Action from the first half of CHI-USA

Last night’s match between Chile and the USA started out as a competitive back and forth affair with the two teams trading goals.  With 8 minutes remaining in the first half the score was knotted up 10-10.  Unfortunately for Team USA, though, Chile went on a 7-1 run to finish the half up 17-11.  And, the scoring drought continued with the U.S. managing only 1 goal in the entire 2^nd half for a lopsided final result of 38-12.

Injuries played a big role in the lack of offensive production.  Starting left back, Amar Amitovic, was effective in the early going, but sprained an ankle and did not return.  Paul Skorupa moved from circle runner to backcour to take his place, but is battling a thumb injury.  Defensive specialist Matt Reedy also saw limited action due to a hip contusion.

After the match I had a short Facebook chat with Coach Craig Rot and he was hopeful that all 3 would return for today’s match against Paraguay.  He was also upbeat despite the loss, saying in part,

“I am so proud of my guys. We showed what we are capable of doing. Despite losing three starters, we went goal for goal for 23 minutes against five of the six starters from Chile’s junior bronze medal winners. Twelve of my players were playing in their first international game, and we were rewriting our game plans after five minutes because of injuries. So much to build on. So much to be excited about despite the final score. We are anything but done.”

A trip to the semifinals now would appear to be unlikely, but the USA can still set its sights on 5^th place and qualification for the World Championships.  In order to play for 5^th, the U.S. will need to finish 3^rd or 4^th in its Group.  Today’s match vs Paraguay, will be the first step in that task.  Paraguay, won its first match yesterday, 35-32 vs Costa Rica and the U.S. will surely want to avoid going into a 0-2 hole.

Match time is 1800 Local and 1700 EDST.  The match will be live streamed by DiversaTV: Link

On Demand Video of USA vs Chile: Link

Standings and Results: Link

Rene Ingram, the top goalie at the Panamerican Jrs Championships, will be back in the goal tonight for Team USA at the Panamerican Youth Championships.

The USA Youth (U19) Team opens play today with what is likely to be a pivotal match vs hosts Chile.  Pivotal, because Chile and the U.S., on paper, appear to be the 2 teams in Group B with the best chance to finish in 2^nd place behind regional power, Brazil.  And a 2^nd place finish in group play will result in a spot in the tournament semifinals and qualification for the World Junior Championships later this summer in Georgia.

The U.S. roster is a mix of dual citizens who learned to play the sport in Europe and U.S. based players.  The dual citizen contingent features 5 Germans, 1 Swede, 1 Dane and 1 Bosnian while the U.S. contingent consists of 5 athletes from Craig Rot’s Chicago area program, 1 athlete from San Francisco and 1 athlete from Texas A&M.  Sure to play a big role our 3 holdovers from the recent Junior (U21) Championship.  Rene Ingram will be back in goal and back on the will be Amar Amitovic and Paul Skorupa.  All 3 will surely be keen on avenging the bronze medal loss to Chile.

Tonight’s game is at 2030 (Local) and 1930 (EDST).  A live stream should be available for viewing here:  Link

Competition website: Link

NORCA Champions, Puerto Rico (Center), Runners up, USA (Left) and 3rd place, the Dominican Republic (Right)

The U.S. came up short in its quest for gold last night losing to Puerto Rico 28-27.  Puerto Rico and the U.S. traded goals to start the game and the score was tied midway through the first half at 7-7.  Puerto Rico then secured a 2 goal lead and would never relinquish the lead the remainder of the game.  At the half they led 16-14 and they further stretched the lead to 26-20 with 10 minutes left in the game.  The U.S. then staged a comeback reminiscent of their first match, outscoring Puerto Rico 8-1, coming up just short in the end.

Team USA was led in scoring by veterans Kathy Darling with 7 and Sarah Gascon with 6.  Nicole Anderson added 4 while Ashley Butler and Jence Rhoads had 3 each.  Rounding out the scoring was Julia Taylor with 2 and Ashley VanRy and Zoe Lombard with 1 a piece.

Overall, it was a pretty successful tournament for the U.S. with 4 solid wins and 1 loss to hosts Puerto Rico in the Final.  This is particularly true, when one considers that without a full complement of athletes training at Auburn, roughly half the team hasn’t been able to scrimmage, let alone play regular competitive matches for the past 2 years.  While the competition in NORCA isn’t very strong this still is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the determination of the athletes who made significant financial and personal sacrifices just to attend the tournament.

