Jamaica finish fifth, USA take title in pulsating Hockey 5s final

THE JAMAICAN women’s fifth-place finish at the Hockey 5s Pan American Cup was not just about getting retribution against Brazil, but honouring a staunch supporter of the sport as well as setting a platform for the future.

The girls closed their campaign on a victorious note yesterday at the Mona Hockey Field, defeating Brazil 3-1 in their fifth- and sixth-place playoff thanks to a brace from the team’s leading goal scorer- Imauny Liton – and a goal from captain Kamille Griffiths.

While it was a tough week for the team, technical director Dr Michelle Holt said that the team was not only fuelled by getting their first win of the campaign against Guatemala, but also by leaving no doubt against a team they felt they should have beaten in the pool stage.

“We played Brazil earlier in a game that disappointed us, that we should have won to get into the next round. We are glad to have played them again and avenged what we knew was to have been the rightful score,” Holt told The Sunday Gleaner.

HEAVY HEARTS

The team played with heavy hearts as they celebrated the life of Captain Blake Roper, who passed away.

Griffiths credited Roper’s strong presence for the team and the programme.

“Captain Roper he has been here with us. He has been giving us words of encouragement. His father would come to training with us. We really felt that loss yesterday. And we are glad that we were able to show up in this particular way to commemorate his life,” Griffiths said.

Holt said that the strong competition they faced will do them well for the CAC games and beyond.

“The girls have grown over the week. The opportunity to play in this has been incredible. They have learnt so much from playing against the stronger teams and teams that have been equal to us. We have been talking to the girls all week. This is helpful preparation for the CAC games, playing strong teams like Mexico and Cuba,” Holt said.

“We want to see them not just defend well, but begin to put away our chances, and today was a culmination. We achieved the goal of fifth, we achieved the goal of scoring. So it has really been a good day.”

In the meantime, the United States and Uruguay closed the women’s championship with a pulsating final that saw the Americans take the title 3-1 by way of a shootout after regulation time finished 5-5.

The US took a 3-1 lead into halftime and stretched it to 4-1 at the start of the second half, but the Uruguayians battled back thanks to a brace from Manuela Vilar and Camilla Piazza, who fired the last two goals to force the game into a shoot-out.

Earlier, Paraguay booked their spot in next year’s Hockey 5s World Cup with a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago to finish in third place.

Maria Catebra and Bella Lopez’s first-half goals were enough to edge the Trinidadians.