MEXICO CITY (October 13, 2008) - The USA Field Hockey Under-21 Women’s National Team defeated Chile, 2-1, after extra time in the finals of the Pan American Junior Championships in Mexico City. With the victory, the team qualifies for the 2009 BDO Junior World Cup, to be held in Boston, Massachusetts next August. The USA tore through the tournament undefeated, outscoring the competition 37-4 in five games.

The Pan American Junior Championship is the first for the United States since the inception of the Women’s tournament in 1988. Argentina had dominated every previous competition, winning all five tournaments, while the USA finished second three times.

The USA dominated Bermuda with a 21-0 victory in their opening contest. The American attack was even and unselfish as eleven different players scored, including four penalty corner goals from Katelyn Perrelle (Princeton LaGrangeville, NY).

A 7-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago followed, featuring a hat-trick from Paige Selenski (Virginia / Shavertown,PA).

The final round-robin contest paired the USA with a unexpectedly strong Chile team. The Chileans defense shut out the Americans in the first half, holding a 1-0 edge at halftime. Kelsey Kolojejchick (Wyoming Seminary / Larksville, PA) finally broke through and tied the game in the 54th minute. The draw gave the USA the top seed in Pool B headed into the crossover pairing.

The Americans defeated Pool A runner-ups Mexico, 6-1, in the semifinals. Mexico struck quickly with a goal in the first minute, but Melissa Gonzalez (Connecticut / Mohegan Lake, NY) knotted the game ten minutes later and team captain Katie O’Donnell rallied her team to victory with four goals.

Argentina, the defending champions, finished first in the Pool A standings, outscoring their competition 16-1. Another USA-Argentina final looked inevitable, but Argentina drew upstart Chile in the semifinals. The Chilean defense was solid again, stunting and frustrating a Argentina attack that dominated play but was unable to score. In a shocking result, Argentina, the only champion the tournament had ever known, was eliminated from the gold medal match by Chile, 3-1.

The final between the USA and Chile was tightly contested, with Chile scoring first. Melissa Gonzalez again leveled the game for the USA in the second half, as momentum and confidence shifed to the Americans. Camille Ghandi (Stanford/Stanford, CA) scored the game-winning goal off a penalty corner four minutes into extra time.

Under-21 Team Captain and Women’s National Team member Katie O’Donnell (Maryland/Blue Bell, PA) picked up the award for Tournament’s Top Scorer with eight goals.

All members of the Under-21 Women's National Team are currently participating in their own college and high school seasons. USA Field Hockey would like to thank the NCAA and the participating schools for allowing the athletes to participate in this important international tournament during the college and high school field hockey season.