Today marked the first day of the Junior Men’s Pan American Championship. The standard of hockey seen in today’s matches has set a high bar for what is to be expected for the remainder of the tournament. It was evident that each team worked hard in their preparation for the competition and plan to make the most of the hard work they’ve put in.
Trinidad came out guns blazing to kick off the first game of the Junior Men’s Pan Am Championship against Argentina. They dominated the play in the initial minutes and created the first goal scoring opportunity in the form of a corner early in the first half. The seemingly flawless flick was cast aside by an outstanding stick save from Argentina’s goalkeeper; Emiliano Bosso. The momentum slowly shifted and Argentina was awarded the first goal of the tournament by way of penalty corner flick from Domene Thomas in the twenty-third minute. Argentina managed to net two more field goals before breaking for halftime. Trinidad and Tobago started the second half true to form and maintained the majority of possession early on in the second half. Although they matched level of play demonstrated by Argentina for most of the second half, Argentina skillfully found the back of the net two more times before the final horn blew.
The second match of the day between USA and Puerto Rico started off slowly on both sides. Puerto Rico created a couple scoring opportunities but skill breakdown in the circle ultimately prevented these opportunities from rendering any goals. USA’s Doug Allison eventually lit up the score board in the seventh minutes. This goal seemed to give the USA their sea legs and Sean Cicci was quickly identified as a fan favourite as he scored USA’s following three consecutive goals to finish out the first half. Though Puerto Rico played a tough and physical game, Cicci was able to pot two more penalty corners in the second half and an eighth and final goal was scored by USA’s George McGuigan in the seventieth minute of the match. The final score rounding off to 8-0 in favour of the USA.
Both Guyana and Chile managed to generate heavy attack in the first half of the third match of the day. But It wasn’t until the twentieth minute that Chilean Franco Becerra was able to open up the scoring with a reverse shot from the top of the circle. Chile managed to secure their lead with one more goal before heading into halftime. Chile demonstrated excellent patience in their possession and managed to sink five more goals in the second half. Guyana fought hard and managed to get themselves on the scoreboard with a reverse shot off the stick of Aroydy Brandford in the fifty-eighth minute. Guyana, as the youngest team in the tournament, put up a strong effort against a very talented Chile and ended up with a result of 7-1 for Chile.
The final match of the day between host team Canada and Mexico was likely the most evenly matched competition of the day. Canada maintained possession in the offensive zone in the first half, but Mexico’s aggressive defensive style continued to send Canada back to their end and back to the drawing board. Mexico also spent their fair share of time in Canada’s circle. They obtained the first goal of the match by a penalty corner flick being neatly deflected into the corner of Canada’s net by Ivan Arballo. Only seven minutes later of even attack, Canadian Brandon Pereira managed to rip a flick into the back of the opposition’s net, nullifying Mexico’s one-goal lead. Mexico took back their lead with another flick slipping past Canada’s penalty corner defense, and a third goal against eleven Canadian field players following coach Sehmbi’s decision to pull the goalkeeper. Canada managed to net one final goal in the last second of the match to round off the score to 3-2 in favour of Mexico.
