Pan American Cup Preview

It’s PanAm week for both the US Women’s and Men’s National Teams! Here is everything you need to know!

Streaming Information:
This tournament is unfortunately pay-per-view in the United States on watch.hockey. The tournament pass is $29.99, and you can purchase it here.

The United Eagles

Schedule:
Friday, July 25, 5:30 PM ET vs. Mexico
Sunday, July 27, 4:30 PM ET vs. Chile
Tuesday, July 29, 8:30 AM ET vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Thursday, July 31, TBD, Crossovers
Friday, August 1, TBD, Semifinals
Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3, TBD, Finals

The Roster:
The official roster has still not been named as of writing this. The traveling roster was released last week, and since the release, Ashley Sessa has been removed due to an injury. One more athlete will need to be removed to comply with the roster limits for this tournament.
You can read our roster thoughts here.

(from USA Field Hockey’s Website)

Our Pool:
We are in Pool B, which consists of #12 Chile, #29 Mexico, and #51 Trinidad & Tobago.

Last Match-Ups:

Mexico -
Mexico is not an opponent we face often, with only 3 meetings between the two being recorded in the FIH historical database. The USA has won all 3 of the matches by 5 goals or more and being shutouts.
The last time the two teams faced each other was back in August of 2019 during the Pan Am Games. The United States took a 5-0 win in the game.

Chile -
We have already seen Chile twice this year, and have not had great results. In the Nations Cup, the United Eagles took 2-1 and 3-1 losses. Prior to the Nations Cup, the last match was a shootout win for the United Eagles in the 2023 Pan American Games.
All time (in the FIH database), the USA and Chile have faced each other 21 times, with the USA taking 12 wins, Chile taking 4, and 5 games being draws.

Trinidad & Tobago -
T&T is, once again, not a super familiar foe; however, the USA has played them a lot more recently during the 2023 Pan American Games. The game back in October of 2023 resulted in a 15-0 win for the United Eagles.
The USA has won all 3 matches against T&T, with scores of 15-0, 16-0, and 6-0. T&T has not scored against the USA to date.

The Other Pool:

Our potential opponents after the group stages are #2 Argentina, #19 Canada, #22 Uruguay, and #53 Paraguay.

Last Match-Ups

Argentina -
Hopefully, we will not be seeing Argentina until the final match of the tournament. Argentina is by far the hardest competitor for the USA, with them having won 25 of the last 35 games against us.
In 2024, the USA played Argentina 3 separate times, losing 4-1, 4-0, and 5-4. The last time the United States outright beat Argentina was in the 2016 Olympics.

Canada -
We have 18 wins against our northern neighbors, with the last recorded match being a 2-0 win in the Nations Cup earlier this year. Canada’s last win was during the 3rd-4th place match in the 2022 Pan Am Cup, when they won 1-0.

Uruguay -
The USA has a 5-0 record against Uruguay, with our last match being in the 2023 Pan American Games. In that match, the United States won 3-0. Before that, the two teams had last seen each other in the 2015 Pan American Games, which was a 5-0 win for the States.

Paraguay -
According to the FIH’s Head-to-Head, the USA has no recorded matches against Paraguay.

What’s on the Line?
For the women’s pool, Argentina already has earned their World Cup qualification, so the team that earns gold OR earns a silver with Argentina earning gold earns a World Cup spot (and a medal, of course).
3 teams (most likely 3rd-5th) will qualify for the World Cup Qualifiers Tournament, which will take place from February 28 to March 8th, 2026.

The United Wolves

Schedule:
Friday, July 25, 7:30 PM ET vs. Uruguay
Sunday, July 27, 10:00 PM ET vs. Argentina
Tuesday, July 29, 10:30 AM ET vs. Brazil
Thursday, July 31, TBD, Crossovers
Friday, August 1, TBD, Semifinals
Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3, TBD, Finals

The Roster:
The Men’s team has released a finalized roster.

(from USA Field Hockey’s Website)

Our Pool:
We are competing in Pool A with #7 Argentina, #33 Brazil, and #43 Uruguay.

Last Match-Ups:

Argentina -
The USA Men’s team has historically never won against Argentina. The last time these two teams played against each other was in the 2023 Pan American Games, where Argentina won 2-0. The last time the USA scored against Argentina was in test matches back in 2015.

Brazil -
The last time these two teams saw each other was the 2023 Pan American Games, where the USA took a 5-1 win. Historically, the USA is 3-1-1 against Brazil, with wins in 2023, 2019, and 2013. Brazil’s win was in the 2019 3 Nations Invitational.

Uruguay -
These two teams have only faced each other once, and it was back in 2013. The USA took a 12-0 win in the match, and Pat Harris had 4 of those goals.

The Other Pool:

Our potential opponents after the group stages are #21 Canada, #24 Chile, #31 Mexico, and #36 Trinidad & Tobago.

Last Match-Ups:

Canada -
On the Men’s side, Canada is a more dominant program, having won 13 of the last 15 matches. The two teams faced each other twice in the 2023 Pan American Games, with Canada winning 2-1 in the Pool Stages and 3-2 in the 3rd-4th match. The USA has scored in every match against them, except for the 2019 Pan Ams and the 2013 Pan American Cup Semi-Finals.

Chile -
The USA and Chile last saw each other in a shootout victory for Chile in the 2022 Pan Am Cup Semi-Finals. Before that, the last match in 2019 had gone the way of the Wolves in a 2-1 win for the 2019 Pan American Cup Bronze. All-time, the USA has won 6 matches, lost 2, and drawn 4.

Mexico -
The USA has won its last 3 matches against Canada. The USA won 11 of the 13 games the two teams have played, with the other 2 ending in draws. In their last match, the USA won 7-1 in the 2022 Pan Am Cup.

Trinidad & Tobago -
T&T played the USA in the 2023 Pan American Games, where the USA won 6-1. The two teams also faced in the 2022 Pan Am Cup, with the USA winning a narrow 4-3. All-time, the USA has won 7 games, lost 1, and drawn 2.

What’s on the Line?
On the Men’s side, no teams have qualified, so the first-place finisher will earn World Cup qualification. The next 3 finishers will earn a bid to the World Cup Qualifiers.

Other Notes & Tidbits

For information on how the World Cup Qualification process works, read here.

Career Milestones
On the Men’s Team, Emil Collins (GK) could earn his first cap for the USA this tournament.
Aki Kaeppeler is 4 caps away from his 100th career cap, and Kei Kaeppeler is 3 caps away from his 50th career cap; both should reach these milestones during the tournament.

Classification Rules
In order:
1. Points
2. Matches Won
3. Goal Differential
4. Goals For
5. Head-to-Head
6. Field Goals Scores

Head-to-Head Data
To find more information about head-to-head data, visit the FIH website.

Full Schedule
For all my hockey heads, looking to watch more than just the USA play, the full Men’s schedule can be found here, and the Women’s can be found here.

Make sure to watch some hockey this week and GO STATES!!!