Irvine, CA - April 2 - The U.S. Women's Youth National Team opened play at the 2023 Pan American Aquatics U17 Championships with a pair of impressive wins in Bauru, Brazil! Team USA is back in action tomorrow, April 3 vs. Canada at 8:00am et/5:00am pt.

The United States began the day with a dominant 22-1 victory over Argentina. Natalia Szczerba led the offense in the opener with four goals on the contest as Amber Nowaczek recorded a hat trick of her own and Orli Cooper notched four saves in net.

The USA Women started strong and never looked back, scoring five goals to Argentina's zero in the first quarter. The Americans kept it going in the second, recording seven scores while Argentina found their lone goal of the game. In the third period, Team USA got rid of any remaining suspense with eight more goals before adding two in the final frame while holding Argentina without another score.

USA 22 (5, 7, 8, 2) N. Szczerba 4, A. Nowaczek 3, K. O'Dea 2, C. Raisin 2, A. DePrez 2, S. Umeda 2, C. Minton 2, R. Hassett 2, L. Halland-Ford 1, R. Chalupnik 1, K. Pantaleon 1
ARG (0, 1, 0, 0)
Penalties: USA 2/2
6-on-5: USA 3/5
Saves: USA 6 (O. Cooper 4, K. Glad 2)

In their second game of the day, the USA Women soundly defeated Mexico, 23-0. Kirra Pantaleon had a game-high five goals while Sydney Lowell and Ryan Chalupnik each recorded four scores. Cooper tallied another four saves in the cage.

Team USA jumped all over Mexico from the opening sprint and led 5-0 after one. In the second quarter, the Americans added six more goals to lead 11-0 at halftime as Mexico sat 0/9 from the field. The second half was more of the same for the United States, who scored twelve times in the half to cruise to victory. Mexico finished 0/14 on shot attempts to emphasize a fantastic U.S. defensive effort.

USA 23 (5, 6, 8, 4) K. Pantaleon 5, S. Lowell 4, R. Chalupnik 4, C. Raisin 3, A. Nowaczek 3, S. Umeda 2, C. Minton 1, N. Szczerba 1
MEX (0, 0, 0, 0)
Penalties: USA 5/7
6-on-5: USA 4/7
Saves: USA 5 (O. Cooper 4, K. Glad 1)