The U.S., along with Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic (3^rd place winners over Greenland) have also qualified for the Pan American Championships which will take place this June in Argentina.  Brazil, Argentina and Cuba will be strong favorites to finish in the top 3 and secure qualification for the World Championship, but the USA will be among several teams that will be looking to earn the fourth semifinal spot.

On Demand Video: Link

Team USA celebrates a hard fought win over Greenland and qualification for the Panamerican Championships.

Team USA held off Greenland 20-18 to earn qualification to the Panamerican Championships later this summer in Argentina.  Tonight they will play hosts Puerto Rico, winners over the Dominican Republic, 32-23, in the gold medal match at 1930 EDST.  Greenland will play the Dominican Republic at 1730 for bronze and the last ticket to the Panamerican championships.

The match between the U.S. and Greenland was tightly contested throughout with neither team leading by more than a couple goals throughout.  The U.S. led 10-9 at the half, but Greenland mounting a comeback in the 2^nd half to take the lead.  The U.S. fought back with Ashley VanRyn aggressive play on offense to tie the game at 18-18.  At which point the U.S. clamped down on defense to close out the game 20-18.

Video (2^nd half): Link (Courtesy of Greenland supporter, Boad Moller)

USA Post Game Celebration (USATH Facebook Page): Link

Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on 360 Deportes starting at 1930 EDST:  Link

Julia Taylor on attack vs the Dominican Republic

The U.S. closed out group play with an easy 26-13 victory over the previously unbeaten Dominican Republic.  Unlike its first two matches, Team USA, left no doubt as to who was the better team as it dominated the match from start to finish. Particularly encouraging was a stifling defense that limited the Dominicans to just 13 goals in 60 minutes.

Team USA was led in scoring by newcomer, Ashley Butler, with 7 goals. Kathy Darling had 4 goals, while Ashley VanRyn, Elizabeth Hartnett and Jence Rhoads had 3 a piece.  Rounding out the scoring were Jennifer Fithian with 2 and Nicole Andersen, Julia Taylor and Shani Levinkind with 1 each.

Note:  Nicole Andersen injured her knee in the first half and her status for tonight’s game is unknown.  Zoe Lombard has been cleared to play.

The U.S. will now play Greenland in the first semifinal tonight at 1730 EDST.  According to the U.S. Federation website a livestream of the match will be provided by Greenland supporter Boas Moller at his Facebook page: Link

The second semifinal will be between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic at 1930 EDST.

Analysis

Ashley Butler, left handed and just 19, has been a welcome addition to the U.S. providing a much needed scoring threat from the right hand side of the court.   She has dual German-American citizenship and has been playing since age 10.  She currently plays for HSG Hude Falkenberg in the Nordsee Oberliga (Germany’s 4^th Division).  At 5’4”, she might be a bit undersized at back court, but against NORCA level competition she more than compensates that shortcoming with quickness and good court sense.  Against stiffer competition she may struggle to score at 9 meters and so could be a better fit at right wing.  As a lefty with good quickness she could progress through the club ranks at the right wing position and could be a mainstay with the U.S. national team for many years to come.

Regarding the upcoming semifinal, the U.S. can take comfort in making it through group play undefeated and finishing group play with a resounding, dominating win.  But, hopefully, it’s a reserved confidence as Greenland showed that it could compete with the U.S.  Key to the U.S., as usual, will be controlling the pace of play and avoiding turnovers.  In a helter skelter match anything can happen, but in a methodical game where the U.S. can set up their half court defense, they can dominate and control the match.

Ashley Butler leaps high as she scores 1 of her 4 goals for Team USA

Team USA stayed unbeaten in North American & Caribbean Championships (NORCA) play with a hard fought 25-23 win over Greenland yesterday.  The match was a see-saw battle.  The U.S. dominated the first half and led 14-10 at the break.  In the 2^nd half Greenland dominated the first 10 minutes of play with a 9-2 run to take a 19-16 lead.  The U.S., however, clamped down on defense at times marking Greenland’s Anja Salso.  The stepped up defense worked and the U.S. closed out the game with a 9-4 run for the 25-23 victory.

