In Toronto, Canada following three days of men’s pool-play competition at the Pan American Games, the quarter-final brackets are set. Pool leaders host Canada and Argentina will cross-over with Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico, respectively. For the other two cross-over matches, Chile will face Cuba and United States will face Brazil. The men’s quarter-final round will take place on 21 July with game times being modified to 9:00, 11:30, 17:00 and 19:30 to allow for the possibility of shoot outs.
Men’s quarter-final matches begin on 21 July and semifinals continue 23 July. Finals are set for 25 July. All classification games will go straight to penalty shootouts if it is a draw after regulation time. For schedules, scores, video, photos and more visit here.
Argentina (1st Pool A) vs. Mexico (4th Pool B) – 21 July at 9:00
Following a 3-0 record in pool play, world ranked No. 6 Argentina enter the classification round the favorites. Argentina leads all men’s teams in scoring with 22 goals. Yet, a close 5-4 win over Cuba proves that Argentina is not unstoppable. Argentina has benefited from the talents of penalty corner specialist Gonzalo Peillat who leads the tournament with 7 goals. Mexico lost all three of their matches in pool play, but did open the tournament with a close 2-3 loss to Chile. Mexico’s Alexis Campillo has two of Mexico’s three total tournament goals.
Chile (2nd Pool B) vs. Cuba (3rd Pool A) – 21 July at 11:00
It will be a tight match between Chile and Cuba for a spot in the semifinals. Chile were 2-1 in pool play and proved their experience in their game against host Canada. On the offensive, Sven Richter and Martin Rodriguez each have two goals for Chile. While Chile’s defenders, Nicolas Renz , Andres Fuenzalida and keeper Adrian Henriquez will have to face a Cuba squad that efficiently converts penalty corners. Cuba’s Yoandy Blanco is second on the goal scorers list with five goals, four of which came from taking advantage of penalty corner opportunities.
United States (2nd Pool A) vs. Brazil (3rd Pool B) – 21 July at 17:00
With a close 2-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago on the final day of pool play the United States emerged with second place in pool A. Will Holt has two goals for the United States, while Matheus Borges has two goals for Brazil. Brazil needs to have at least a 6th place finish in the competition to have an opportunity to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Canada (1st Pool B) vs. Trinidad and Tobago (4th Pool A) – 21 July at 19:30
Hosts Canada had a perfect record in pool play after a 9-1 win over Brazil, a close 1-0 win over Chile and a 8-1 win to Mexico. Gabriel Ho-Garcia had four goals in Canada’s win over Mexico, but Canada has a number of players who have scored multiple goals in the competition; including Matt Guest with three goals; and Mark Pearson, Matthew Sarmento and Scott Tupper each with two goals. Trinidad and Tobago has had three different players each score one goal apiece: Ishmael Campbell, Solomon Eccles and Akim Toussaint. Trinidad and Tobago will rely on keeper Andrey Rocke who earned his 100th cap during the competition.
Men’s quarter-final matches begin on 21 July and semifinals continue 23 July. Finals are set for 25 July. All classification games will go straight to penalty shootouts if it is a draw after regulation time. For schedules, scores, video, photos and more visit here.
