COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – May 28, 2019 – The 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru will be here before we know it! The U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams know this all too well as competition heats up as fast as the summer weather, but with all that on the horizon, they have their eyes on Lima as one of the biggest key competitions for earning a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Appropriately, USA Field Hockey will be taking the forefront of USA’s upcoming representation in the Pan American Games under the slogan “All Eyes on Lima.”
What “All Eyes on Lima” Means for USA
The red, white and blue have historically done well at the continental championship with multiple medals between the USMNT and USWNT. While making the final podium is ideal, both teams are after the bigger prize of a trip to Tokyo next summer.
On the men’s side, Peru has been in sight since 2017. A missed opportunity to qualify last go around hit home especially to some veterans of the USMNT. After a bronze medal finish at the FIH Hockey World League Round 2 in Trinidad and Tobago, the squad mapped out what it would take to upgrade to gold in 2019. While the FIH Series Finals in Bhubaneswar, India is first to conquer on the schedule, USA knows the time is now to take another step forward and punch their ticket to an event they have not appeared in since 1996.
For the USWNT, “All Eyes on Lima” means competing from one big stage to the other as they transition from the FIH Pro League. It also means defending the gold medal for the second straight time as familiar opponents look to unseat USA in this latest edition of the Pan American Games, including FIH Pro League foe No. 4 Argentina. Finally, it means one more step towards returning to the Olympic stage, with the goal of finishing higher than their journey in Rio just three years ago. As such, competition has been stiff as the USWNT has shaped in to a much different looking squad than the one that traveled to the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. The youth-filled team has used the FIH Pro League and test series across the past few months to develop a stronger chemistry and new identity on the pitch, with Peru as the next big test.
#AllEyesOnLima on Social Media
As part of the lead up to the summer competition, USA Field Hockey encourages each and every member and field hockey fanatic to follow along using the hashtag #AllEyesOnLima. Each week will feature new stories surrounding the Pan American Games, competition, venue and Team USA as the summer event approaches.
