Meet Team Netherlands

2024 Dream Nations Cup Results: 

Women’s: First Place

Netherlands Returns to Defend Title

The 2025 Dream Nations Cup boasts a field of talented hockey teams worldwide. While every team will make a strong challenge for the championship, one to watch will be Team Netherlands, the defending women’s division champions. 

The Netherlands team secured five victories to two losses last year on their way to the championship. Dutch defender Tori Pizzuto also led the tournament with 14 points in seven games. The team was formidable in all phases of the game, and that quality is a signature for the event. 

Ryan Bahl, Dream Nations Cup director, spoke about the importance of having teams like the Netherlands in the tournament before they return to defend their title.

“All of the teams in the tournament are incredibly competitive. Teams only improve by playing top competition, and the Dutch team fits that bill.” Bahl said, “We’re thrilled to have the Netherlands back this year. Their path to defending the title will be more difficult this year with more teams in the field, so we’re excited to see how this tournament’s field shakes out.”

Expanding the women’s field will be one of the most interesting aspects of this year’s DNC. Last year, the women’s division consisted of the Netherlands, Caribbean, Egypt, and Team Indigenous. This year, the Netherlands, Caribbean, and Egypt will be joined by Puerto Rico, Lebanon, and South Korea. 

While the road ahead will be more competitive for the Dutch team, they’ll have a strong roster to contend with those challenges.

Dutch Winning Pedigree

While the Dutch team is returning to defend its Dream Nations Title, it is no stranger to high-level competition. The roster is chocked full of battle-tested players with collegiate, professional, and international experience. 

Britt Wortel, a forward for the Netherlands’ team, is one such player. Away from the Dream Nations Cup, Wortel plays for the Amsterdam Tigers, a team that plays in Deutschen Frauen Eishockey Liga, the highest professional league in Germany. Wortel has also represented the Netherlands several times at IIHF World Championship events and is a CCM Europe Ambassador. 

Wortel was one of the most experienced players in the women’s tournament last year, but she’s far from the only veteran with significant experience on the team. Five of the top ten scorers in last year’s Dream Nations Cup played for the Dutch team. Many of those players and the rest of the roster have played collegiate or professional hockey.

The team’s talented roster is undoubtedly a threat to challenge for the title again. While every team they’ll face is a high-quality hockey team, one matchup will surely be a challenge. That faceoff will come when the Netherlands renews its rivalry with the Caribbean team.

Renewing a Rivalry

The Dream Nations Cup prides itself on having a tremendously positive impact on the hockey community. The tournament provides a platform to celebrate the emergence of hockey in “non-traditional” hockey markets. DNC is also proud to provide entertaining and high-level hockey games. Perhaps no two teams lived up to that as much as the games between the Netherlands and the Caribbean last year.

The two teams played in the opening matchup of the women’s tournament, a game team Caribbean won 6-5 after a third-period comeback. The matchup was one of the most entertaining of the tournament, and that set the foundation for their tournament-long competitive rivalry. 

The two teams went undefeated in the rest of the event before meeting in the championship series. The Netherlands exacted revenge in game one with a 2-1 victory, with goals coming from Laura Murphy and Caroline Broderick. 

Two third-period goals from Team Caribbean evened up the series with a 5-3 victory in game two. Caribbean’s victory in the second game set up a winner-take-all match that would determine the champion of the inaugural Dream Nations Cup.

The Netherlands ultimately won the deciding game 5-1, featuring multi-point performances from Ali Randall (two assists), Tasha Adams (one goal, one assist), and Laura Murphy (two goals). 

With the two teams playing such close contests and returning for the 2025 Dream Nations Cup, any matchup between the Netherlands and the Caribbean will surely be a can’t-miss matchup.

You can follow Netherlands Ice Hockey’s journey on social media. Catch them at the 2025 Dream Nations Cup in New York City from May 27 to June 1.