USA Field Hockey News

USA Field Hockey U21 Women Fall to Argentina in Pan Am Junior Championships Title Game

San Juan, Puerto Rico —  The USA Field Hockey Women's Under-21 team earned a second consecutive silver medal finish as the USA lost to Argentina, 3-1, in the championship game of the Pan American Junior Championships.

The second-place finish was good enough to send the USA to the Junior World Cup Women's Junior World Cup, Sept. 14-25 in Santiago, Chile. The USA will be joined by Argentina, third place Chile and fourth place Canada as the Pan Am representatives at the International Hockey Federation's premier junior event.

The only champion the Junior Pan Am Championships has ever had, Argentina jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Daniela Maloberti's goal 18 minutes into the game. The USA defense, which allowed only one goal in six previous Junior Pan Am matches, shutdown Argentina for the remainder of the half  to go into the locker room tailing by the lone goal.

Argentina's lead was quickly widened in the second half however as Carla Rebecchi netted a score two minutes into the second half. Rosario Luchetti added Argentina's third goal of the contest with ten minutes remaining in the game.

The USA's Lori Hillman (Gibbsboro, N.J.) put her team on the scoreboard with four minutes left in the game, but it would not be enough as Argentina claimed its fifth straight Junior Pan Am crown.

The silver medal was the third in five tournaments for the USA which also claimed runner-up finishes in 2000 and 1988.

With the USA, Argentina, Canada and Chile, the four Pan Am teams complete the 16-team Junior World Cup field. Teams earning earlier spots in the sport's premier under-21 event include Australia, Belarus, China, Scotland, England, Spain, Germany, India, Korea, The Netherlands, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Argentina 3, USA 1
ARG: Daniela Maloberti (18:00)
ARG: Carla Rebecchi (37:00)
ARG: Rosario Luchetti (60:00)
USA: Lori Hillman (66:00)

USA: Hillman, Lori; O'Donnell, Katie; Grant, Katie; Link, Mia; Falgowski, Katelyn; 
Stopford, Amy; Crandall, Lauren; Dawson, Rachel; Powley, Lauren; Miller, Brook; 
Blair, Katherine; (Reserve) Kendall, Heather; Lopresti, Cara-Lyn; Schnepf, 
Heather; Beans, Laree; 

Argentina: Succi, Maria Belen; Dominquez, Daniela; Pereyra, Lucia Belen; Cerutti, Amalia; Mejico, Pilar; Silva, Nadia; Pallitto, Maria Belen; Rebecchi, Carla; D'Elia, Maria Silvina; Maloberti, Daniela Paola; Luchetti, Rosario; (Reserve) Diez, Maria; Aguirre, Gabriela; Garcia, Yanina; Garmendia, Ines;

Umpires: Stewart, Wendy (CAN); Hassan, Nor Piza (MAS); Reserve Umpire: Brunekreef, Caroline (NED)