Awards:
Junior player of the tournament: Veronica ROA of Paraguay, presented by Dr. Danae Andrade, President of the Uruguayan Hockey Federation
Goalkeeper of the tournament: Claudia SCHULER of Chile; presented by Mr. Larry Sargent, Director of the Prince of Wales Country Club (PWCC)
Top scorer: María Jesús MALDONADO of Chile, presented by Ms. Alejandra Robles, Director of the Prince of Wales Country Club (PWCC)
Player of the tournament: Manuela VILAR of Uruguay, presented by Mr. Miguel Ángel Mujica, President of the Chilean Olympic Committee
Final standings
1. CHILE
2. URUGUAY
3. PARAGUAY
4. BRAZIL
5. PERU
6. BOLIVIA
PAR 4-0 BRA (PAR 2-0 BRA)
On the last day of the Women’s Hockey Open Series 2018, Paraguay and Brazil, each with two wins, battled in the first match for third place in the standings. Throughout the first quarter, Paraguay had the attacking edge. With about five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Paraguay had multiple shots blocked by Brazil’s keeper Teska TUIJT. In the 15th minute, Paraguay was awarded the first penalty corner of the match. After a scramble in front of the goal, Paraguay took the lead as Andrea CARDOSO was able to finally complete the penalty corner play. CARDOSO’s goal made the score PAR 1-0 BRA going into the second quarter.
Brazil came out fired up to start the second quarter; preventing Paraguay from maintaining possession in their attacking circle, like the end of the first quarter. Paraguay, however, successfully stole the ball in the 21st minute. TUIJT came out to save an anticipated shot by Augustina SANCHEZ, who was with the ball on the far post; but that left an open goal for SANCHEZ to give her team a two goal lead. Paraguay earned the first penalty corner of the second half in the 25th minute, but the shot was blocked by Brazil’s defense. In the final minute of the second quarter, Paraguay earned two more penalty corners. Paraguay tried the same play twice to push the ball into goal from the top left of the circle, but Brazil’s defense blocked up the plays to keep the score PAR 2-0 BRA at halftime.
For much of the third quarter, there was no clear. Brazil earned their first penalty corner of the match in the 41st minute. In an exciting sequence of events, Paraguay successfully prevented the shot from being taken at the top of the circle and immediately rushed into their attacking circle. SANCHEZ pushed the ball past TUIJT for her second goal of the match, making the score PAR 3-0 BRA. Paraguay kept up their attacking intensity and just a minute later, Nicole van JAARSVELD’s penalty corner goal gave Paraguay a four goal lead over Brazil to close out the third quarter.
Throughout the fourth quarter, Brazil kept trying to pressure on attack and maintain possession near their attacking circle. Paraguay played strong defense and was able to prevent Brazil from having many shot opportunities, let alone penalty corners. Brazil’s best scoring opportunity of the fourth quarter came in the 57th minute when Alexsandra RODRIGUES had a near breakaway in front of the goal, but Paraguay came up with the defensive save to keep Brazil off the scoreboard. Able to withstand last minute attacking pressure from Brazil, including a penalty corner, the match ended PAR 4-0 BRA and Paraguay secured third place in the final competition standings.
PER 2-0 BOL (PER 1-0 BOL)
The match between Peru and Bolivia was important for pride; which team would come away with their first Hockey Open Series win. Peru had the attacking edge in the first quarter; earning the first penalty corner of the match in the 5th minute. While the penalty corner play was called off due to the ball hitting a Peru foot, Peru maintained their attacking intensity. Thus, Adelaida OLAECHEA was able to push the ball past Bolivia’s keeper Karen SANTOS.Bolivia did not let up, however; and quickly earned their first penalty corner of the match, but the shot went wide of the goal cage to keep the score PER 1-0 BOL. Peru continued to pressure in their attacking circle for the rest of the first quarter, but Bolivia played extremely strong defense to keep the score PER 1-0 BOL at the end of the first quarter.
Peru wasted no time going back on attack and immediately earned a penalty corner at the start of the second quarter. Mireya CRUZ had a spectacular defensive rush coming out of the corner to regain possession for Bolivia. Peru quickly countered, however, earning another penalty corner, but could not complete the play. Bolivia persisted and earned another penalty corner, but also could not complete the play. Both Peru’s keeper Chiara CONETTA and Bolivia’s SANTOS, respectively came up with big saves towards the end of the second quarter. Despite being down a player due to a green card given to Mercedes GONZALES in the 29th minute, Bolivia successfully held off a penalty corner by Peru to keep the score PER 1-0 BOL at halftime.
