Chile defeated Venezuela 29-19 to win the tournament and the 8th and final spot for the PANAM games this summer in Rio.

Final Standings (W D L Points GF GA GD)
Chile 2 0 0 4pts 65 45 +20
USA 1 0 1 2pts 49 56 -7
Venezuela 0 0 2 0pts 39 52 -13

Chile Federation Website: http://www.balonmano.cl/
Pictures USA-Chile Match: http://www.balonmano.cl/rep_masc.html

PANAM 2nd Chance Tourney Results (Chile defeats USA)

The host team Chile defeated the USA last night 36-26 and is now in good shape to take first place in the round robin tournament.
Chile jumped to a quick 5-0 lead to start the match while a cold US team was held scoreless to the 8th minute when a goal was scored by right wing Gill Bozeman, courtesy of a fastbreak pass from Darrick Heath. The US could never get started on offense, while the Chile offense was too strong for the US through out the whole game. The halftime score was 17-11.

The US came out in the 2nd half cutting the lead to 3 goals at different times in the 2nd half, but with 13 minutes to go Chile pulled ahead by 9 goals and never looked back. The US Men never gave up and fought hard to the last minute.

In the last min a fastbreak by Chile was broken up by Gary Hines and Patrick Oliver. Gary Hines was given an immediate red card for running into the Chile player at 6 meters. The Chile player then pushed US Goalie Danny Caparelli while in the 6 meter zone. The Chile bench, followed by the US bench ran onto the court and play was halted for 6 minutes. Danny Caparelli, US coach Chris Cappelmann and 2 Chile players received red cards Calm, however, was restored, the game was finished and both teams shook hands after the game. According to USA Coach Chris Cappelmann, the match was physical and the Brazilian refs had trouble controlling play throughout.

Gary Hines led US scoring with 6 goals, Gill Bozeman had 5, while Alex McGlynn and Troy Steffen each had 3 goals.

Standings (W D L Points GF GA GD)
Chile 1 0 0 2pts 36 26 +10
USA 1 0 1 2pts 49 56 -7
Venezuela 0 0 0pts 20 23 -3

To win the tournament Chile needs to win their final match against Venezuela or lose by 6 goals or less. Venezuela can advance with a 7 goal victory. The USA has been eliminated from contention since they have finished play and their goal differential is locked in at -7 goals.

(Note: The article was written from an email provided by US Coach Chris Cappelmann and may be further revised following his review.)
Chile Federation Website: http://www.balonmano.cl/

The US Mens Team Handball National playing in the classification tournament for the final position at the 2007 Pan Am Games, beat the Venezuela National Team 23-20. It was the opening game in the 3 team tournament being held in Santiago Chile. The US Men were led by Danny Caparelli in goal (18 saves) and Gary Hines with 11 goals.

Venezuela took an early lead in the game, scoring some easy goals from the backcourt and with break through goals at 6 meters. The US defense, in particular, had problems with multiple backcourt crosses. The score at the half was 13-10 Venezuela.

In the 2nd half the US came out strong with Gary Hines scoring 3 in the first 5 min. Darrick Heath anchored the US defense and Danny Caparelli made several saves on fastbreaks and wing and circle shots.

With about 5 minutes to go and the US leading by 1 goal, Jeff Goss got his 3rd 2 minute penalty and the automatic red card. Venezuela was unable, however, to tie the score with the man advantage. Instead, the US extended their lead to two goals, courtesy of a Patrick Oliver circle shot. Oliver then stole a pass on the Venezuela throw in at half court and dribbled down and scored to insure the victory.

The US plays Chile at 6pm on Saturday night. If the US wins, they will clinch the tournament. A Chile win or draw, will put Chile in the driver's seat heading into the final match of the tournament against Venezuela

Standings (W D L Points GF GA GD)
USA 1 0 0 2pts 23 20 +3
Chile 0 0 0 0pts 0 0 0
Venezuela 0 0 0pts 20 23 -3

The Men's 2nd Chance qualification tournament for the PANAM Games starts tomorrow in Santiago, Chile. Chile, Venezuela and the USA will play a round robin tournament with the winner securing the 8th and final spot for the PANAM Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil later this summer.

