Four Wolverines Claim Medals at Junior Pan American Championship
8/30/2021 1:44:00 PM | Field Hockey
SANTIAGO, Chile -- The University of Michigan field hockey team's four representatives at the Junior Pan American Championship all captured medals as Uruguay claimed silver and the United States took bronze on Saturday (Aug. 28) at the Prince of Wales Country Club. With their top-three finishes, both countries qualified for the prestigious Junior World Cup.
Sophomore Pilar Oliveros garnered silver with the Uruguayan team after falling to Canada, 1-0, on a late penalty-corner goal in the gold-medal final -- and helped her country qualify for the Junior World Cup for the first time.
Freshman Abby Tamer and seniors Kathryn Peterson and Sofia Southam claimed bronze after the United States' dramatic 2-1 shootout win over host Chile in the bronze match. Team USA fell behind early in the shootout but rallied to win with a stop then a goal in the fifth round. USA has won Junior Pan Am bronze twice before -- in 1998 and 2012 -- since the tournament's inception in 1988. It is the second time in a row that USA has qualified for the women's Junior World Cup.
The 2021 women's Junior World Cup is slated for December 5-16, in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Uruguay finished with a 1-1-2 record, while the U.S. posted a 3-1 mark -- with its lone loss coming to Uruguay, 1-0, in the semifinals.
Southam ranked among the event's scoring leaders with three goals, including the game-winner in Team USA's opening 2-1 win against Chile, while Tamer tallied a marker against Trinidad and Tobago.
All four Wolverines are slated to be back in action when U-M takes on in-state foe Central Michigan at 1 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 5) in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
