Argentina 3 v Uruguay 2
The final day of pool matches at the Womens Pan Am cup started with 4 teams able to make the finals including both Argentina and Uruguay. The teams last met in the semi finals of the 2014 edition of this competition where Argentina edged Uruguay in a shootout.
The start was exciting for Uruguay as Maria Teresa Viana Ache opened the scoring in the second minute with a quick strike after a run up the right side. The lead was erased quickly when Carina Guzman scored the from field play. Maria Narvaez then found an opening at the top of the circle and struck the mesh to put Argentina into the lead. Uruguay called a timeout to make adjustments in hopes of breaking up the flowing passing game of Argentina.
A yellow card to Uruguays Camila de Maria provided an opportunity for Argentina to extend their lead and they did just that with a corner option that Emma Yanzi smartly popped into the goal.
Uruguay increased the pressure in the second half. A spectacular penalty corner strike by deMaria hit the roof of the goal to close the gap. Argentina’s Narvaez had two chances in quick succession, both turned aside by Rosanna Paselle in the Uruguayan goal.
With three minutes to play Uruguay had a penalty corner saved on the line by Mara Paz that would prove to be their final chance at goal. Argentina hold to win 3-2 and clinch a place in the finals.
Trinidad & Tobago 11 v Barbados 4
A match between Caribbean rivals started out quickly with Ayanna Wilson giving Barbados the early lead with a mesmerising run through the Trinidad & Tobago defence. Not to be outdone Kristin Thompson responded just 2 minutes later to pull even. TTO proceeded to show their class as the half went on and built a 7-1 lead by half.
The second half provided some consolation for the Bajans as they scored three goals for their efforts, but in the end TTO spread their scoring amongst 8 players to win 11-4.
Canada 1 v United States 4
The final women’s pool match featured North American rivals Canada and the United States. Canada would need to win by an improbably large goal margin to qualify for the finals. These teams met in the semi finals of the 2014 Indoor PanAm Cup with Canada winning 5-0.
The teams were evenly balanced in the first half. Bot teams missing on two penalty corner attempts. This all changed when Ali Campbell continued her amazing prowess on penalty corners to put the USA in the lead. Not to be outdone, Alison Lee countered with a corner strike of her own to even the match. Canada got caught in transition and conceded a penalty corner at the end of the half. Campbell made no mistake and scored her 17th goal of the competition to put her team in the lead.
The second half had both teams pressing forward with increased intensity. With Angela Lancaster off with a green card Campbell executed another prolific strike from the penalty corner to give the United States an insurance goal. This was followed up by a thrilling run by Mary Beth Barnham to put the game out of reach for Canada. The USA with a perfect 6-0 record will play in the Gold Medal match tomorrow against Argentina, while Canada will take on Uruguay for the Bronze.
