USMNT Drops Second Match of PAC to Higher Ranked Argentina
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MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – It was a defensive test for the No. 25 U.S. Men’s National Team when they took on higher ranked No. 7 Argentina in their second pool game of the 2025 Pan American Cups in Montevideo, Uruguay. Los Leones converted three penalty corner goals to take a 3-0 win.
Argentina came out quick and produced two shots in the opening seconds. They earned their first penalty corner in the 11th minute which was defended away by Jonathan Klages, who had a record number of saves throughout the game.
In the 22nd minute, Jonathan Klages displayed his quick reactions – making back-to-back saves before Ajai Dhadwal cleared it off the post.
Argentina got on the board in the 24th minute when Maico Casella converted off a penalty corner.
USA continued to display collective defense. Absorbing and denying many changes and even getting first runner stops on set pieces from Jack Heldens and Christian DeAngelis and a defensive save from Ajai Dhadwal. Jonathan Klages continued to prove to be a wall in the goal, making saves with his feet and hands.
USA produced a few good looks in the game, and most promising were shots from Pat Harris and Marius Leser.
Key Moments:
- 1’ Within the first 35 seconds, Argentina recorded two shots
- 7’ Argentina had a low angle shot off the left baseline that was stopped out of the air by Jonathan Klages
- 11’ USA with their first circle entry but Wyatt Katz was well-defended
- 11’ Argentina earned their first penalty corner. Jonathan Klages stopped the first shot, followed up with a glove save and then Aki Kaeppeler defended away the third attempt
- 18’ USA produced a shot through Pat Harris on their second entry
- 22’ Jonathan Klages made back-to-back saves on an Argentina set piece
- 23’ Down a player following a green card to Sekayi Charasika, Jonathan Klages denied it with a stick save
- 24’ Following consecutive set pieces, Argentina converted to take the lead through Maico Casella
- 30’ Great front running by Jack Heldens denied two Argentina penalty corners to keep the score at 0-1
- 33’ Marius Leser with an upright reverse shot
- 35’ Argentina almost doubled their lead when quick passing led to a wide open goal, but it skirted the goal line and exited just after the post
- 37’ On Argentina’s ninth set piece, flyer Christian DeAngelis denied the shot
- 39’ Argentina extended their lead on their 12th penalty corner through Nicolas della Torre
- 50’ USA got in their circle, but the buildup unfortunately hit a foot
- 53’ Jonathan Klages with diving stick save
- 54’ Argentina’s Maico Casella made it 0-3 by putting a drag flick into the net
- 55’ USA defended three penalty corners in a row – first with Ajai Dhadwal making a defensive save off the post, next the attempt went wide and lastly front runner Christian DeAngelis
Noteworthy:
- Jonathan Klages had 24 saves
- Argentina out shot USA, 30 to 2
- Argentina had 17 penalty corners in the contest
- USA has never beat Argentina in their 17 meetings
- The last time USA scored (2-5) on Argentina was during a 2015 test series hosted at Harvard University
Thoughts from Head Coach Allan Law: "Today was a great opportunity to assess where we are in our development, learn, and reinforce key aspects of our game and behaviors. We’ll reflect, recover well, and shift our attention to Brazil on Tuesday."
Next Up: The USMNT will play their final pool game of the 2025 Pan American Cup on Tuesday, July 29 against No. 33 Brazil at 10:30 a.m. ET. All games can be streamed on Watch.Hockey (PPV).
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