Peru continued to dominate possession in the third quarter. Bolivia had a couple minutes of possession down in their attacking circle late in the third quarter, but one of their only shots on goal was unfortunately take from outside the circle. Bolivia continued to play hard and in the final seconds of the third quarter, Daniela CARBALLO had Bolivia’s best shot on goal, but CONETTA was there for the save to keep Peru’s 1-0 lead over Bolivia to start the fourth quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Bolivia continued their attacking intensity and earned a penalty corner, but after carefully executing a series of passes the shot just barely missed the goal. Peru immediately ran back on attack and Captain Claudia ARDILES made it PER 2-0 BOL in the 48th minute. To their credit, Bolivia did not let up and earned another penalty corner a couple minutes later, but could not get a shot off. Peru and Bolivia fought hard for attacking opportunities throughout the second half of the fourth quarter, but were equally successful at preventing goals. Thus, the final score remained PER 2-0 BOL; and Peru came away with their first win of the competition.
URU 0-1 CHI (URU 0-0 CHI)
The last match of the Women’s Hockey Open Series was an exciting match-up between Uruguay and host Chile, respectively. With four wins apiece both teams would inevitably claim the top two spots in the competition, but the winner will earn more FIH World Ranking points. The first ten minutes of the first quarter consisted of Chile dominating possession in their attacking half of the pitch. In the 10th minute, Uruguay’s Manuela VILAR had a breakaway to give her team their first possession in their attacking circle. Uruguay immediately earned a penalty corner, but Chile’s keeper Claudia Schuller made an amazing kick save to keep the match scoreless. Soon after, Chile had a great shot on goal, but this time Uruguay’s keeper Constance SCHMIDT-LIERMANN made an incredible save to keep Chile off the scoreboard. In front of a loud crowd, the first quarter ended URU 0-0 CHI.
The second quarter started with a fast-paced match with both teams constantly battling for possession in the midfield. Uruguay had their first scoring opportunity in the second quarter around the 24th minute, but again SCHULLER came up with the big save to keep the score URU 0-0 CHI. A few minutes later, Uruguay had another shot, but this time it went wide. In the 24th minute, Uruguay made an amazing defensive save; and again VILAR went on a breakaway, but was denied by SCHULLER. SCHMIDT-LIERMANN then made a big save to keep the score URU 0-0 CHI with a few minutes remaining in the second quarter. Both teams managed to keep each other off the scoreboard for the rest of the second quarter; keeping the match scoreless at halftime.
At the start of the third quarter, Chile earned a penalty corner, but the play was called off due to obstruction. With top spot in the competition on the line and the match still scoreless, Chile and Uruguay continued to intensely battle. In the 35th minute, Kim JACOB hit a hard shot right in front of the goal for Chile, but the shot went high. In the 43rd minute, Chile earned another penalty corner, Fernanda VILLAGRAN pushed a fast shot past SCHULLER. SCHMIDT-LIERMANN and the host crowd exploded! With Uruguay able to withstand more attacking pressure by Chile, the third quarter ended URU 0-1 CHI.
The fourth quarter continued to be an intense match. In the 50th minute, Uruguay’s Captain Agustina NIETO was awarded a yellow card. Chile had multiple scoring opportunities right in front of their attacking goal, but each time Uruguay’s defenders were there to make the defensive save. SCHMIDT-LIERMAN then made two big saves to keep Chile from increasing their lead. Chile kept up their attacking pressure and earned the first penalty corner of the fourth quarter in the 55th minute. VILLAGRAN looked to make the same penalty corner play that resulted in Chile’s first goal, but the shot went wide. Uruguay did not let up and earned a penalty corner for themselves in the 57 minute and nearly tied the match, but a foul was called. With just under three minutes remaining in the match, Uruguay substituted SCHMIDT-LIERMAN with a kicking back. Again, both teams were able to hold of each other’s attacking pressure and the match ended URU 0-1 CHI. Both Chile and Uruguay, respectively, qualify for the next round of the Hockey Open Series; but with the win, Chile will earn more FIH World Ranking points.
