Guatemala’s women and men team were the main protagonists of the last day in Managua after defeating their respective rivals, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, hanging the  precious gold medals of the XI Central American Games (Hockey 5).

Men: El Salvador defeated Honduras 4-2, Panama won 5-2 against Nicaragua, taking the bronze medal.
Women: Costa Rica was beaten by Panama (shoot outs) and  Nicaragua lost the game vs Guatemala with only one goal difference.

El Salvador vs Honduras (4-2)

The first game of the day  started early in the morning. People quickly woke up with Kevin Alvarado goal from Honduras just  a few minutes after starting the game. A few seconds later, his teammate Jose Barahona scored and took the difference 2-0 against the Salvadorans to leave the first half with a clear advantage. Salvador narrowed the gap with Heber Álvarez, who was looking for more goals, which gave effect. During the third quarter, he scored again and tied the game 2-2.  Jonathan Presa was the one in charge to  tipped the scales in favor of those led by Pablo Mejía at minute 24. At the end of the game Luis Mejía after clear opportunity, scored and sealed the  victory  4-2. El Salvador- 5th place

Costa Rica vs Panama 0-0 (3-4 SO)

At 10 am, the match for the bronze medal was played between the teams of Costa Rica and Panama, who during the 30 minutes of the game were not able to score, taking the game to Shoot Outs, The first to face the situation, but without success was the Costa Rican Nohelia Mata. It was Rubi Diaz who scored Panama's dream of hanging the bronze with her first goal. Daniela Solano, Nohelia Mata (again) and Monserrat Banquero scored for Costa Rica but this wasn't  enough since Panama scored more goals . Panama won the third place 4-3 (SO)

Panama vs Nicaragua 5-2

Hockey 5 speed made Martir Núñez scored the first goal with only 1 minute of the game played.. The locals were not left behind and scored the minute 3. Panama surprised with a field goal, and extended the difference  2-1. Manuel Correa was in charge of the third goal for Panama.  Yomar Martinez and Angelo Boodie were not left behind and scored their goals to seal Panama’s victory. Miguel Florian scored for the locals and shrinked the difference. Panama won the bronze medal.

 

Women's Final: Nicaragua vs Guatemala 0-1

The Central American Games women’s final faced the locals, who recently entered the international circuit, against Guatemala, an experienced team in this modality that has been growing year after year. The match was tight and no advantage was taken during the first two quarters. It was not until the 23rd minute, that Sandra Sis, scored and Guatemala began to feel the gold in their hands. A well-balanced game and guarding the defense allowed the only goal of the game. Those led by Hans Higueros kept  the golden medal.

Men's Final: Guatemala vs Costa Rica 2-0

The spirits of the afternoon were painted blue and white in Managua, after Guatemala women’s first place . Guatemala came out with full energy to attack the Costa Rica’s field, breaking the defense and scoring the first goal after 4 minutes. The second goal was scored by Oscar Leiva, who after 10 minutes sentenced the game. Although in the second half those led by Andrés Messina found a good defensive position and with some possibilities, but their effort was  not enough to break the Guatemala’s  goal, which was defended with efficiency. The final result, 2-0 for Guatemala, who obtained the goal medal.

 

Algunos datos a destacar  

Finalizado el XI Juego Centroamericano, no faltaron los agradecimientos para los oficiales y tantos voluntarios que hicieron posibles la realización de este torneo y las felicitaciones a los máximos protagonistas de este encuentro, los atletas.  

Highlights

The surprise of the tournament was Nicaragua, the newest team in the region to enter the circuit and silver medal winners (women) and 4th place (men).

Out of the results, it was really good news to have El Salvador again in the circuit, who had been absent from the last two competitions and obtained 5th place in CAC 2017.

XI Central American Game are over.Thanks for the officials and so many volunteers who made this tournament possible. Congratulations to all the teams and athletes.