USA Tigers Lift Junior Westchester Cup
Visitors conquer the Flannels England Team in the final second as the international excitement began with The Junior Westchester Cup marking the beginning of The International weekend.
This precursor to The Westchester Cup saw eight young players from England and the USA come together to compete for the coveted trophy and international honours.
In front of a gathering of friends, families and international representatives from both nations, and as the first rain in 51 days began to fall, the two young teams began their international careers with a very fast first chukka.
The play was quick from the word go, with both teams vying for possession. Despite a goalless start, the competition was exceedingly fierce. Flannels England opened up the scoring with a field goal at the beginning of the second chukka, but the USA’s Lucas Escobar wasn’t far behind as he made it even stevens going into half-time.
The play at the beginning of the second half was extremely close, with Luke Wiles and Milly Hine continuously trying to move the ball from the crowded midfield into open play. Hope Arellano was having the game of her life and it was now that Bayne Bossum began to come into his own for the USA, constantly trying to pry the ball from the Flannels England sticks.
As the third chukka ended, the score remained at 1-1 with an extra chukka looking more and more likely. Cool as a cucumber, Hine secured a muchneeded goal for Flannels England as the fourth chukka began and with a missed penalty and a goal attempt flying wide from Escobar and Bossum, an England victory was in sight.
However, the USA team was out there to win and in the final three minutes of this exciting game, the Flannels England fortunes fell by the wayside. With 45 seconds on the clock, Bossum racked up a huge hit from midfield through the posts to make it 2-2 and in a truly frustrating moment for the Flannels
England supporters, the England team gave away a penalty 4 with mere seconds left on the clock. As the final second ticked away, Escobar made it 3-2 to the USA and with it, took home The Junior Westchester Cup.