Aug. 12, 2003
* Story courtesy of U.S. Field Hockey
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Two teams rich in Pan American Games hardware will try to add to their collections when the U.S. women's field hockey team, led by Old Dominion head coach Beth Anders, meets defending champion Argentina in the gold medal match at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday at the Parque del Este Hockey Pavilion.
The two rivals have met in three of the first four Pan American Games tournaments in what has become as much of a Pan Am tradition as torch running and cuddly mascots.
"We're exactly where we want to be," said U.S. coach Beth Anders after her team sailed through the tournament with wins over Jamaica (5-0), Uruguay (5-0), Canada (3-0) and Chile (6-1) to earn its spot in the final.
The underdog U.S team faces the task of dethroning the four-time Pan American Games gold medallists who also happen to be the world's number one ranked team. Argentina won field hockey's World Cup last December and has been virtually unbeatable in major tournaments since earning a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
"We'll have opportunities where we can take the game, but our whole team is going to have to play strong and confident and together," said U.S. captain Katie Beach who is playing in her second Pan American Games tournament. "At this point we're not going to worry about anything else. We're just going to think about what we need to do to beat them."
It's a task not many teams have been able to accomplish.
After finishing second in Sydney, Argentina won the 2001 Champions Trophy tournament featuring the world's six top-ranked teams. China used a home field advantage to edge the defending champs in penalty strokes in the final of the 2002 Champions Trophy before Argentina cruised through the 2002 World Cup with a perfect 9-0 record to capture the world title.
At the Pan Am Games, Argentina downed Trinidad & Tobago (9-0), Dominican Republic (25-0), Chile (13-1) and Uruguay (7-0) on its way to the final.
Meanwhile, the U.S. earned a ninth place finish at the World Cup and placed fifth at the most recent Champion's Challenge tournament featuring the world's 7th-11th ranked teams along with host Italy.
In Santo Domingo, Argentina's Allejandra Gulla leads the Pan Am tournament in scoring with 12 goals while teammate and FIH 2002 Young Player of the Year Agustina Garica ranks third with 9 goals. The USA's Tracey Fuchs (Centereach, N.Y.) ranks fourth in scoring with 7 goals, while Kate Barber (West Chester, Pa.) has added three scores. Fuchs is competing in her fifth Pan American Games tournament.
In addition to the gold medal, the winner of the Pan Am final will become the second team to officially qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games. China earned its spot in Athens after capturing the gold medal at the 2003 Asian Games.
With both teams holding top-ten international rankings, the Pan Am silver medallist will have an additional opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games at the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Auckland, New Zealand in March, 2004. The top five teams from the Qualifier are expected to earn their trips to Athens.
But after finishing sixth at the 2000 Olympic Qualifier and missing the 2000 Olympic Games, Beach and the U.S. team would prefer to take a more direct route to Athens.
"This is a great opportunity," said Beach. "One game is an easier way of getting to the Olympics than going to the Olympic Qualifier."
For more information on the U.S. National Team and the Pan Am Games, log on to www.usfieldhockey.com.