Friday, 6 April, 1800 USA vs. Venezuela
Saturday, 7 April, 1800 USA vs. Chile
Sunday, 8 April, TBD Venezuela vs. Chile
(Listed start times are US East Coast.)

We will post game results as soon as they become available.

[b]Match Results[/b]
Thursday, 29 March Mexico 29 – USA 20
Friday, 30 March Chile 31 – USA 30
Saturday, 31 March Mexico 27 – Chile 24

[b]Final Standings (W T L Pts GF GA GD)[/b]
Mexico 2 0 0 4 56 44 +12
Chile 1 0 1 2 55 57 -2
USA 0 0 2 0 50 60 -10

Mexico Handball Site: http://www.balonmano.com.mx/

Mexico and Chile will play this afternoon to decide who will win the 2nd Chance tournament and secure the 8th and final spot for the Women’s Handball tournament at the PANAM Games. Mexico soundly defeated the USA, 29-20 on Thursday night, while Chile overcame an early deficit to pull out a 1 goal victory, 31-30. As both teams are level at 2 points each, the winner of the match will win the tournament. And in the event of draw match, Mexico will qualify due to an 8 goal lead in goal differential.

[b]Results[/b]
Thursday, 29 March Mexico 29 – USA 20
Friday, 30 March Chile 31 – USA 30

[b]Standings (W T L Pts GF GA GD)[/b]
Mexico 1 0 0 2 29 20 +9
Chile 1 0 0 2 31 30 +1
USA 0 0 2 0 50 60 -10

Sources
Mexico site (includes pictures):
http://www.balonmano.com.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=136&Itemid=2
Chile Forum site: http://foro.balonmano.cl/viewtopic.php?t=346

The Women's 2nd Chance qualification tournament for the PANAM Games starts this evening in Mexico City. Mexico, USA, and Chile will play a round robin tournament and the winner and the winner will secure the 8th and final spot for the PANAM Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil later this summer.

Thursday, 29 March, 1700 USA vs Mexico
Friday, 30 March, 1700 USA vs Chile
Saturday, 31 March, 1200 Mexico vs Chile
(Listed start times are local and Mexico City is 2 hours behind the US East Coast.)

This information was taken from the USA Women’s National Team Press Release: www.usateamhandballwomen.com and this Mexican Handball site: http://www.balonmano.com.mx/

US Women’s National Team Roster

Coach: Dawn Lewis
Assistant coach: Thomas Brond
Athletic Trainer Alissa Kordrupal

Back Courts
Megan Ballard
Edina Batar
Kathleen Darling
Tomuke Ebuwei-Holmes
Sarah Gascon

Left Wings
Tabitha Lowey
Sunny Chen

Right Wings
Melanie McCormick
Jennie Choi

Circle Runners
Anne Coulter
Jennifer Farrell

Goal Keepers
Jacquelyn Messel
Anca Stevens
Erika Bohn

The new Canadian Federation Website www.handballcanada.ca has brief summaries and several photos from the matches.

Dennis Berkholtz, the USA Men’s Team Leader, provided the report below:

Canada vs USA: Qualifier for the Pan American Games

January 4-7, 2007

Lake Placid, NY and Montreal, Canada

Canada Men defeated the U.S. Men’s National team in an exciting 3 game series last weekend in Lake Placid, NY and Montreal, Canada thus earning a place in the Pan American Games (PAG) in July in Brazil. The U.S. must now go to Chile the last weekend in March to play Chile, Venezuela and Puerto Rico for the final spot in the PAG.

Game one played in Lake Placid was a tight match all the way with Canada winning in the last minute 20-19. The U.S. men had a last chance to score on a long pass fast break opportunity but the pass was not completed as time expired. The team played well despite not having much time to prepare for the matches. Danny Caparelli was outstanding in the goal.

