The first match on Day 3 of the 2011 Pan Am Challenge was between Paraguay and Uruguay. Paraguay was still looking for a tournament win. Uruguay got on the scoreboard early off a field goal by Bettina BOCA. Uruguay continued to control the game and dominate possession. However, Paraguay’s defense held strong to keep Uruguay from scorning off a number of penalty corners. Uruguay persisted and went ahead 2-0 over when the offensive movement made for an easy-looking field goal by Lucia DE MARIA. While Uruguay continued to dominate possession, Paraguay prevented them from scoring further. Thus, the score remained 2-0 in favor of Uruguay at halftime.

Uruguay continued to control the game and dominate possession in the second half. Uruguay finally scored a penalty corner goal (by Karina BISIGNANO) in the 49^th minute. Despite trying to prevent Uruguay more scoring opportunities, Paraguay could not withstand Uruguay’s offensive pressure. Uruguay scored two more goals off penalty corners, by DE MARIA and BISIGNANO, respectively, to end the match 5-0 over Paraguay.

Uruguay’s Coach Gonzalo FERRER

On the match…

We played well and very pro-active. We played like we wanted to play. Paraguay, however, has improved a lot and played well. We are always trying to improve and work hard. We have many young players that we are still working into our system.

Uruguay’s Lucia DE MARIA

On the match…

It was a really good match for us. We played like we knew how to play. We increased the number of times we entered our offensive area and we were able to produce a lot of goals because of it and also took advantage of penalty corners. And we played like a team all sixteen of us together.

Paraguay’s Coach Jose SILVA

On the match…

Uruguay controlled the whole match. We always have respect for Uruguay, especially given how they performed in the South American Games. However, I am proud of my girls. And of course we made many mistakes that we need to fix.

On what Paraguay needs to improve…

We need to improve our attitude. We also need to improve our physical fitness, especially when I believe ‘modern hockey’ is about 80 percent about fitness.

Paraguay’s Maria RUIZ DIAZ ALVAREZ

On the match…

We had some good positioning, but we also had bad luck and spent a lot of time on defense. We need to play better. And like Coach said we also need to improve our physical fitness.