Two unanswered goals from Peru's Solange Alonso and Marina Montes in the second and third quarters, respectively, assured Peru the top spot in the final of the Pan American Hockey Challenge in Lima, Peru against T&T, on Saturday.
However, the result did not prevent the T&T women from earning a qualifying berth at next year's Pan Am Cup in Santiago, Chile, by virtue of their triumph on Friday against Paraguay.
T&T women coached by Anthony Marcano needed to win their semi-final match against the Paraguayans to secure one of the last two remaining spots for the Pan Am Cup scheduled from January 20-30, 2022 in Chile.
The eight teams to qualify to the Pan Am Cup are the six highest ranked teams from the previous Pan Am Cup, while the host country (Chile) qualified as host. That left the top two teams from the Pan Am Challenge to fill the final spots.
But yesterday, the women in red, white and black struggled to find the form that enabled them to beat the Peruvians 1-0 in an earlier match of the tournament.
The Peruvians lifted themselves from a goalless first-quarter score to take the advantage with four minutes left in the second quarter, when Alonzo benefited from a well queued-up ball from a penalty corner and lashed it hard past defender Shaniah De Freitas whose standing position prevented goalkeeper Arresia Sandy from having a chance to save.
T&T's chances were bugged by a steady Peruvian defence thereafter, enabling the teams to return to the dressing rooms with the score at 1-0 in Peru's favour.
At the resumption of the third session, the T&T girls looked more purposeful in attack. Anytime they moved forward, however, the Peruvians pegged them back with steady defensive work and quick counter-attacks.
T&T did not look too bad in the defence either, despite the lone goal that caused a few dropped jaws, but then a defensive blunder in the 44th minute placed them on the brink of surrender. Alonzo, got some room to run on top the 'D' and her shot found the stick of an unmarked Montes who only had to guide the ball past Sandy for a 2-0 lead going into the final quarter.
T&T could have equalised in the final quarter, but needed some luck.
From a penalty corner, Amanda George set it nicely for Giann Sealy to hit powerfully towards goal and airborne, but the ball deflected off the stick of Gretell Mejia and flew over the goalpost.
From the resulting corner, captain Amie Olton came up and drilled it hard and low, agonisingly wide of the post. It was an effort that summed up T&T's night on the pitch, one of misfortunes.
