Namibia earns berth in quarters

THE Namibian junior inline hockey team competing in the United States entered its fourth FIRS Junior Men’s World Championships game as a tired and injury-plagued side, losing 5-1 to Mexico in its final round robin match on Tuesday.

Kyle Weeks joined team captain, Arne Rodenwoldt, on the bench with a shoulder injury suffered in the USA game. The stakes during the Mexico game were high, as the winner would advance to play the second seed from Pool B.In contrast, the loser could potentially fail to advance to the quarter-finals, or at a minimum, would be forced to play a very strong Czech team who had gone undefeated in the Pool B round robin and had earned one of the two top seeds for the quarter-final matches.Mexico had lost games to Team USA (11-0) and Great Britain (9-3), but had played to a 5-5 draw with Switzerland.Thus, they desperately needed a win to advance to the quarter-finals.Namibia started strongly with Vincent van Biljon scoring the first goal of the match on an assist from Rene Rueghemeir.Mexico tied the score at 1-all thereafter and then hit in its second goal a brief 15 seconds before Period One ended, giving Mexico a 2-1 lead at the half.The second half commenced with a worn and tired Namibia team holding Mexico scoreless until the 13 minute mark, when Mexico was able to score its third goal.The deep Mexico bench of 16 players eventually were too much for Namibia out lines, and the game concluded with Mexico being 5-1 victors.Mexico earned the right to play second-seed Canada from Pool B for its quarter-final game.Namibia received the fourth seed for Pool A and will now play a strong Czech team in the quarter-finals.Before their encounter against Mexico, Namibia played their third match at the championships against the USA which they lost 6-1.In that game, Namibia is said to have demonstrated a strong line of defence and Dominic Denker was the only scorer for Namibia.Other teams which advanced to the quarter-finals are the USA, which takes on Columbia and Great Britain versus Germany.Both New Zealand and Switzerland failed to qualify for the quarter-finals.The stakes during the Mexico game were high, as the winner would advance to play the second seed from Pool B.In contrast, the loser could potentially fail to advance to the quarter-finals, or at a minimum, would be forced to play a very strong Czech team who had gone undefeated in the Pool B round robin and had earned one of the two top seeds for the quarter-final matches.Mexico had lost games to Team USA (11-0) and Great Britain (9-3), but had played to a 5-5 draw with Switzerland.Thus, they desperately needed a win to advance to the quarter-finals.Namibia started strongly with Vincent van Biljon scoring the first goal of the match on an assist from Rene Rueghemeir.Mexico tied the score at 1-all thereafter and then hit in its second goal a brief 15 seconds before Period One ended, giving Mexico a 2-1 lead at the half.The second half commenced with a worn and tired Namibia team holding Mexico scoreless until the 13 minute mark, when Mexico was able to score its third goal.The deep Mexico bench of 16 players eventually were too much for Namibia out lines, and the game concluded with Mexico being 5-1 victors.Mexico earned the right to play second-seed Canada from Pool B for its quarter-final game.Namibia received the fourth seed for Pool A and will now play a strong Czech team in the quarter-finals.Before their encounter against Mexico, Namibia played their third match at the championships against the USA which they lost 6-1.In that game, Namibia is said to have demonstrated a strong line of defence and Dominic Denker was the only scorer for Namibia.Other teams which advanced to the quarter-finals are the USA, which takes on Columbia and Great Britain versus Germany.Both New Zealand and Switzerland failed to qualify for the quarter-finals.