A white towel draped over his shoulders and tugging slightly at his arm sleeves postgame, United States captain Charles Aoki didn’t seem bothered. 

He was hard on himself, quickly voicing displeasure in impressive, 14-try display, but had otherwise come to terms with Team USA’s first loss to Canada in the 2023 Parapan American Games. 

“We really cruised through the tournament to be perfectly honest and this is a good ‘Hey, you can’t cruise through these guys, you’ve got to show up every minute,’” Aoki said. “So I feel really good about where we’re going from here.” 

After cruising through its first three contests against Chile, Argentina and Colombia, the U.S. (3-1) tasted defeat in its first real challenge on Tuesday. Though the United States remained in control for the majority of the opening half, costly errors fueled an uncharacteristic display in the second, leading to a 46-41 loss to Canada (4-0). 

Yet, the air surrounding its players after the game was positive and not panicked. Head coach Joe Delagrave echoed Aoki’s sentiment. Team USA had taken its final preliminary matchup for granted. It had beaten itself, but another defeat won’t happen again. 

“This doesn’t necessarily mean the tournament is over,” Delagrave said. “I’m confident in our team heading into the semifinals tomorrow.” 

Throughout the first half of play, neither side managed to draw away from the other. Every time the U.S. tallied a try, Canada answered back. Whether it was Aoki navigating through tight spaces for a point, or the lightning quick Sarah Adam latching onto a pass for an uncontested score, an equalizer immediately followed. 

Yet, in the early going, it still felt like the United States held the upper hand. It forced Canada to work hard and creatively for tries by forming seemingly unbreakable barricades on the goal line. And on the other end, meanwhile, Team USA found success in pitching an outlet pass ahead, or relying on Aoki’s reliable on-ball prowess, to generate points. 

In the opening 16 minutes, the U.S. received chances to create a two-score cushion but didn’t capitalize. On one play, Aoki tipped a pass from Canada’s Zachary Madell but the loose ball fell to a wide-open Cody Caldwell to knot the game at 7-7. On another, Aoki poked the ball into Canada’s backcourt, amid a dangerously low shot clock count, but Madell recovered and scored to again draw even at 17-17. 

Then, the tide changed when an errant U.S. inbound throw was scooped up by the opposition with 2:32 remaining in the second quarter. Madell picked up possession to give Canada a 21-20 lead. The turnover was one of a tournament-high six on the afternoon for Team USA.

“I thought we were pretty sloppy honestly, a lot of unforced errors,” Aoki said. “When you play that way against a team that good, you’re going to lose every time. It’s pretty much as simple as that.” 

Despite being on the backfoot, the U.S. never gave in. It continued to play physically, implementing a high-pressing defense while attacking with purpose. Adam registered a team-high 20 tries, but Canada never relinquished control. 

Aoki labeled the surprise loss as a “wake-up call” while Delagrave said that the United States will “definitely have some adjustments.” And with the knockout stages set on Wednesday, pitting Team USA against Colombia, the head coach insisted that his squad was taking things “one game at a time,” but hinted at the U.S.’s anticipation on potentially playing Canada in Thursday’s final. 

When asked whether Team USA had the ability to overcome the surprise adversity faced in the preliminary round, Aoki erased all doubt. He and Delagrave assured that the U.S. would refocus, watch film and “take a breath so we don’t let one mistake become two.” 

“I absolutely think this team is capable of bouncing back, we’ve faced adversity all year,” Aoki said. “I think every paralympic athlete has faced adversity in their life. I feel really confident about our ability to get better.”

Gone was the assumed security that the United States would saunter through its competition, but now a new and elevated sense of excitement around the team has been generated. The road ahead is daunting but Team USA isn’t worried, they’re ready. 

“Overall, I think we know we can control a lot of what went wrong today so we’ll take care of business against Colombia,” Aoki said. “Hopefully we see Canada again in the final.”

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