Today, we can say something that you probably haven’t heard me say before;
The United States men’s field hockey team could find its way to the FIH Junior World Cup with a good result this evening.
Thus far, the U.S. men have earned a win, a loss, and a draw in three matches in the Junior Pan-American Championship in Surrey, British Columbia. That draw was a 0-0 tie against, of all teams, Canada. Canada has been a thorn in the side of the Americans for years, winning their way into the last couple of Olympics on the men’s side.
But with a win over Mexico this evening, the U.S. will clinch a berth in the semifinal round with a game left in pool play. That last pool match, however, is against heavy favorite Argentina on Tuesday. Later that day, Canada will take on Chile.
A lot depends on the placings after pool play; the U.S. will need to win one game in the medal round to qualify for the World Cup — something which would be an accomplishment given the lack of structure in the United States for men’s field hockey. There are no varsity teams at the scholastic or collegiate levels even after attempts to start the sport in some locales.
