TORONTO, Canada – July 23, 2015 – During the second men's consolation match of the day at the Pan American Games, the U.S. Men’s National Team took a 2-1 win over 29th FIH World Ranked Trinidad and Tobago in an evenly contested game. With the victory, Team USA will face Mexico on Saturday, July 25 at 11:30 a.m. EST in the 5th and 6th place game.

"We had a very disappointing day against Brazil in our previous match," said U.S. Men's Head Coach Chris Clements. "We knew we had to continue today and be who we are on the field. We did that right from the very first minute and again created multiple chances in the first period which could have put the game beyond doubt even in the first period. Overall, we knew how we needed to play."

Team USA came out quick from the midfield,  as circle penetrations translated into shots on cage. In the 3rd minute, Tyler Sundeen (Simi Valley, Calif.) drove with the ball down the center of the field into the attacking end and sent a solid strike just wide of the cage. Moritz Runzi (Boston, Mass.) followed a minute later with a backhanded cross from the left baseline that didn’t connect with a teammate’s stick.

Persistent to find a connecting goal pass, Team USA swung the ball around the defensive quarter of the field waiting for the prime opportunity to release a forward outlet. A chance came in the 14th minute when Michael Barminski (Ventura, Calif.) fed a ball to Sundeen who was set to take a backhand shot toward goal but the chance was jabbed away by a Trinidad and Tobago defender.

Aggressive to notch a goal on the board, Team USA had a flurry of shots on cage at the beginning of the second quarter but were unable to produce a result. Trinidad and Tobago quickly countered with possession and ripped a backhanded shot that was denied by USA’s goalkeeper Chris Rea (San Diego, Calif.) but the save directed the ball on to a USA foot resulting in a penalty corner. Off the corner, Barminski held strong on the left post to collect and cleanly clear the ball out of danger.

With the game remaining scoreless, both teams attempted to maintain possession and find a scoring opportunity. In the 25th minute, Trinidad and Tobago had a shot on goal that Ajai Dhadwal (Agoura Hills, Calif.) defensively saved on the right post and outletted up the field. A minute later, Pat Harris (Moorpark, Calif.) forced a foul in the circle to earn Team USA’s first penalty corner. A perfectly set corner piece translated as Aki Kaeppeler (Stuttgart, Ger.) faked a drag flick  and then passed to Will Holt (Camarillo, Calif.) who sent a low backhand into the goal to give USA a 1-0 lead.

Responding effectively off the restart whistle, Trinidad and Tobago maneuvered the ball into their attacking circle and earned a penalty corner a minute later. After a goalmouth scramble, Trinidad and Tobago received another penalty corner but USA’s goalkeeper Rea absorbed two back-to-back shots to keep the score at USA 1, Trinidad and Tobago 0 going into halftime.

"We knew we needed to come out hard and put in the work to get the win," said U.S. Men's National Team Athlete Johnny Orozco (Ventura, Calif.). "We gave all our effort today to get to our new goal of the 5th/6th placement stage. I'm really proud of this group, of what we've done and what we can do in the future." 

Just seconds out of the halftime, a Trinidad and Tobago forward was eager to find the equalizer as he sprinted into the attacking circle on the right and released a hard strike that went just wide of the target. Remaining defensively strong, Team USA was able to work together to anticipate incoming Trinidad and Tobago threats.

In the 36th minute, Trinidad and Tobago found the equalizer as a deflected ball found Tariq Marcano, who capitalized on a backhand shot on cage to tie the game at 1-1. The locked score didn’t last long as two minutes later, Team USA charged into the offensive end of the field where an aerial ball from Kaeppeler found Sundeen who sent one into the cage to change the score to USA 2, Trinidad and Tobago 1.

Just before the close of the third quarter, Holt tested the Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper with a sharp shot to the upper right corner of the cage that was saved with an extended reach. Team USA kept possession and earned a penalty corner but the shot didn’t translate.

Wasting no time in the fourth quarter, the USMNT earned a penalty corner. Holt’s drag flick cruised past the left post narrowly missing. Chances kept arising for Team USA as Alex Grassi (Brookeville, Md.) weaved through Trinidad and Tobago traffic to locate Sundeen whose shot was turned away.

The energy levels on the field remained high as the final 10 minutes of play started with even possession. Looking to add another goal on the scoreboard, Tom Barratt (Greensboro, N.C.) sent a low backhand ball toward the cage but the attempt was saved by Trinidad and Tobago’s goalkeeper. Trinidad and Tobago reacted and moved the ball down the field to earn a penalty corner. Just before time expired, USA’s goalkeeper Rea defended the goal line with a diving save and Kaeppeler retrieved the ball off Rea’s pads to clear it out of danger, securing the final score USA 2, Trinidad and Tobago 1.

"It's a challenge for a top athlete when you give everything you have and then you don't perform on a certain day to end up in the bottom bracket of an event, but we made ourselves determined to finished 5th," added Clements. "We obviously wanted the goal differential to be greater. We really need to look closely at finishing in the circle. The balls are right there; the shots are right there. The finishing touch is all that's missing."  

The U.S. Men’s National Team will move on to the 5th/6th place game on Saturday, July 25 at 11:30 a.m. EST against Mexico. For all information regarding USA Field Hockey at the 2015 Pan American Games, including full schedules, check out the event page and be sure to follow on Twitter @USAFieldHockey for live Team USA game updates.