Kathy Darling again led the U.S. with 7 goals and currently is the overall tourney scoring leader with 14.  Ashley Butler and Sarah Gascon added 4, while Ashley Van Ryn and Jence Rhoads scored 3 each.  Rounding out the scoring was Julia Taylor with 2 and Elizabeth Hartnett and Shani Levinkind with 1 each.   Zoe Lombard and Nicole Andersen did not play as a precaution to concussion that each had previously received, but thet will hopefully return to the lineup tonight.

In last night’s other matchup Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic played to a 23 – 23 Draw. The current standings are

• USA 2-0-0 4 pts +4 GD
• Dominican Republic 1-0-1 3 pts +3 GD
• Puerto Rico 0-1-1 1 Pt -2 GD
• Greenland 0-2-0 0 pts -5 GD

The U.S. concludes Group play today with a match against the Dominican Republic.  The Dominican Republic beat Greenland on day 1 and drew with Puerto Rico yesterday, so they are right behind the U.S. in the standings.  If the U.S. wins or draws vs the Dominican Republic it will finish Group Play in first place and will play the fourth place team in the semifinals which will be the loser of tonight’s Greenland-Puerto Rico matchup.  Should the U.S. lose tonight they will finish in second place and accordingly will play the winner of the Greenland – Puerto Rico match.

Video of the match is available via Greenland supporter Boas Muller’s Facebook Page:

1^st Half Video: Link

2^nd Half Video: Link

The U.S. – Dominican Republic match starts at 1730 EDST.  If there is a live video feed I will post it to the Team Handball News Facebook page.

Jennifer Fithian wraps up a Puerto Rican attacker. Also in the picture, Nicole Andersen (99) and Shani Levinkind (23)

Team USA opened the North American & Caribbean (NORCA) Championships yesterday with a big come from behind 28-26 victory over hosts Puerto Rico.  The match did not start out well for the U.S. with Puerto Rico taking advantage of several U.S. miscues on offense to surge to a 17-11 lead at the half.

The second half, however, was an entirely different story as the U.S. started the half with 2 quick scores from backcourt player Nicole Andersen.  This triggered a 9-2 scoring blitz and a 20-19 lead for the U.S.  The U.S. then extended their lead to 24-21.  Puerto Rico fought back to tie the score 24-24, but the comeback was squashed when veteran Sarah Gascon stopped a fast break with a timely charging call and followed it up immediately on offense with a forced 7 meter penalty shot.

Kathy Darling led the U.S. scoring attack with 7 goals and Nicole Andersen added 6.  Zoe Lombard, Jence Rhoads and Amy Butler had 3 a piece.  Rounding out the scoring was Julia Taylor, Sarah Gascon and Shani Levinkind with 2 each.  Nathalys Ceballo led Puerto Rico with 7 goals.

The U.S. continues with Group play matches tonight against Greenland and Saturday vs the Dominican Republic.  There are 4 teams in the tournament and all 4 teams will advance to the semifinals on Sunday with the 1^st place team playing the 4^th place team and the 2^nd place team playing the 3^rd place team.  On Monday the semifinal winners will play for gold while the semifinal loser will play for bronze.  More importantly the 3^rd place match will also be a qualification match for the Pan American Championships later this summer with the winner advancing and the loser staying home.

On Demand Video of Match: Link

Note:  Except for the finals (gold and bronze medal matches) only matches with hosts, Puerto Rico will be streamed.  This means that the U.S. matches between Greenland and the Dominican Republic will not be available for viewing and that the U.S. semifinal match on Sunday will be streamed only if the U.S. plays Puerto Rico.  The Final match on Monday should be available regardless of who the U.S. plays.

Analysis:  The U.S. and Puerto Rico have significantly contrasting styles.  Puerto Rico is a smaller, quicker team that excels when the pace of the game is fast with lots of transition fast breaks.  The USA is taller and has consistently shown that they can play solid defense in a half court setting.  Where the U.S. has often struggled, however, is with inconsistent backcourt play on offense leading to limited offensive output and too many turnovers.

In the first half the pace of play definitely favored Puerto Rico.  With too many turnovers by the U.S. leading to fast break opportunities.  In the second half, however, the backcourt tandem of Kathy Darling and Nicole Andersen started to click more effectively resulting in more consistent scoring and fewer turnovers.  With fewer fast break opportunities Puerto Rico was forced to score in a set offense where they were stifled by the U.S. defense which was further backed up by strong play by goalie Bryana Newbern.

This was a promising win for the U.S. which now has two more group play matches to further integrate newcomers based in Europe into a core group of veterans that has played together longer.

