Argentina hammer Uruguay 29-0..

Schedule for Thursday August 15:
9h00 (cross-over 5-8): 3A Mexico vs. 4B Brazil
11h30 (cross-over 5-8): 3B Chile vs. 4A Uruguay
17h00 (semi-final): 1A Argentina vs. 2B Trinidad & Tobago
19h30 (semi-final): 1B Canada vs. 2A USA

Argentina continued their march forward with another relax win against Uruguay (29-0); they will be joined in semi-finals by the USA, who had to battle until the last minute to edge out an exciting young Mexican team (3-2).

Match 11 - Argentina vs. Uruguay 29-0 (half-time: 13-0)

If there was any doubt in the result of this match, the suspense did not last long: top scorer of the competition Facundo Callioni increased his personal tally to 6 goals in the 2nd minute of play with a bouncing ball that baffled Jose Lasa in the Uruguayan goal.

Gonzalo Peillat added a penalty corner a few minutes later, Agustin Mazzilli inherited a ball in front t of the keeper with no defender in sight for the 3rd goal, and the Argentinean had a commanding lead after 7 minute and without even breaking a sweat.

With 10 minutes to go in the period, Argentina were up 10-0 and not showing any sign of slowing down their scoring spree. Uruguay could only manage some sporadic raids forwards and Juan Vivaldi was having a quiet afternoon in the Argentinean goal. Half-time was reached with a hefty lead for Argentina (13-0).

Even if there was logically a deep difference between the two teams (one ranked 10th in the world and the other ranked 47th), the crowd was treated to a spectacular display of individual and collective skills by the Argentineans, who cruised to a 29-0 win, very close to their record of 30-0 against the Dominican Republic during the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.

For more information and pictures of ARG vs. URU, click here.

Match 10 - Mexico vs. USA: 2-3 (half-time: 1-1)

Both teams arrived into this match with one win and a loss, and therefore still with the possibility of making the semi-finals with a win in this last pool match. However, Mexico lost heftily to Argentina (2-13) and a draw would favour the USA.

Match was balanced to start, the American attackers facing a well-organized and disciplined Mexican defense. The USA could not capitalize on their first penalty-corner, shot just wide, and Mexico were also unsuccessful at the other end after a swift counter-attack. The young Mexicans became progressively more entrepreneurial and stunned the Americans in the 17th minute with a goal by Francisco Aguilar after good pressure on the American defense.

The USA tried to build opportunities patiently but generated few shots on goal, with their best chance a strong shot by Pat Harris from close range well handled by Moisés Vargas in the Mexican goal. Harris was however on target in the 33rd minute with a diving deflection to tie the score going into the half-time break (1-1).

Mexico knew that they needed to score and immediately set to the task, forcing a penalty-corner in the 39th minute. Aguilar was impeded illegally while shooting and converted himself the resulting penalty-stroke to give back a narrow one-goal lead to Mexico. The USA thought that they had once again closed the gap in the 48th minute but the goal was denied and the subsequent penalty-corner shot wide.

 The USA played with more and more urgency, but the Mexicans managed to keep their compact defensive structure for a while. There was however only so much pressure they could sustain and Pat Harris scored a superb goal, his 2nd of the match, to bring back the score level with 10 minutes to go. The end of match was exciting, with the Mexicans pushing desperately for a third goal and Francisco Aguilar creating havoc in the American defense, but they had to play short the final minutes of the match after a yellow card to one of their defenders, and Pat Harris completed his hat-trick in the final minute of play with a phenomenal penalty-corner that shaved the crossbar.

With the win, the USA move on to the semi-final and will have to wait until later today to know their opponent.