Match 3 - Chile vs. Trinidad & Tobago: 1-5 (half-time: 0-3)

After the draw between Canada and Chile (2-2) the day before, both teams knew that today’s match could open the door to a semi-final berth. They started cautiously, trying not to expose themselves to an early goal, but Trinidad & Tobago were soon in control, opening the scoring in the 12th minute on a penalty-corner that did not seem to go according to plan but arrived to Akim Toussaint in front of the goal for an easy push in the empty net.

They doubled their tally on the next action by Mickell Pierre after a decisive penetration in the circle and Chile were suddenly facing a steep slope to come back in the game. They stepped up their tempo and became more dangerous, forcing a penalty-corner, but it was well defended by Andrey Rocke in the Trinidadian goal.

Chile became progressively frustrated and conceded another penalty-corner that was superbly converted by Akim Toussaint after a well-executed combination of passes. With a comfortable 3-0 lead, Trinidad & Tobago was well on control going into the break.

Chile started second period with more determination and earned two penalty-corners, but were unlucky to hit the post. Trinidad & Tobago weathered the storm calmly and suddenly surged forward again, scoring two quick field goals by their captain Dwain Quan Chan and Wayne Legerton, leaving the Chilean defense shaking their head and 5 goals down.

Chile had a series of penalty-corners, but it never clicked for them and they were cleared by the Trinidadian defense. They finally narrowed the wide gap by Jan Berczely with 11 minutes to go in the match, but it was too little too late and, with two Chilean players receiving yellow cards in the final miunutes, Trinidad & Tobago cruised to a solid win against a team ranked higher than them entering this competition.

With two wins in their bags, Trinidad & Tobago are in good position before their decisive match vs. Canada on Wednesday, while Chile will now have a tougher time to earn a semi-final berth, despite an easier last pool match vs. Brazil.

For more information and pictures of CHI vs. TTO, click here.


Match 2 - USA vs. Uruguay: 12-0 (half-time: 5-0)

This game was delayed from opening day because of the unfortunate travel delay to the Uruguayan Team. Both USA and Uruguay came into this match looking for their first points of the competition, USA having lost to Argentina (0-8) and Uruguay narrowly to Mexico (1-2). The USA started with a bang, stunning Uruguay with 2 goals by Christian Linney in the first 4 minutes of play!

After the initial burst of action, play settled in midfield. The USA had most of the ball possession but Uruguay got organized after their abysmal start and were keeping them at bay. They were however cleanly beaten again in the 18th minute after a decisive circle penetration by Pat Harris setting up Christian Linney for a hat-trick. This seemed to take some wind out the Uruguayan sails, and Kevin Barber was able to add a fourth goal after miscommunications between a defender and Jose Lasa in the Uruguayan goal.

Kevin Barber added another goal 3 minutes later, and the Uruguayan team, looking totally dejected, were facing an impossible task to come back in the match. USA started second period at full speed, scoring immediately by Christian Linney (his fourth of the match) and Pat Harris on penalty-corner to deepen the gap to 7 goals with still 33 minutes to play.

Christian Linney promptly scored his fifth goal of the match on a spectacular reverse stick shot. The Uruguayan seemed unable to get organized in defense and, with a storm brewing over Brampton, the USA kept scoring at regular interval to finish on the commanding 12-0 score (5 goals for Christian Linney and 4 for Pat Harris) against a disappointing Uruguayan team.

For more information and pictures of USA vs. URU, click here.


Schedule for Wednesday August 14:
9h00: Brazil vs. Chile
11h00: Mexico vs. USA
17h00: Argentina vs. Uruguay
19h00: Canada vs. Trinidad & Tobago