First semi-final of 2013 Pan American Cup was played under bright summer sun in Brampton, with Trinidad & Tobago starting cautiously to avoid exposing their circle to the powerful Argentinean armada (with 4 of their strikers in the top 5 goal scorers of the tournament!). First chance was however for Trinidad & Tobago on a penalty-corner earned by Mickell Pierre, but Kwan Browne’s powerful attempt was well handled by Juan Vivaldi, facing his first serious challenge in this competition.   

Both teams did not bother much about patient built-up in midfield and the ball was flowing quickly from one end to the other, with frequent long aerial balls. Argentina were denied on their first two penalty-corners by Andrey Rocke in the Trinidadian goal, and seemed to struggle at time to find their rhythm in front of skillful opponents, well organized in defense around Kwan Browne.

Argentina were denied again on penalty-corner by Andrey Rocke, and Trinidad & Tobago had a golden chance on their swift counter-attack but Christopher Scipio’s diving deflection in front of the Argentinean keeper went just wide. Argentina were finally successful on their fifth penalty-corner in the 29th minute, powered out of reach of the goal-keeper by Gonzalo Peillat. Peillat immediately doubled his tally on another penalty-corner, and Argentina were suddenly seating on a two-goal lead going into the half-time break.

Argentina scored early in second period after a lengthy sequence of pin-ball in front of Andrey Rocke, finally tapped in by Argentinean captain Lucas Rey. Then Lucas Vila inherited a ball alone on the penalty-stroke point and made no mistake to add another goal. With the gap widening, Trinidad & Tobago seemed to realize that they would not come back and their tempo declined a notch. They had a chance on penalty-corner but Kwan Browne’s low attempt did not have the same intensity as earlier in the match.

With the Trinidadian defense starting to fade under the pressure, Argentina ran away with the score, adding 6 goals to finish on the impressive mark of 8-0. They missed the final of the 2009 Pan American Cup after losing in semi-final against Canada, but will walk into Saturday’s final in Brampton without having been challenged much, except by Trinidad & Tobago in the first half of this semi-final.