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JUNE 2023 33 cavalier profile Left To Right: MIA ABELLO, JANS CROON, MADISON ORSI AND DANIELA MENDEZ-TRENDLER Field Hockey In April, rising third-year Jans Croon, rising second-years Madison Orsi and Daniela Mendez-Trendler, and incoming first-year Mia Abello helped the U.S. U-21 Junior National Field Hockey Team win gold at the Junior Pan American Championships. Their results also qualified the team to compete in the 2023 Junior World Cup being held in Santiago, Chile, from Nov. 29 to Dec. 10. "Playing and representing Team USA is an insane opportunity that we all got to experience and it was even better when we won the gold for our country," Orsi said. "It was one of the best feelings in the world as we stood under the sun on top of the podium. Not just win- ning was amazing but meeting other teams and learning from their techniques was so beneficial which was one of my favorite parts. Although this moment was incredible, we are looking to bring more wins home at the World Cup in December!" The event, which was being held on the island of Barbados, got off to a rocky start for Team USA when it suffered a 2-0 loss against international powerhouse Argentina in the opening match of pool play. The Americans rebounded with a 4-1 win against Uruguay, with Mendez-Trendler scoring in the 22nd minute to put them ahead 2-0. Team USA then downed Chile in a shootout in the semifinals. The win against Chile set up a rematch in the final against Ar- gentina, a team that had won seven of the nine previous Junior Pan American titles. The two teams ended regulation tied 1-1, sending it into a shoot- out to determine the gold. The Americans went 4 of 4 in the shootout to win 4-1 and earn the gold. "After losing to Argentina 2-0 in our opening match together as a team, we refocused on our goals and beat Uruguay to qualify for the World Cup," Croon said. "We knew there was a big chance we would face Argentina again later in the tournament, which ended up hap- pening in the finals. Having a rematch against Argentina gave us the opportunity to show the improvements we made as a team at the tournament, and we did exactly that. Ultimately our goal is to come out on top at the World Cup, but this was a great first step to see the potential we have as a team." — Melissa Dudek • Photo courtesy UVA Athletics