Game two was a U.S. victory 26-22. The U.S. controlled the tempo throughout the game and fought off a late rally by the Canadians. The highlight of the game was the stellar goal tending of backup keeper Matt Van Houten. Van Houten entered the game 3 times for starting keeper Danny Caparelli (3 two minute penalties and a resulting red card) and kept Canada at bay by blocking numerous shots, including an important penalty shot. Again the entire team played well led by Gary Hines and Troy Steffen who got the U.S. running game going.

Game three featured an admirable second half rally by the Canadians over a tired U.S. team. After trailing 8-10 at half, Canada rallied early in the second half and maintained control throughout the remainder of the game.

The matches featured a high level of play by both teams. Veteran U.S. players Caparelli and Van Houten were exceptional in the goal. Veterans Darrick Heath and Derek Brown provided a steady hand and converted timely scoring opportunities. Bobby Dunn provided great leadership and outstanding defensive play and Tom Fitzgerald again proved his importance as a team leader, 7 meter shooter and versatility as a field player.

Younger players played important roles as well. Gary Hines continues to play at world class levels and offers more to the team than just scoring goals. He is warrior who works hard on both offense and defense and whose tireless play inspires everyone. Troy Steffen gains experience every game and has had two outstanding tournaments in a row, the Pan American Men’s Championships in June 2006 and this match-up. He continues to show maturity on the court and will be an outstanding player for years to come. Patrick Oliver played an admirable back up role and has shown steady improvement. Alex McGlynn, after a shaky start defensively was outstanding for the last two games playing three different positions and scoring several important goals. Other players, Levi Henderson, Bill Bigham, Ryan Hansell and Michael Hinson all contributed. Ben Ewing, the 3rd keeper, was introduced to high level handball and has a chance to be a good keeper in the future. Chris Poole also got his introduction to international competition with some good minutes.

The coaches, Chris Cappelmann and Darrick Heath did an outstanding job of preparing the team prior to the competition. Despite not having much notice they had the team together in Atlanta, Ga. for 12 training sessions in mid December.

Darrick was asked to play first and coach second to provide on court leadership and strength on defense. He responded well on both fronts. Although he assisted on coaching decisions during the competition, the coaching leadership and responsibility was given to Coach Cap. Chris responded well and did a great job preparing the team for each game. His strength at evaluating game film and individual performance does not go unnoticed. Both Chris and Darrick will continue coaching the team in preparation for Chile and the Pan American Games.

Dennis Berkholtz
Team Leader/Assistant Coach
Co-Chair Men’s USA National Team
Vice President, North, Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF)

Canada 20 – USA 16

Team Canada won the 3rd and deciding match of the best of 3 series Sunday afternoon and has now directly qualified for the PANAM Games this summer in Brazil. Trailing 10-8 at halftime the Canadians opened the 2nd half with 4 unanswered goals to take the lead. Team USA apparently struggled in the 2nd half as they only scored 6 goals and could not respond to the Canadian comeback. The USA Men still have a chance to qualify for the PANAM Games, but will need to win the 2nd chance qualification tournament in Chile later this year.

Quebec Sportcom Article (in French): http://www.sportcom.qc.ca/news/2007/news20070107-03.html

Saturday, 6 January 2007
Men: Canada 21 – USA 25
Women: Canada 25 – USA 16

Saturday night’s games in Montreal saw a split between the USA and Canada. The Canadian Women easily defeated their USA counterparts and secured a direct qualification for this summer’s PANAM Games in Brazil. The USA Women must now hope to qualify in the 2nd chance tournament to be played later this year in Mexico.

The USA Men avenged last Thursday’s 1 goal loss in Lake Placid with a convincing 4 goal victory. The USA led throughout the match and at one time pushed the lead to 6 goals. Sebastien Fyfe, who led the Canadians with 6 goals, indicated that Team Canada wasn’t aggressive enough on defense and that 15 goals in one half was simply too much. With the series tied at 1-1, Game 3 this afternoon will decide who gets the direct bid and who will have to travel to Chile.

