Las Leonas, a stone’s throw from gold

The Argentine women’s hockey team leaves no room for surprises during the Santiago 2023 Pan-American Championship. So far, Las Leonas, consolidated in the sport’s elite, has not found a worthy rival during the tournament organized in Santiago. In the semi-final, they comfortably beat their rivals in the final of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, Canada, 3-0.

Argentina has thus managed to respect what is already a tradition: it has so far participated in all the finals of the Pan American Games since women’s hockey was included in the program. And this time will be no exception: it will be his tenth final and he will be aiming for his eighth gold medal. In any case, the big motivation is clear: obtaining the Olympic quota for Paris 2024.

The match against the Canadiens was decided at the end of the second quarter thanks to a penalty corner of Delphina Thome (20 minutes). And barely two minutes later, as the Canadians tried to react, the attacker Julieta Jankunas He extended the score with a basket.

In the second half, Canada tried to come out and find the advantage and left many holes in its defensive zone. So, just before the end of the third trimester, Valentina Raposo also converted thanks to the small corner and the team led by Fernando Ferrara finished sealing the story.

Chile was on the verge of the final

The Chilean women’s team seemed to repeat, also in the semi-final, the history that their male counterparts had written the day before. They had drawn 1-1 in regulation time against the United States and headed into the penalty shootout with dreams of being able to achieve the feat and defeat one of the competition’s powerhouses. However, Las Diablas had erratic decisions regarding “penalties” and the Americans once again qualified for a Pan American final in the women’s tournament, as has happened in eight of the previous nine editions of the Pan American Games.

It also represented an illusion for coach Sergio Vigil, Las Leonas’ mentor at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, who wanted to play in a match against the Albiceleste team he managed for a long time.

The United States took the lead thanks to a goal of Ashley Sessa 12 minutes of play. Chile tried to balance the result throughout the match and only equalized the duel in the last quarter, when 14 minutes from the end, Denise Rojas Losada scored on a short corner.

Already in the penalty shootout, the United States scored its first three shots and Chile was eliminated, just when its best player, Manuela Urrozdeflected his shot.

Las Diablas will therefore face Canada with the intention of winning the bronze medal again, just like they did at the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games.