POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa — Jenna Berger of Waterloo, Ont., scored in a losing cause Saturday as Canada's field hockey team was beaten 4-1 by Uruguay to finish 15th at the Junior World Cup.
Elisa Civetta scored twice and Pilar Oliveros and Manuela Vidal added singles for the South Americans before Berger replied for the Canadians.
"We knew that coming here would be a challenge," said Canadian head coach Jenn Beagan. "We have a young team. Many girls who’ve never played internationally before. So we’re really proud of the efforts they put in. This was a huge learning opportunity. We take this home."
Canada was outscored 17-1 losing all three games in Pool A.
The Canadians fell 2-1 to Zimbabwe, 11-0 to the Netherlands and 4-0 to the U.S. before being beaten 6-1 by Ireland in placement play.
Uruguay will play for 13th place against Wales at the 15-country event.
The Canadian women qualified for the Junior World Cup by winning the Junior Pan American Championships last August in Santiago, Chile.
The gold medal was the first in program history and first Canadian women’s Pan American gold at any outdoor level.
The Junior World Cup was originally scheduled for December but was cancelled due to the increase in the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The Canadians were already in South Africa, preparing for the tournament, when the event was postponed.
They remained in South Africa for two weeks while safe passage back to Canada was arranged.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2022
The Canadian Press