The pivotal moment of the game: USA’s leading scorer, Sam Hoddersen is red carded for this defensive play

In a 3rd place match that would also determine qualification to the Jr World Championships the USA came up short 23-18 vs Chile. Chile led throughout the match, and the USA mounted several comebacks in the 2nd half cutting the lead to 1 on a couple of occasions, but could never get over the hump. With 8 minutes left and the score 17-16, Chile closed out the game with a 6-2 run for the eventual 23-18 victory.

Abou Fofana led the U.S. in scoring with 7 goals. Antoine Baup, Alexander Binderis and Sebastian Wheeler had 3 each and Sam Hoddersen had 2 goals. Chile was led by Aaron Codina with 8. Fofana had several nice jump shots at 9 meters and Antoine Baup’s circle play was outstanding causing several penalty shot opportunities and 2 minute penalties.

The key play of the match without a doubt was Sam Hoddersen’s defensive foul on Chile’s right wing Enzo Toro with 6:05 remaining in the first half. The play resulted in a red card and Hodderesen’s exclusion from play for the rest of the match. As is often the case with defense against the wing it was a bang-bang play that in real time looked pretty innocuous. As Toro writhed in pain on the court Hoddersen pleaded his case to no avail.

Video: Link (foul occurs at 29:07 on Youtube clock)

Further compounding my suspicion was a red card exclusion of Chile’s Ignacio Porta just a few minutes earlier. Porta had fouled USA Circle Runner, Antoine Baup, and had received his 2nd two minute suspension of the game. Porta then apparently mouthed off to the ref, receiving yet another two minute penalty and as it was his 3rd of the game he was then red carded. Could the red card on Hoddersen been a way of evening the scores? I speculated on this and other aspects of the decision in my live audio commentary.

After the match, however, I consulted 2 experienced officials and both concluded independently that the red card decision was justified. The video of the foul is not the best angle, but multiple reviews as well as screen shots confirm that Hoddersen bent his knees inward and cut off the player’s jump. The still shot while grainy clearly shows Toro’s takeoff as behind Hoddersen’s legs. Did Toro dramatize the foul a bit and the extent of his injury? That’s quite possible, but in the end it doesn’t matter. The foul was for contact while a defenseless player is jumping and such a foul is grounds for a red card.

The impact of the Hoddersen red card was dramatic. Indeed, Hoddersen had scored 17 goals against Chile in the first match which the U.S. won 31-24. More importantly, Hoddersen had been Team USA’s most consistent player on offense and without his involvement on attack, the U.S. was more prone to turnovers. Repeatedly, I saw instances where his steady hand might very well have resulted in an eventual goal instead of a turnover.

While disappointing this Jr Team will have an opportunity for redemption next month when they take part in the IHF Continental Cup against Colombia, Guatemala and Martinique. Additionally, 5 of the athletes, Paul Skorupa, Sebastian Wheeler, Amar Amitovic, Nik Zarikos and Rene Ingram are young enough to participate in the Youth (U19) Championships which will take place in Chile also this April.

Video (1st half): Link

Video (2nd half): Link

Note:  Brazil won the gold medal match with a 31-23 victory over Argentina.  For more information on the tournament check the PHF website: Link

Team USA on defense vs Chile

Team USA secured a 2^nd place finish in Group B with a convincing 34-21 victory over Chile.  The match started out evenly and was tied at 8-8 midway through the first half.  The U.S. then pulled away for a 14-9 halftime lead.  In the 2^nd half, Argentina cut the lead to 15-18 at one point, but the U.S. ran off 4 unanswered goals and never looked back closing out the game with 34-21 win.

Leading the U.S. in scoring  Sam Hoddersen, with 17 goals.  Chile had no answer for Hoddersen, who plays for German 3^rd Division side, HSG Rodgau Neider-Roden, as he scored on fast breaks and multiple positions on the court.

Video of USA-CHI: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The U.S. is now finished with Group play and has a rest day prior to a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday  Barring a Chile win over heavily favored Brazil, the U.S. will finish 2^nd in Group B.

In Group A action, Argentina beat hosts Paraguay, 33-23 while Uruguay held off the Dominican Republic, 41-38.  Argentina is likely to finish first in the Group while Paraguay is likely to finish 2^nd.  Uruguay would then finish 3^rd unless the Dominican Republic beats Paraguay in today’s final match.

