Thursday’s matches did little to clear up the qualification picture. Cuba, as expected beat Canada and have qualified for the Pan American Championships this June in Greenland. With a win over Mexico today they will secure 1st place in the tourney. Less expected, though was Cuba’s margin of victory, 27-24 which suggests that Canada may be the 2nd best side at the tourney. Canada will qualify with wins in their next 2 matches against the Dominican Republic and the U.S., but there are also some scenarios where they can qualify with 1 win or 1 win and a draw.
The other two matches Thursday were both draws. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic played to a 29-29 draw which keeps both teams in the qualification picture. Albeit, for the Dominican Republic it’s an uphill battle as they would need to upset Cuba on Sunday to have a chance of qualification. For Puerto Rico, it’s a more feasible path as wins against the U.S. and Mexico would give them 5 points and depending on tiebreakers with other sides also finishing the tourney with 5 points could see them through to the next round
The U.S. and Mexico played to a 30-30 draw in a dramatic ending which saw Mexico score 4 goals in the last 90 seconds for the come from behind draw. Mexico will now qualify with a win against either Cuba (today) or Puerto Rico on Sunday. For the U.S. picking up 1 point for the draw gives them some leeway in their next 2 matches. Winning both of their remaining matches guarantees that the U.S. will qualify, but there are still a number of scenarios where they could qualify with 1 win or 1 win and a draw. (Note: Mexico could still conceivably not qualify with just 1 win, but it would require that the USA-CAN finish with 6 points each. Meaning they would have to play to a draw of 31 goals or higher)
Web Streaming: Link
Upcoming Schedule (All Times Local/Central Time USA)
Saturday April 7
2:00 p.m. United States vs. Puerto Rico
4:00 p.m. Dominican Republic vs Canada
6:00 p.m. Mexico vs. Cuba
Sunday April 8
12:00 p.m. United States vs. Canada
2:00 p.m. Dominican Republic vs Cuba
4:00 p.m. Mexico vs. Puerto Rico
Results
Tuesday April 3
Puerto Rico 27×31 Canada
United States 30×41 Cuba
Mexico 33×28 Dominican Republic
Wednesday April 4
Cuba 36×23 Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic 26×32 United States
Canada 26×26 Mexico
Thursday April 5
Puerto Rico 29×29 Dominican Republic
Canada 24×27 Cuba
Mexico 30×30 the United States