USA Goalball Women’s Team Finishes Group Stage of Parapans with Perfect 3-0 Record

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 21, 2023) – The USA Goalball women’s team completed play in the group stage of the 2023 Parapan American Games with a perfect 3-0 record after handing Peru a 9-1 defeat on Tuesday in Santiago, Chile. As the #1 seed in Group D, the U.S. will face Guatemala, the #4 seed from Group C in Wednesday’s quarterfinal. Another balanced attack was the key to the U.S. success against Peru as the team received four goals from Amanda Dennis (Peachtree City, Ga.), three from Eliana Mason (Beaverton, Ore.) and two from Lisa Czechowski (Boonton, N.J.). The team also…  Read More

USA Goalball Teams Remain Undefeated at Parapan American Games

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 20, 2023) – The USA men’s and women’s goalball teams added two more victories on Monday to stay unbeaten at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. The USA men’s squad used a balanced scoring attack en route to a 15-5 victory over Venezuela to finish with an unblemished 3-0 record in Group B. Four goals from Tyler Merren (Greenville, Mich.) and one from Zach Buhler (Huntington, Ind.) in the game’s first six minutes opened up a 5-0 lead for the American squad and they never looked back. Merren’s four goals led the team, while Buhler,…  Read More

USA Men’s Goalball Improves to 2-0 at Parapan American Games

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 19, 2023) – The USA Men’s Goalball Team defeated Argentina, 9-5, on Sunday at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. The win moves the U.S. to 2-0 in group play with one game remaining. The Parapan American Games represent the final qualification opportunity for goalball for next summer’s Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The U.S. jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game’s first three minutes behind two goals from Tyler Merren (Greenville, Mich.) and one from Matt Simpson (Smyrna, Ga.). Merren’s second goal came on a penalty throw. Argentina would respond by scoring three…  Read More

USA Goalball Teams Open Parapans with Two Wins Over Canada

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 18, 2023) – With two victories over Canada, the USA Goalball teams got off to a hot start during Saturday’s opening day of competition at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. The USA men’s team played Canada in the morning session of preliminary Group B action and came away with a convincing 9-2 victory. After Blair Nesbitt scored on Canada’s first throw of the match, Christian King (Virginia Beach, Va.), playing in his first Parapan American Games, tied the game with a bounce-ball goal. Tyler Merren (Greenville, Mich.) converted a penalty throw less than a…  Read More

PlayLA Adaptive Youth Sports Program and USABA Boost Youth Participation in Visually Impaired and Blind Soccer Ahead of LA28 Paralympic Games

Los Angeles (November 15, 2023) – The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP) PlayLA Adaptive Youth Sports Program welcomed blind and visually impaired youth ages 5-17 to a series of visually impaired & blind soccer clinics, supported by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, for the second year in a row. Eight consecutive clinics were held every Saturday from September 16 to November 4 at Mar Vista Recreation Center and Hubert Humphrey Recreation Center. With the guidance of Paralympic gold medalist David Brown, USA Blind Soccer Men’s National Team Head Coach Katie Smith and other distinguished coaches and…  Read More