USA MEN FINISH JUST OFF THE PODIUM
GUADALAJARA - In extra time, Chile claimed the bronze medal and the U.S. Men's Junior National Team fell to fourth this afternoon at the Pan American Junior Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico. The 2-3 victory for Chile earns them first reserve for the Junior World Cup.
"Today our goal was to complete our positive performances to date and secure the 3rd place at the Pan American championships and the 1st reserve position for the Junior World cup in 2013. The game was very tight and controlled. Chances were there for us in the first half however we did not capitalize on them," said Head Coach Chris Clements.
The U.S. Men had an impressive performance, coming back twice to send the match into extra time. At the end of the first half, the scoreboard read 0-0. Chile tallied the first goal on a penalty corner in the 39th minute. The U.S. evened the match at 1-1 at the 57 minute mark, but Chile quickly responded with another goal to once again take the lead, 2-1. With six minutes remaining in the match, the U.S. pulled their goalkeeper to add an extra field player. The risky play paid off as Aki Kaeppeler scored with two minutes remaining.
In extra time the team that scores the first goal wins. Chile scored in the 76th minute to earn the bronze.
"The big picture is what we are looking at now and how the Under-21 Men's squad has benefited due to the centralized training program based out of Ventura County. The development of the program was amazing over this time frame and the young men have grown a lot. I am very proud of the effort and time that was put into this and we are looking forward to building the Men's program from this starting point," said Clements.
USA MEN FACE TOUGH FIRST LOSS AGAINST ARGENTINA
GUADALAJARA - The U.S. Junior Men's National Team suffered their first defeat against Argentina this afternoon at the Pan American Junior Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"Today we faced and incredibly ruthless Argentina," said Head Coach Chris Clements. "They were red hot in the attacking end of the field. We needed to have more confidence in our ability to compete against a strong side. We were confident in our preparations and ability but today was not our day."
Having to chase a 4-0 deficit is not easy, but the U.S. Men never gave up and improved their performance in the second half.
The first penalty corner for the U.S. came in the 49th minute and Aki Kaepeller (New York City, NY) capitalized, scoring the lone goal of the match for the U.S. Argentina's attack finished off the match with a convincing 8-1 victory over the U.S.
The U.S. will look to repeat their performance against Chile on Sunday, September 23rd at 9:00 a.m. local time.
USA MEN UPSET THE HOST NATION, 6-2
GUADALAJARA - Christian Linney (La Jolla, Cali) and Tyler Sundeen (Simi Valley, Cali) propelled the U.S. Junior Men's National Team to 6-2 victory over Mexico this morning. The U.S. continues their quest for a podium finish and a berth to the 2013 Junior World Cup at Pan American Junior Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico. The U.S. hopes to continuing their winning streak and improve to a 5-0 record tomorrow against Argentina.
"Today we had another performance that we are proud of," said Head Coach Chris Clements. "A controlled start to the match allowed us to assert some dominance over Mexico by sticking to our game plan. We now have the opportunity to take on Argentina tomorrow, and continue on improving our performance."
Two back-to-back goals by Linney put the U.S. up 2-0 in the first 12 minutes of play. Mexico was able to score on a penalty corner, but a goal by Austin Groeneveld (Jenkintown, Pa.) kept the U.S. up by two goals at the end of the first half.
At the 43 minute mark, Ranveer Kundi (Chino, Cali) fired a shot and Sundeen slide to deflect the ball high into the back of the net. Aki Kaepeller (New York City, NY) and Jonny Orozco (Ventura, Cali) capitalized on penalty corners late in the second half. The win assures the U.S. a place in the top four. A victory against Argentina tomorrow will put the U.S. in the final.
THIRD VICTORY FOR USA MEN IN GUADALAJARA
GUADALAJARA - With an undefeated record, the U.S. Men's Junior National Team finishes at the top of their pool with a maximum of nine points at the Pan American Junior Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico. The U.S. defeated Chile yesterday afternoon, 2-0, and will face host nation Mexico, the 2nd place finisher in pool B on September 19. The U.S. is well on track to achieving their goal set before departing for the tournament which is a first or second place finish to automatically qualify for the 2013 Junior World Cup.
"Today we were looking for a performance that involved a controlled style of play where we had certain objectives to meet. The entire team performed at an 8 or 9 out of 10 and that is all we can ask for. We won our pool and are into the playoffs where we will continue to build on the progress gained throughout the tournament," said Head Coach Chris Clements.
The U.S. and Chile almost went the entire first half without scoring a goal and it appeared the teams would enter halftime 0-0. However, at the 32 minute mark, Aki Kaeppeler sent a 50 yard overhead pass out of the backfield to Christian Linney who was able to put the ball past Chile's goalkeeper.
The U.S. held on to their one goal advantage throughout the second half. Rutger Pruijs added a security goal for the U.S. at the 59 minute mark to increase the lead to 2-0. The U.S. held off Chile's attack and comfortably finished their pool with a 5-1 victory over Venezuela, 5-4 victory over Barbados and a 2-0 shutout win over Chile.
USA WINS 5-4 IN CLOSE MATCHUP AGAINST BARBADOS
GUADALAJARA - The U.S. Junior Men's Team improved to a 2-0 record at the Pan American Junior Championship in Guadalajara, Mexico, after a close 5-4 victory over Barbados Thursday morning.
"We played the way we had planned to for the first 45 minutes and were rewarded with a good lead. However, the ability to play with a large lead is something we need to learn from," said Head Coach Chris Clements.
Barbados was on the boards first with a penalty corner goal in the 6th minute of action. USA evened the match, 1-1, at the 9 minute mark with a field goal scored by Aki Kaeppeler. Kaeppeler started a scoring frenzy, as the U.S. added three more goals before the end of the first half.
Ranver Kundi, Michael Barminski and Austin Groeneveld all tallied a goal to give the U.S. a comfortable three goal advantage at halftime.
Despite a solid U.S. lead, Barbados was determined to fight back and made a good attempt to close to the gap with three second half goals, including two penalty corners and a penalty stroke.
Kaeppeler's scored the only second half goal for the U.S. at the 48 minute mark on a penalty corner. Kaeppeler's drag flick to the low right corner was enough to secure the U.S. with the victory.
The U.S. is looking to improve to a 3-0 record against Chile on Friday, September 14 at 4:00 pm local time in their third match of the preliminary rounds.
USA TOPS VENEZUELA 5-1 FOR FIRST WIN
GUADALAJARA - The U.S. Junior Men’s Team scored two goals in the first half en route to a 5-1 victory over Venezuela Monday evening in the opening match of the Junior Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"We had a good start to the tournament and a positive performance over a very good Venezuela side," said Head Coach Chris Clements. "We now have our sights set on Barbados."
Aki Kaeppeler (New York City, NY) capitalized on a penalty corner in the 5th minute of action to put the U.S. on the boards first. Austin Groeneveld (Jenkintown, Pa.) tallied his first of two field goals at the 21 minute mark. The U.S. maintained the 2-0 lead at the half.
The U.S. added three more goals to their lead and only conceded one in the second half. Tyler Sundeen (Simi Valley, Cali) was well positioned at the far post to knock one past Venezuela's goalkeeper and Christian Linney (La Jolla, Cali) found himself alone in front of the cage to add the fifth and final goal for the U.S. Groeneveld scored his second goal in the 50th minute.
With less than 10 minutes remaining the match, Venezuela converted on a penalty corner to prevent a shutout performance by the U.S.
The U.S. is back in action on Thursday, September 13 against Barbados at 10:45 a.m. local time.