Rio Summer Games.

Even though Reinprecht has been a stalwart for the national program with 157 caps over the years, it was still a milestone moment when she learned she was headed to Rio.

“It is super exciting and always a bit of a relief; usually you know where you stand on the team but also all of us are kind of interchangeable,” said the 5’4 Reinprecht, 26, a native of Perkasie, Pa.

“It is not like any one player is irreplaceable on our team because we are such a unit and each person is so important. We also have depth; people who didn’t even make the squad are incredible players too.”

Reinprecht was particularly excited to be joined on the squad by younger sister, Julia, a star defender and fellow Princeton standout, and another former Tiger teammate, Kat Sharkey.

“Julia is not only my sister, but she is my best friend; to be able to experience another Olympic games with her is super special and also to have my family there to support both of us is a pretty cool experience,” said Reinprecht.

“I think she is an incredible player; it is great to have her on the field fighting next to me. Kat is a pretty cool story, after being disheartened from not making the Olympics in 2012. For her to stick with it and keep going after what could be a disappointment for her and her career and make this team says a lot about her character on and off the field.”

Over the last four years, the U.S. team developed greater character as the national program was overhauled.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be something we committed full time a year out, it had to be something more intensive,” said Reinprecht, noting that a new coach, Craig Parnham took over the program and that Lancaster, Pa. become its new training headquarters.

“We changed the culture and the amount of work we committed to the program. That is something we have been building towards the last three-and-a half years. I think it is more commitment and a better culture, just having a really solid foundation. Going into 2012 we were a really skilled team and we were capable of competing with the best teams but once games didn’t go well I think our foundation wasn’t quite as strong as we needed it to be. We really worked and strived to make sure that the culture and what held us together would hold up throughout a tournament like that. We have gotten a lot better, we are more physically prepared and our skills are a lot more improved too.”

The program’s improvement has been reflected by taking fourth in the 2014 World Cup before breaking through with gold medals in the 2014 Champions Challenge and the 2015 Pan American Games.

“Having some pretty positive results over the past couple of years just really helped solidify the thought in our heads that we have been doing the work and all that we have put in has paid off in those tournaments,” added Reinprecht.

“Because of where we are positioned in the world, a lot of the European teams just play each other. We don’t get to play top level teams all that often.”

In June, the U.S. enjoyed another positive result as it took bronze at the 2016 Champions Trophy tournament in London, rallying to edge Australia in a shootout in the third-place game.

“The Champions Trophy was really great preparation; we went in just hoping to learn a lot of lessons and understand what we should expect in Rio so we are more prepared,” explained Reinprecht.

“I think we definitely learned a lot, it wasn’t the prettiest couple of games. We showed our resilience in the tournament and being able to come out with a bronze and winning in a shootout was pretty special, especially because two years prior we were in the similar situation in a shootout in a semifinal game and we ended up losing that one.”

Returning to its home base in Lancaster after the trip to London, the squad underwent some rigorous preparation in its final build-up for Rio.

“We do double sessions on Monday; we will lift in the morning and do training in the afternoon,” said Reinprecht.

“On Tuesday, we will have two training sessions so we will do morning training and afternoon training with some sort of conditioning beforehand. On Wednesday, we have lifting and yoga and Thursdays is back to a double session.  Fridays is lift and yoga again and then on Saturday we have practice and conditioning.”

All that training has come in handy for Reinprecht, whose role on the team has evolved over the years.

“Normally I am attacking, getting shots in the circle,” said Reinprecht.

“After this last tournament where we were playing the top five teams, I am thinking, man I am kind of a defensive midfielder because we had to play a lot more defense against these teams. You have to in order to make sure you are doing your due diligence on both ends so I am an attacking midfielder but definitely working on both ends.”

In order to compete against the top teams in the world, the U.S. will need to be sharper in the circle.

“On the attacking end, we are getting in our opponent’s end but we are not quite getting the shots or opportunities out of those moments that we would like,” said Reinprecht.

“There are very subtle changes that we can make that will dramatically change the score line if we are doing them better. It is one of those things where we are fine-tuning.”

With the U.S. starting Pool B play with a game against Argentina on August 6, Reinprecht believes the U.S. can be a medal contender in Rio.

“We definitely want to be on the podium; we have been saying to one another, that is what we want to do,” said Reinprecht, reflecting on the competition that runs from August 6-19.

“It takes a bit of courage to actually say that. We know we can compete with any team there and we know we can beat them because we have beaten every team that is there at some point. It is a matter of being able to string enough solid performances together without making too many mistakes and capitalizing on opportunities. We are excited; we are really going to be going for it but it is not going to be easy because of the challenge.”

In Reinprecht’s view, togetherness on and off the field could make the difference for the U.S.

“I think we are very connected going into it; we really are a family, we spend so much time together,” said Reinprecht.

“We know each other so well, it is more like sisters than teammates at this point. I know that all of them will have my back and vice versa. I think something that is pretty cool about our team is that we will never give up in any game, it doesn’t matter what the score line is. I think that can throw teams off, they might feel comfortable. I even think in our last game in Champions Trophy, Australia got comfortable with a 2-0 lead and out of nowhere we came and tied it up so I think that is a big characteristic of our team. I think that will help us at the tournament.”