Quebec Sportcom Article (in French): http://www.sportcom.qc.ca/news/2007/news20070106-05.html

Men: USA 19 – Canada 20
Women: USA 22 – Canada 28

The Canadian Men’s and Women’s teams both came away with victories against the USA, Thursday night in Lake Placid, New York. The best of 3 competition will now shift to Montreal, where both USA teams will need a victory on Saturday to force a final deciding game on Sunday.

Quebec Sportcom Article (in French): http://www.handball-elite.com/nouvelle.aspx?270

Dennis Berkholtz, the VP for North America has written a report summarizing the results of the recent PATHF Congress:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=73440975&blogID=200075136&MyToken=472d47d1-22ff-43ff-8a20-d16ff383523a

Key Elements
– Chile (not Puerto Rico) will host the Men’s 2nd Chance tournament for PANAM Games qualification from 28 March to 1 April 2007
– Mexico will host the Women’s 2nd Chance tournament from 22-25 February 2007
– The Dominican Republic is scheduled to host Women’s Pan Am Championships from 16-22 April 2007

We are seeking more information and clarifications and will post additional information in the near future

The South American Games Handball Competition has concluded with host Argentina taking the Gold in both the Men’s and Women’s competitions. In the Women’s competition, Paraguay was the surprise of the competition, taking second and losing by only 1 goal in the final to their Argentine hosts. Paraguay had not even participated in the last two PanAm Championships and only managed 1 win in opening round robin play (including a 35-18 loss to Argentina). They, however, won when it counted, beating Uruguay in the semifinal to secure a direct bid to the PANAM Games in Brazil next summer. In the third place game, which served as qualification for the 2nd chance tournament, Chile surprised Uruguay to win its only match of the tournament. Uruguay, which had taken 3rd place in the past 2 PANAM Championships and was a PANAM representative at the 2005 World Championships will not be going to Rio.

In the Men’s competition, Argentina steamrolled through the competition winning all 5 of their matches by an average of 18 goals. Uruguay took 2nd place and the other direct qualification spot with a 27-22 victory over Chile in the semifinals. Chile blew out Paraguay 43-24 take 3rd place and will be the South American representative at the 2nd chance tournament.

Commentary: Congratulations to the Women's Team from Paraguay. It's great to see a team come from out of nowhere to qualify for the PANAM Games. It's also great that they had a chance to play their way in. These qualification tournaments are a good sign that the PATHF leaderships is learning from past mistakes. i.e. Canada's exclusion from the Men's Championships this past summer: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?extend.75

Schedule/Results: http://www.balonmanoargentina.org.ar/compinternac/odesur/principal.htm
Media Reports (in Spanish): http://www.balonmanoargentina.org.ar/compinternac/odesur/notasode.htm

[b]Current PANAM Games qualification status: [/b]

[b]Women[/b]
1) Brazil- Host
2) Cuba- 1st Central America/Caribbean
3) Dominican Republic- 2nd Central America/Caribbean
4) Puerto Rico- 3rd Central America/Caribbean
5) Argentina- 1st South America
6) Paraguay- 2nd South America
7) TBD- 1st North America (Canada vs US Winner)
8 TBD- 2nd Chance Tourney Winner

[b]2nd Chance Tourney Participants[/b]
– Mexico- 4th Central America/Caribbean (Host)
– El Salvador- 5th Central America/Caribbean
– Chile- 3rd South America
– TBD- Canada vs US Loser

[b]Men[/b]
1) Brazil- Host
2) Dominican Republic- 1st Central America/Caribbean
3) Cuba- 2nd Central America/Caribbean
4) Mexico- 3rd Central America/Caribbean
5) Argentina- 1st South America
6) Uruguay- 2nd South America
7) TBD- 1st North America (Canada vs US Winner)
8 TBD- 2nd Chance Tourney Winner

[b]2nd Chance Tourney Participants[/b]
– Puerto Rico- 4th Central America/Caribbean (Host)
– Honduras- 5th Central America/Caribbean
– Chile- 3rd South America
– TBD- Canada vs US Loser