Yesterday’s 3-0 win by Argentina over america U-20 ladies’s area hockey group within the gold-medal sport of the Junior Pan American Video games meant greater than medals.
For the profitable Argentina aspect, it meant automated qualification to subsequent 12 months’s Pan American Video games on the senior stage. I’ve by no means seen this earlier than in any sport, the place a nationwide group’s efficiency at an age-group stage permits for a berth in a event on the subsequent age group or stage.
For Argentina, it could make good sense, since a pair of gamers from final 12 months’s Olympic event have been of their aspect for the Junior Pan Am Video games.
The USA didn’t have that luxurious.
And all you needed to do was watch one section of the sport to know that it wasn’t going to be the Junior Eagles’ day. Within the eighth minute of play, a U.S. participant was dispossessed within the midfield heading in the direction of aim in what may have been known as a foul on the Albicelestes. In a basic “ball strikes quicker than the participant” instance. a sequence of by way of passes sliced by way of the red-clad American protection. The ultimate move discovered Lourdes Pisthon for the opening aim.
The play took possibly six seconds.
The group that took silver final night is a well-trained group of gamers who didn’t have the solutions towards an Argentina aspect bolstered with Olympic-caliber expertise. There will likely be classes realized, together with the dimensions of the hole between the 2 nations on the hockey aspect.
I’ve at all times mentioned that the important thing to enchancment of a U.S. nationwide aspect is the standard of a home league, which we don’t have on the senior aspect.
We do have one thing known as the NCAA on the U-20 stage. However yesterday’s outcome makes one marvel if that’s not the suitable reply, both.
