The USA Men’s National Team successfully defended the gold medal at the Pan American Games.
The USA Team convincingly beat Canada 18:6 in the final of the male tournament held in Lima (Peru) and won its 13th gold at Pan American Games (7th in a row). By winning the 1st place, the USA also qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games.
Brazil was better than Argentina in the bronze medal match (9:6). Cuba won the 5th place, after defeating Puerto Rico on the last day (8:7). Mexico didn’t have any problem to beat Peru in the match for places 7th-8th (16:5).
2019 Pan American Games, Day 6
Men
FINAL
Canada – USA 6:18 (1:4, 1:6, 1:2, 3:6)
Canada: Radenovic, Patterson 1, Blanchard 1, Constantin-Bicari 1, Halajian, Torakis, Cote, Spooner, Gardijan 2, Soleimanipak, D’Souza 1. Head coach: Guiseppe Porzio.
USA: Wolf, Hooper 5, Vavic 1, Obert, Hallock 5, Cupido 1, Daube, Irving 1, Bowen 5, Ramirez, Smith. Head coach: Dejan Udovicic.
The final match was the second encounter between Canada and the USA at the 18th Pan American Games. On Day 2, in the Group Stage, these two sides fought a hard battle. After a lot of thrills, the USA defeated Canada by two goals (13:11).
Spectators expected a new interesting match, but the USA dominated this time. The men’s final was very similar to the gold medal match at the female tournament (USA – Canada 24:4).
The USA Team opened the final with an early 3:0 lead. Canada converted a man-up for 1:3, but after the 1st period, the Americans had a 3-goal lead (4:1). They continued to dominate in the second quarter. By halftime, the USA built a nice 10:2 cushion. There was no way back for Canada anymore. The USA’s scoring slowed down in the third quarter, but in the end, the Americans posted a big 18:6 win. The USA men finished the Pan American Games with 6 wins in as many games. The USA female team also had a 6-0 record in Lima.
The USA scored 18 goals in the final, but just six American players got on the scoreboard. Johnny Hooper, Ben Hallock and Alex Bowen were the leaders of their team in attack. Each of them scored 5 goals in the final.
But, the best scorer of the tournament was Giraldo Manzano Carales (Cuba) – 27 goals. Hooper took the 2nd place at the list of leading scorers with 24 goals.
BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
Brazil – Argentina 9:6 (2:1, 2:0, 2:2, 3:3)
Brazil: Soro, Cabral, P. Real 2, Coutinho 1, Freitas 1, Almeida 1, R. Real 2, Silva 1, Rocha, Franco, Guimaraes 1. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.
Argentina: Malnero, Veich 1, Galimbreti, Martino, Lopez 1, Echenique 2, Corsi, Ronomo 1,Carabantes, Yanez 1, Camnasio. Head coach:Daniel Alberto Poggi.
The opening minutes of the bronze medal game offered a balanced battle. A minute before the end of the first quarter, it was 1:1. Late in the first period, Brazil took control. The Brazilians produced a 4:0 rush and jumped to a 5:1 lead in the third minute of the third quarter. Argentina reduced the gap to 2 (5:7) in the middle of the last quarter. Brazil responded with two goals in a span of 43 seconds for a new safe 4-goal advantage (9:5) two minutes and 11 seconds before the end.
CLASSIFICATION 5th-6th
Puerto Rico – Cuba 7:8 (2:3, 2:3, 1:1, 2:1)
Puerto Rico: Zayas 3, Loubriel 3, Robles 1.
Cuba: Carales 5, Ponsa 2, Peralta 1.
CLASSIFICATION 7th-8th
Mexico – Peru 16:5 (4:0, 4:0, 5:3, 3:2)
Mexico: Alvarez 8, Velazquez 2, Lopez 2, Mercado 2, Paniagua 1, Gibert 1.
Peru:Rodriguez 1, Alzamora 1, Pacheco 1, Morales 1, Villar 1.
Final rannkigs
1 USA
2 Canada
3 Brazil
4 Argentina
5 Cuba
6 Puerto Rico
7 Mexico
8 Peru
All winners
1951 and 1955: Argentina, 1959: USA, 1963: Brazil, 1967 and 1971: USA, 1975: Mexico, 1979, 1983, 1987: USA, 1991: Cuba, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019: USA
