Hosts prove too much for Canadian Wolf Pack on Monday night in Montevideo
It was the final and deciding match in Pool A at the Pan American Cup between the hosts, Uruguay and Canada. Both teams had defeated Paraguay, and both had taken losses to tournament top seed Argentina. Second place and a berth in the semifinals was on the line and the stands in Montevideo were absolutely jam-packed for this prime time matchup.
It was a dream start for the hosts as captain Teresa Viana deflected a penalty corner goal in the 7th minute. The crowd erupted and the home team had momentum right off the jump. Canada’s Dani Husar got a partial-breakaway chance at the end of the first quarter with an opportunity to tie the game, but couldn’t solve Maria Bate. Uruguay added another penalty corner goal off the drag flick from Manuela Vilar right before half, giving the Uruguayan side a two goal advantage at the 30 minute break.
Canada would need at least three goals in the second half to secure the win and advance. With the goal differential in Uruguay’s favour, they only needed a draw to advance. It was a tall mountain to climb for Canada who mustered very few circle entries and no penalty corners during the game. Canada also put themselves in a tough spot with multiple cards in the second half, making a tall task even taller. For an offense that looked crisp against Paraguay to start the tournament, Canada was just off the mark in tonight’s tilt. They had forrays into Uruguay’s zone, but couldn’t quite get that final touch to put the hosts on the back foot.
Uruguay battened down the hatches in the late stages, keeping the ball away from their goal and making Canada go the long way around for any offensive pressure. The Uruguay defense stood tall and Bate carded a clean sheet when the final hooter went. Uruguay’s two first half goals stood up and the hosts defeated Canada 2-nil. The atmosphere at the stadium were undeniable as fireworks went off and thousands rejoiced with the victory.
It was a tough out for the Canadian Wolf Pack, who now drop down to the 5th/6th match on Saturday. They will earn a crossover forfeit victory as Trinidad & Tobago dropped out on the eve of the event. Uruguay advances and remains in the hunt for a medal and a potential World Cup qualification.
Continue to follow along on Field Hockey Canada’s social and website for live stream information, results, photo galleries and more tournament information as the Pan American Cup continues until August 3.
