Photo Courtesy of PAHF

TORONTO, Canada - May 23, 2016 - The U.S. U-21 Men's National Team concluded pool play at the Junior Men's Pan American Championship with a 5-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago. The U-21 USMNT will be back on the pitch Wednesday, May 25 for quarterfinal play.

On the hottest day of the tournament so far, Team USA came out looking to bounce back from a tough loss to world number six Argentina in their previous game. Ultimately, however, the island nation would come out on top 5-1 after taking full advantage of some defensive lapses.

Early in the game, Keeling Pilaro (Southhampton, N.Y.) and Nick Richardson (Kents Hill, Maine) probed forward from the back but couldn’t help the U-21 USMNT forwards find a breakthrough. Trinidad & Tobago got on the scoreboard first in the 6th minute of play from a penalty corner breakdown. Play continued to go back and forth until the 31st minute when Trinidad & Tobago scored their second goal of the game on a flick off a penalty corner.

Team USA didn't let up the pressure in the game and after regrouping at halftime came out strong in the second half. Their pressure created a penalty corner and on  that opportunity Stuart Kentwell (Spring City, Pa.) deflected in a ball from Ruben van Dam (Valkenswaard, The Netherlands). The U-21 USMNT saw their chance and came within inches of an equalizer after Amar Khokar (Valencia, Calif.) broke clean through the defensive but was unable to apply the finish. Shortly after, with constant USA pressure, Trinidad & Tobago stretched their lead by the finding the backboard again in the 43rd minute to make the score USA 1, TTO 3. Eager to close the scoring gap, Team USA started threatening forward but the push left gaps defensively. Van Dam made countless interceptions but couldn’t stop every Trinidad & Tobago counter attack. Trinidad & Tobago would add two more goals in the final 20 minutes of play extending the lead and making the final score USA 1, TTO 5.

“I must be honest, I’m disappointed in both the results and performance but we have another chance," said Rutger Wiese, U-21 USMNT Head Coach. "We have a quarterfinal coming up on Wednesday and we will prepare for that physically, prepare mentally, and we will go again looking for a spot in the semifinal.”

The next game for the U.S. U-21 Men's National Team at the Junior Men's Pan Am Championships will be on Wednesday, May 25 against Mexico at 12:30 p.m. EST in the quarterfinals. Stream the game live here by clicking here. 

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