SANTIAGO, Chile - March 15, 2018 - A day of rest contributed greatly as the U.S. U-16 and U-19 Men's National Teams displayed continued growth in the third and fourth matches of the five-game series against Chile's junior teams. Game three matches were hosted at Santiago College, an American school for grades kindergarten to 12, where their students were excited to see the junior USA teams compete. Both squads found inspiration in their somewhat 'home crowd' as the U-16 USMNT fought to tally their first goal of the series as they were presented with many more scoring opportunities. For the U-19 USMNT, a lot of grit and intensity showed especially in the fourth quarter as they broke a deadlock to earn their first victory.
Played at the Prince of Wales Country Club, U-16 USMNT's game today was played in a similar fashion to yesterday's as they made strides late in the game by cutting the goal margin but were unable to produce more. The U-19 USMNT led at halftime in game four but some defensive errors allowed Chile to score two goals in rapid succession ultimately giving them a loss.
Wednesday, March 13, 2018
U-16 USMNT 1 - 3 Chile
Despite a sluggish start in the contest, Game 3 was a moral victory for USA for a multitude of reasons. During the first quarter the squad could not get out of their own half, forcing them to defend furiously. Chile scored within 3 minutes which fired up the much younger squad. USA managed to get an offensive penalty corner and a cracking shot on goal a few minutes earlier from Namrit Mangat (Glendale, Ariz.). With a few goal line saves and and a late shot on goal save by goalkeeper Russell Smith (Camarillo, Calif.), USA found a way to finish the first half only trailing by one.
At halftime, the game plan was adjusted slightly and USA came out inspired and ready to play thanks to the sound advice from Coach Brian Schledorn. Chile added another to the scoreboard off a field goal in the 7th minute to extend their lead to 2-0.
Wyatt Katz (Santa Rose Valley, Calif.) had an incredible fourth quarter allowing the team to move forward on numerous occasions and ultimately earning their second penalty corner. Gerald Cutone (Reading, Mass.) sent his drag flick just right of center requiring Chile's goalkeeper to get a glove on it which deflected into the cross bar. On the rebound was Corey Dykema (Newport News, Va.) who followed the action all the way and leaped up to bat the ball into the net to cut Chile's lead to 2-1.
Chile went on the attack after that which led to a penalty corner with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Due to some official technical error, Chile had well over a minute to setup up their penalty corner with time expired which led to an option play that was converted. Despite a losing score of 3 - 1, the young USA team continues to progress, earning more attacking play and time along with penalty corners.
U-19 USMNT 2 - 1 Chile
The preparation and time spent reviewing the prior two games paid off as the U-19 USMNT pulled off an exciting 2-1 win.
After a scoreless first quarter, Team USA scored first in the second quarter from a low bullet from Garry Singh (Corona, Calif.) off a penalty corner. The low hard drag to the bottom left corner was to much for the Chile's goalkeeper to handle. The match was fairly even with both teams having chances at both ends. Jack Galluci (Trumbull, Conn.) found two opportunities to get a few shots off making Chile's defense and goalkeeper work to keep the ball out of the net. The halftime score stood in favor of USA 1-0.
The hard work continued from USA as they kept the pressure up finding ways down field on both sides of the field. They started to exploit the outside lanes finding their way deep into the corners and working the ball toward the goal, getting closer and closer every time. Late in the third quarter Chile would convert off a field goal to tie the match, 1-1.
The rotation from the entire forward line was evident as Chile struggled to mark man to man and cover the zones. Finally a quick paced outlet up the right side connected with Christian DeAngelis (Doylestown, Pa.) at a full sprint heading over the Chile 25-yard line, when he cut and started to make his way into the right side of the Chile's circle. It appeared as though he was heading for an old school baseline run which was to end up on the penalty spot for his teammates to finish but as he was 5 yards from the baseline he ripped a shot into the left side of the net, not giving Chile's goalkeeper any chance of making a save. The score finished at 2-1, giving USA their first well-deserved win. In the back, Wander Hommes (Westlake Village, Calif.) had another great game keeping his defense under control and distributing some impressive balls downfield.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
U-16 USMNT 1 - 4 Chile
Similar to their start in Game 3, USA started slowly as Chile's offense allowed them a little space at the back but did not allow the ball out into their half at first. The first quarter remained 0-0 early on despite Chile shooting on goal three times in the opening minutes. Back the other way Cutone got a shot off on USA's penalty corner chance, not result to show. As the opening period wound down, Chile capitalized on a penalty corner opportunity, where Rafael Martell (Miami, Fla.) made the initial save and rebound attempt, but Chile was persistent and found the net on their third attempt for the opening 1-0 score.
A quick chat at the break refocusing on a few key positions and ball movement opened up some chances to move downfield and get into Chile's 25. USA created a few chances to get into the circle, including a cross attempt that Jasper Pouw (Santa Rose Valley, Calif.) just missed on execution. Chile doubled up on offense early on with another field goal score alongside several penalty corner attempts, but USA was able to defend each one successfully before the half came to a close.
USA's game plan was reinforced for the second half as the squad saw better passing and long balls after the adjustment. The team's efforts resulted in more penalty corner opportunities but could not find net on all their chances. The fourth quarter however opened with a field goal for Chile as Smith stepped toward the far post to block the shorting attempt. The ball then pushed across the goal area where it was tipped in to make it 4-0. Ultimately a small breakthrough came for USA off a penalty corner where Chile's goalkeeper made the save, but the rebound was sent into a small skirmish in the goal mouth where Mangat forced it into the goal for the team's lone score of the day.
U-19 USMNT 4 - 5 Chile
With the series on the line, USA was focused from the get-go on trying to get another victory. The intensity was immediately recognized as both squads took turns pushing the other up and down the field through a scoreless first quarter. It was a much different tale the following 15 minutes as Chile struck first off a field goal attempt in the 17th minute. USA responded almost immediately, tying the game courtesy of a shot by Colin Hennessy (Marlborough, Mass.). Chile could not convert on a penalty corner attempt in the 25th minute, but were able to get the go ahead score off another field goal moments later to make the score 2-1. Just following, USA set up on a penalty corner chance. Hommes swept the ball toward the goal where Alberto Montilla (Allen, Texas) was waiting to pounce for the tying score. As the half was coming to a close, a final push downfield saw Dean Schiller (Alexandra, Va.) pass over to Alex Curtis (London, United Kingdom) who challenged the goalkeeper and succesfully back handed it into the goal for the 3-2 USA lead at half.
The second half started with a quick goal that came from Singh connecting with Liam Hawley (Ventura, Calif.) to extend USA's lead to 4-2. Chile would not remain down for long despite USA's control of the game late in the third quarter. Chile pressed downfield and even harder to keep USA on the defensive. Inside the circle, Chile took advantage of a USA mistake to close the gap to 4-3. Moments later, another miscue on defense set up a tying score by Chile to make it a deadlocked, 4-4 contest heading into the final frame.
Tempo remained to the opposition's advantage to start the fourth quarter. In the 47th minute a field goal gave the lead back to Chile. It remained that way through the final minutes where both teams were pushing for the win. This gave Chile numerous tries on break aways and counter attacks, controlling the remainder of the match and shutting down USA's offense for good.
Both Junior teams will play their fifth and final game of the series today, March 16. The U-16 team will play at 4 p.m. ET before the U-19 squad hits the pitch at 5:30 p.m. ET. Stay tuned and check back at usafieldhockey.com for updates and game recaps all throughout the series.
