Canada claimed their first win of the World League semi-final in Valencia as second quarter goals from Kaelan Watson and Danielle Hennig earned them a 2-0 win and ninth place from the competition ahead of Pan-American rivals Uruguay.
The first quarter was an even affair with Sara McManus drawing a great low stop from Rosanna Paselle while Anastasia Olave’s piledriver brought Kaitlyn Williams into action, extending a full length boot to deny her.
The Canadians, though, took full control in the second phase of the tie. First, Watson picked up a rebound after Uruguay had saved on the goal line to make it 1-0. Then, Danielle Hennig roofed a drag-flick in the 29th minute to build a strong lead.
Canada continued the momentum into the second half but could not finish off some exciting right wing moves with a couple of crosses flashing past the face of goal. Uruguay pushed for goals in the closing quarter with Florencia Norbis denied by Williams who scrambled across her goal line brilliantly to snuff out the chance.
She also kept out a corner with a low stick-save before Paselle did likewise – albeit in more spectacular style with her left glove.
It was their last act of the tournament as Canada held firm with their two-goal advantage.
Speaking after the game, Janine Stanley of Uruguay said: "I am so proud of the team because we came here with many disadvantages, a poor infrastructure, no water-based pitch, and we have competed in matches against opponents with a higher ranking. While I am proud, I will also go back to Uruguay and think 'We could have won one or two of those games'."
Canada and Uruguay will now be competing in the Pan-American Games, where all the competing teams have another chance at qualifying for the Olympics. This was very much on Canada's Kate Gillis' mind: “We had a tough tournament and didn’t finish where we wanted to. But it was important for us to finish on a good note and go into the Pan-Ams on a high.
“We had a great opportunity to learn from a bunch of teams. This was the first time we have played a whole group of teams at this level. Usually, we play Argentina and the USA in different circumstances. But here, every game, we play an amazing team. We can learn from ourselves and also from the other teams.”
