BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – All four U.S. Masters Women’s Teams competed on Day 4 of the 2023 World Masters Hockey Pan American Continental Cup (PACC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The O-60 squad picked up their second win in three matches, while the O-50 team battled to a tie with Canada.
O-35 Women | USA 1 – 4 ARG
The U.S. O-35 Women’s Masters Team took on Argentina in their third match of the tournament. Off to an aggressive start, the hosts earned a penalty corner in just the first minute, then ended the first quarter with a goal in the final minute. The USA defense kept Argnentina from tallying another for the second quarter, making the score 1-0, Argentina, leading into halftime.
Argentina capitialized in the third frame, notching two more goals to bring their lead to 3-0. The fourth and final quarter was a battle – both sides had several set piece opportunities – one that Argentina converted on to bring the score to 4-0 – before the hosts were shown a yellow card. USA took advantage of this player-up opportunity, ending the match with thee back-to-back penalty corners. On the third attempt, USA got on the board with a goal from Molly Shoemaker (Perkiomenville, Pa.) – her third of the tournamnet – to end the game with a 4-1 loss.
O-40 Women | USA 1– 2 URU
In a back-and-forth match, the U.S. O-40 Women’s Masters Team battled to a 2-1 loss against Uruguay on Saturday. Susan Mitchell (Penn Valley, Pa.) provided speed and consistency in the midfield, while Jamie Tierney (Fredericksburg, Va.) was a cornerstone of the backfield for the red, white and blue. The USA defense withstood four Uruguay penalty corners through the first 25 minutes of the game, before earning their own pair of set piece chances. On the second, USA was awarded a penalty stroke, which captain Pattie Gillern (Medford, N.J.) scored to give USA a 1-0 lead and solid momentum. Uruguay fought back – tallying their own goal just before the end of the half to tie the score at 1-1 heading into halftime.
The third frame was almost without a goal until Uruguay earned another penalty corner at the 50-minute mark, converting on the chance. This would give Uruguay a 2-1 lead heading into the final quarter. USA held possession over key stretches – even earning one final penalty corner opportunity – but could not find the equalizer they needed in the fourth quarter.
O-50 Women | USA 1 – 1 CAN
The U.S. O-50 Women’s Masters Team played Canada on Day 4 in a tightly contested match. Canada took advantage of USA’s slow start and capitalized on a penalty corner to go ahead 1-0 in the second quarter. Both defensive lines were key for next 30 minutes, keeping each other out of the cage and not conceding any penalty corners. It was USA who broke this first, picking up two set piece opportunities at the end of the third quarter but unable to convert on either. The score was 1-0, Canada, headed into the final frame.
In the 56th minute, USA earned the penalty corner that would prove to be the game changer. Flor Manero (Key Biscayne, Fla.) picked up her own rebound and sent it to the opposite post, where she found the stick of Carol Gulija (Flemington, N.J.) for the deflection on goal. Gulija’s goal – her first of the tournament – evened the score to 1-1. USA had some good momentum at the end of the match with a flurry of penalty corners in the last few minutes, but they were unable to convert, ending the match in a 1-1 draw. Possession was mostly even throughout the match and USA had eight penalty corners to Canada’s one.
O-55 Women | USA (60) 1 – 0 ALL (SOM)
The U.S. O-60 Women’s Masters Team played their third game against Alliance. USA dominated the game with great passing sequences and disciplined defense, but the Alliance defense held strong – keeping USA off the board until the final quarter. USA earned a few penalty corner chances throughout the first three quarters, while Alliance did not get a set piece chance until the third frame. The USA defense shut down all four of these chances.
The red, white and blue finally found the cage in the last 5 minutes off a short corner. Barb Wachowiak (Hamburg, N.Y.) took the first shot on her reverse, and Loretta DiPietro (New Haven, Conn.) tipped the ball in on the right post. The game ended on a 1-0 score for USA.
Click here to view USA’s schedule. Games held on the Blue field will be live streamed on Argentina Hockey Masters Association’s YouTube.
To view the 2023 WMH PACC Event Page, click here.
by NCAA
