The duel has been anticipated for a long time between Canadian and American polo players in the final of the Pan American Games. In a matchup where the winning team clinched an Olympic qualification, Canada lost 20-11 on Saturday and concluded the tournament with the silver medal.
The Canadian women’s team was trying to win its first gold medal at the Pan American Games since Winnipeg in 1999.
We had heard about this final since the start of the Games in Chile. The Canadian women’s convincing victories followed and brought them closer to their ultimate goal of qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games.
Although they were trailing, the Canadians sitting on the bench were noticeably louder than the Americans in the first quarter. This energy was felt at the pool. The United States scored in the very last second to make it 5-3.
Despite the expulsion of captain Emma Wright, who committed her third foul early in the game, head coach David Paradelo’s squad held on in the second quarter. The score was 10-7 in favor of their opponents at the half.
Things got tough for the Canadians when play resumed. The American athletes increased their lead to 16-9 and they kept it until the end of the fourth quarter.
“It’s a rivalry that is stronger than against other teams,” recalled Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, author of two goals on Saturday. “I am still satisfied, but we have a lot of things to improve. Playing against the Americans is always very physical matches. It requires strategy and a counterattack. We pushed until the end. »
British Columbian Hayley McKelvey was the top Canadian scorer with four goals in the loss.
The Maple Leaf team defeated Argentina, Cuba and Mexico in the preliminary phase, then easily won against Chile in the quarter-final. She reached the grand final after posting a convincing victory against Brazil, ready to face the United States.
“We’ve been preparing for this for a long time. We were excited, confident. We knew what to do and we were prepared for this tournament. We played well in the other matches and constantly improved,” summarized Lemay-Lavoie.
Place at the World Championships
The Canadian team nevertheless ensured its participation in the World Aquatic Sports Championships which will take place in Qatar in February. She will go back to the drawing board in preparation for this competition, since it will be her last chance to qualify for Paris.
The performance offered in Santiago remains a good omen according to coach David Paradelo.
“We started well by following our game plan. 11 goals [contre les États-Unis], it’s still an achievement and defensively, we experienced some shortcomings on the left and right, he commented. The girls played with a lot of heart, determination and energy. They gave everything they had and I am very proud of the way they played. […] By playing this way and correcting our mistakes, which are quite easy to correct, I have a lot of confidence for our Olympic qualification. »
In the evening, the day after a dramatic end to the match against Brazil in the semi-final, the Canadian men’s team played for a bronze medal and lost 12-10 to Argentina.
The Argentines took a 6-3 lead in the first half, but the Canadians rallied afterwards. For a second night in a row, they saw their opponents score in the final moments of the duel to escape with victory.
Canada opened its Pan American Games tournament with three victories in the preliminary round, against Chile, Cuba and Argentina. It then beat Mexico before losing to Brazil in the semi-final.