Women thrashed by Chile

By Randy Bennett

Barbados women’s junior team was given a harsh introduction to international hockey as they were hammered 20-0 by Chile today in their opening game of the Junior Pan American Hockey Championships today.
Playing at the Hockey Centre in Wildey, the Chileans scored nine goals in the first half and 11 in the second to trounce the inexperienced home side, which is playing in its first international competition.
Victoria Arrieta was the main destroyer with five goals while Dominga Valdes scored a beaver trick to lead Chile.
The visitors asserted their dominance from the opening whistle and only took two minutes to get on the scoresheet courtesy of a strike from Monserrat Obon.
The more skillful Chileans continued to pile on the pressure and Valdes doubled the lead in the seventh minute following a good buildup, before Constanza Munoz made it 3-0 a minute later.
Valdes struck again in the 10th minute and Martina Gago got on the scoresheet in the 13th minute as Chile led 5-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second period, Barbados’ goalkeeper Ysobel Jones held off the Chileans for a while with a series of good saves, first denying Valdes’ close-range effort and then blocking Laura Muller’s attempt from a penalty corner, much to the delight of the appreciative and noisy home crowd in attendance.
Muller then fired another shot just wide of the target before Valdes scored her third goal to make it 6-0 after Barbados’ defense lost possession in the penalty area.
Seconds later, Muller showed some skill to weave her way into the penalty area before picking out Josefina Gutierrez with a pinpoint pass and she easily slotted past Jones to make it 7-0.
Arrieta joined in on the action in the 23rd minute to extend the lead to 8-0 and captain Francisca Irazoqui scored in the 29th minute when Barbados’ defense failed to clear a loose ball in front of goal as Chile went into the half with a commanding 9-0 lead.
Barbados’ defense withstood tremendous pressure from the Chileans in the third quarter, and did well to deny them any further goals in 12 minutes of play.
However, Chile then scored five goals in the space of three minutes to make it 14-0, with Arrieta accounting for two.
In the day’s second women’s match, Canada routed Guyana 12-0.
Meanwhile, Barbados’ men’s junior team is still searching for its first win after going down to Guyana 1-0 in a tightly contested match this afternoon.
Guyana’s Shaquon Favorite netted the game’s lone goal when he scored in the 14th minute.
It was their second successive defeat after losing 6-0 to Canada on Monday.
In the other men’s match, Argentina blanked Chile 7-0.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb