Under freezing temperatures, day 1 of the Women’s Pan American Cup concluded with 3 big wins and one draw. In Pool A, Argentina beat Trinidad & Tobago 12-0, including multiple goals from Carla Rebecchi, Luciana Aymar, and Martina Cavallero. Argentina scored early in the match off a penalty corner by Carla Rebecchi. Trinidad & Tobago played good defense as Argentina continued to pressure on attack. In the 14th minute Martina Cavallero scored a field goal to give Argentina a two goal lead. Luciana Aymar and Delfina Merino scored back-to-back goals that made the score 4-0 at halftime. Rebecchi again started the scoring for Argentina in the second half off a field goal. Trinidad & Tobago kept playing strong defense, but could not generate attack. Argentina then scored six goals in a ten minute span, including two more goals by Cavallero, one more by Aymar, and two more by Rebecchi. Thus, the final score ended 12 Argentina-0 Trinidad & Tobago.
Canada and Guyana played the other Pool A match. Canada scored first off an early goal by Hannah Haughn in the 5th minute. A hard blast made it 2-0 by Thea Culley in the 15th minute. Five minutes later Canada went ahead 3-0 off a Abigail Raye field goal. Throughout the first half Canada dominated possession and was awarded a number of penalty corners. However, Guyana’s defense behind the strong play of Alysa Xavier, who was celebrating a birthday, Guyana’s keeper, prevented Canada from scoring off any of their penalty corners. Jessica Barnett gave Canada a 4-0 lead right before halftime. The second half started just like the first ended, with Canada strong on attack. Midway through the second half Canada held a seven goal lead over Guyana, after back-to-back penalty corner goals by Culley and Brienne Stairs, respectively. Much to their credit, Guyana kept playing strong defense, and prevented Canada from scoring for almost the rest of the half. Canada’s Stephanie Norlander scored in the final minutes making the final score, Canada 8-0 Guyana.
In Pool B, Chile and Uruguay battled. Both teams came out fighting for possession and most the play was in the midfield. Throughout the match, each team earned a couple of penalty corners, but could not convert. At the very end of the first half, Chile was awarded a series of penalty corners, but Uruguay keeper Rossana Paselle Decia and her defense kept Uruguay from scoring. Thus, the match remained scoreless at halftime. In the second half, Chile had more possession, but again Uruguay’s defense held strong. In the final minutes of the match, Uruguay had a penalty corner, but the shot went just wide of the goal. As a result, the final score remained Chile nill, Uruguay nill.
The 2013 Women’s Pan American Cup started with a Pool B match between United States and Mexico. In near freezing conditions, both teams started fighting for possession. The United States, however, dominated most of the match. And received a number of penalty corners. In the 8th minute, the United States’ Katelyn Falgowski converted a penalty corner to make it 1-0 in favor of USA. Just three minutes later, Jamie Montgomery gave the USA a two goal lead also off a penalty corner. Mexico continued to play good defense and held off a number of USA penalty corners. Katie O’Donnell converted a penalty corner to make it 3-0 USA versus Mexico in the 25th minute. Mexico had a few attacking chances, but could not convert. Thus, the score remained 3-0 at halftime. The United States kept up their pressure in the second half when Katie Reinprecht scored off a penalty corner. Reinprecht scored again in the 52 minute to give the United States a five goal lead. The final score was 6-0 off a late goal by Paige SELENSKI.
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