CAC hockey qualifiers: Guyana women suffer narrow 0-1 loss to Puerto Rico

Playing against pre-tournament favourites Puerto Rico, the Guyana hockey ladies have suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat in their opening fixture of the CAC qualifiers in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Guyanese striker Abosaide Cadogan attacking the Puerto Rican circle, with Samantha Fernandes in support

The Guyanese women started the match a bit tentatively, giving away a penalty corner to Puerto Rico in the opening minute, and it took the youthful and relatively inexperienced Guyanese side more than a few minutes to settle, but they began stringing together effective passes and making raids on the Puerto Rican goal before the 15-minute first quarter came to an end.
Evenly-matched, the sides traded punches for the rest of the first half, with Puerto Rico making short runs through the midfield while the Guyanese strikers were able to use their superior speed to create opportunities of their own. The match remained scoreless going into the final quarter of play, and just three minutes in, the Puerto Ricans earned what would be a crucial penalty corner.

A battle of two captains: Josefina Freaney of Puerto Rico (red) and Gabriella Xavier of Guyana (black)

The Guyanese suffered some degree of bad luck, as the Puerto Ricans were awarded four penalty corners in a row, and finally made good on the fourth award. Puerto Rican Captain Josefina Freaney was then able to tarnish an otherwise flawless performance by Guyana’s goalkeeper Alysa Xavier by beating her on her right side with a direct strike at goal.

Striker Princessa Wilkie made several dangerous raids on the Puerto Rican goal

The lone goal was all the match would produce, and secured the full three points for Puerto Rico, leaving Guyana needing to come away with wins in their next two fixtures, against Bermuda and Jamaica.