After last night’s action, the group standings are

Group A
Argentina 2-0-0 4 points  +35 GD
Paraguay 1-1-0 2 points -2 GD
Uruguay 1-1-0 0 2 points -5 GD
Dominican Republic 0-2-0 0 points -28 GD

Group B
Brazil 1-0-0 2 points +28 GD
USA 1-1-0 2 points -21 GD
Chile 0-1-0 0 points -7 GD
Probable Schedule for Team USA

After a rest day on Wednesday, the U.S. will likely play Uruguay on Thursday in the quarterfinal.  With a win over Uruguay, the U.S. would then play Argentina in the Semifinals on Friday.  A win against Argentina would setup a likely rematch vs Brazil in the championship, while a loss would likely have the U.S. play the winner of the Paraguay-Chile quarterfinal match for 3^rd place and the final ticket to the Jr World Championships.

Opening Ceremonies in Asuncion, Paraguay

Yesterday, the Panamerican Handball Federation (PHF) Jr Men’s Championships started with Brazil and Argentina scoring big victories in the opening round of Group play.  Argentina defeated the Dominican Republic 44-19 and Brazil beat the U.S., 52-24.  In the more closely contested 3^rd match of the day hosts Paraguay beat Uruguay, 30-22.

After last night’s action, the group standings are

Group A
Argentina 1-0-0 2 points  +25 GD
Paraguay 1-0-0 2 points + 8 GD
Uruguay 0-1-0 0 point -8 GD
Dominican Republic 0-1-0 – 25 GD

Group B
Brazil 1-0-0 2 points +28 GD
Chile 0-0-0 0 points +0 GD
USA 0-1-0 points -28 GD

PHF Jr Championships webpage: Link

Today’s matches in Group A has yesterday’s winners and losers playing each other.  Argentina will be solid favorites over Paraguay, while Uruguay and the Dominican Republic will likely play each other for the 3^rd place spot in the Group.

Group B will see favorites Brazil take a day off while Chile in the USA play in a match that will likely determine 2^nd place for the group.  That match will be played at 1730 Local Time (1630 US East Coast Time).

Live Streaming Video: Link

Brazil vs USA

The U.S. played Brazil competitively in the first half and was only down 23-14 at the break.  The 2^nd half was a different story as the U.S. tried a lot of different player combinations and was overwhelmed by Brazil’s deep bench.  The end result was 52-24.

Despite the big setback, USA Coach Mark Ortega, had an overall positive outlook on the opening match, noting that the team played hard for a full 60 minutes and has not yet had a full practice together.  2 starters for team USA only arrived the day of the match and surely were still working off some of the jet lag travel from a long journey.  He also singled out the play of goalkeeper Rene Ingram who had 8 defensive stops in the first half.  Coach Ortega is confident that his team will keep improving, particularly at the offensive end as they gain experience playing together.

Video of the match:  Link

USA Scoring
Sam Hoddersen, 6 Goals
Antoine Baup, 5 Goals
Abou Fofana, 4 Goals
Cedric Kolmann, 3 Goals
Paul Skoruba, 3 Goals
Sebastian Wheeler, 1 Goal
Michael Lee, 1 Goal
Amar Amitovic, 1 Goal

Looks like this nifty logo needs to be updated.

Qualification for the Pan American Championships just got a little easier for Team USA and other competitors participating in the North American and Caribbean (NorCa) Championships in March.  This is because, according to the Mundo Handball website Mexico is reportedly dropping out of the tournament leaving only four nations (Puerto Rico, USA, Greenland and the Dominican Republic) competing for three qualification spots.

Mundo Handball did not give a reason for Mexico’s withdrawal, but did speculate that some falling dominoes may result in Mexico qualifying for final tournament anyway as a sort of wild card.  This is because Cuba, which has already qualified for the final tournament by virtue of their 2^nd place finish in 2015 may choose not to participate.  Mexico, which finished 8^th in 2015 could then be in line to take Cuba’s spot assuming that places 1^st through 7^th have already qualified.

The NorCa is scheduled for March 30 – April 3 in Puerto Rico.  The four teams will play a round robin and then will be seeded for semifinals and finals.  The top 3 teams will qualify for the Pan American Championships which will take place in Toronto from 16 – 25 June.  The top 3 teams at that tournament will then qualify for the World Championships in Germany from 1 – 17 December

NorCa Tournament Schedule: Link