In the biggest victory in U.S. field hockey history, the American women scored a stunning 4-2 victory over defending world champion Argentina on Friday in the gold medal game at the Pan American Games.

With an inspiring performance that will go down in the history books, the USA Women’s National Team upset the tournament favorites and reigning world champions, Argentina. With the win, USA claims their first ever Pan American gold medal and earns an automatic 2012 Summer Olympic berth in London.

“This is for all the past players of USA Field Hockey,” said team captain Lauren Crandall. “Every single one of them was with us tonight and we are just glad that we could represent our country well.”

The Americans shocked Argentina with two early goals. Paige Selenski scored in the 12th minute and Shannon Taylor added another in the 15th. Maria Barrionuevo scored on a penalty corner in the 18th for Argentina, but O'Donnell made it 3-1.

Barrionuevo scored her second on a penalty in the 42nd before Michelle Vittese secured the win with a goal in the 66th.

"In our minds we never had the lead, it was always 0-0," U.S. captain Lauren Crandall said. "We were always fighting, always working. Argentina is capable of scoring three goals in a minute. We stayed focused to the end -- well let's say the last 5 seconds."

“We have made history today by getting a bid to the Olympics,” said O’Donnell. “I don’t think anyone on this field thought that we would ever lose this match and that was the most important thing we had going for us. We had so much trust in each other and knew we would come out on top.”

Gold Medal Game Highlights & Medal Presentation - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9R-HpTuhXgg#!