Two AU Field Hockey Players Compete in the Junior PanAm Games

April 11, 2005

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - AU sophomore Camila Infante (Santiago, Chile/Santiago College) and her sister, freshman Denise Infante (Santiago, Chile/Santiago College), recently returned from playing in the 2005 Junior PanAm Games, where they helped lead Chile to its first medal in team history.

The games, which were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, ran from March 16-27 and included the United States, Argentina, Chile, Canada, Uruguay, Mexico, Barbados and Puerto Rico, among others. The Infantes helped Chile to a 4-1 overall record and a third place finish, the first time in team history that Chile has earned a medal in the junior or senior PanAm Games.

Camila started all seven games for Chile, scoring eight goals, which was sixth among all the players. The AU sophomore played center-forward, scoring two goals against Jamaica before registering a five-goal outburst against the Dominican Republic. Camila's most important goal of the tournament came in the bronze medal round when she tallied the game-winner that gave Chile the 2-1 victory over Canada. Denise competed at forward for Chile, where she registered a goal and an assist in the tournament.

"I'm proud and happy to win the bronze medal," said Camila Infante. "Our goal was to come in second place which meant we had to beat the U.S. We knew we could do it because we had beaten them before but in the semi-final, they were better. We showed we were a good team though because we didn't give up after the loss. We had to come back and play the Canadians and I feel like we wanted it more than them."

"I felt like I did a good job on the field, I had a lot of confidence and was happy to score some goals, especially the game-winner against Canada," said Camila Infante. "That was the only one that counted for me." Argentina took home the gold, with the U.S. winning the silver. The top-three teams qualify for the 2005 Junior World Cup, which will be held in Santiago, Chile during September of this year. Canada also earned an invite as the fourth placed team because Chile earned an automatic bid due to being the host country. Complete results for the 2005 Junior PanAms can be found at http://www.panamhockey.org/eng/index.htm (.)
As the Patriot League's Offensive Player of the Year, Camila earned Second Team All-American honors after leading the team in points and assists. Infante finished the year with 14 goals and nine assists for 37 points and currently ranks eighth among the Eagles' all-time points leaders.

Freshman Denise Infante

Denise was a Second Team All-Region selection after posting 25 points on 10 goals and five assists this season despite missing the first eight games of the season. The freshman was named as the 2004 Patriot League Tournament MVP after registering a goal and two assists over the weekend. She was named to the Second Team All-Patriot League in her first year as an Eagle.

American wrapped up its most successful season in program history in 2004 with a 19-3 overall record and a second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. AU set the program record for longest winning streak and most wins in a season, stringing together 17 straight wins and 19 overall victories. The seventh-ranked Eagles won their first NCAA Tournament game in thrilling fashion with a 2-1 win over Iowa, before losing to the second-ranked Maryland Terrapins in the second round of the tournament. Sixth-year head coach Steve Jennings was honored as the DITA/NFHCA Division I Coach of the Year.