Goalkeeper Keenan Knight emerged the unlikely hero for Barbados, who finished seventh in the tenth Pan American Junior Men’s Hockey Championships yesterday in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Knight pulled off two saves in the penalty shootout to give Barbados a3-2 victory over Uruguay, but he also came up big in extra time to keep them in the game with the scores tied 3-3.
Akeem Rudder scored first to give Barbados the 1-0 lead in the shootout and Juan Canessa equalized for Uruguay. Justin Catlin made it 2-1 before Matias Pereiro cancelled out that strike.
Then the match got really interesting.
Keron Taylor shot wide and Mateo Pereiro also missed his shot. Shacquille Callender, who picked up two cautions in the match, had a chance to give Barbados a cushion, but he shot wide of the goal guarded by Martin Ocampo.
The Bajans would have been nervous when Alexis Lopez stepped up to face Knight. He had scored two of Uruguay’s goals in regulation time, but Knight pulled off the save to keep Barbadian hopes alive.
It was left to Che Warner to put Barbados back in front andhthat he did.
The pressure shifted back to Knight who once again came up with the save to deny captain Joaquin Rodriguez and was then mobbed by his jubilant teammates.
Earlier, Barbados were put on the back foot in the second minute after Ocampo made a save, only to see Lopez beat Knight and give Uruguay the 1-0 lead.
Ocampo made two more saves to preserve the scoreline as Barbados went on the attack trying to find the equalizer.
One penalty corner was saved and another went wide. Barbados were dominating possession in midfield, but could not break through the defence.
However, in the 34th minute Warner scored from the penalty corner to put them back on even keel. Seconds later, after defending four straight penalty corners and with no time on the clock, Lopez came up for Uruguay again to give them the 2-1 lead at half-time.
The second half belonged to Barbados who clawed their way back into the game through a Warner field goal seven minutes after resumption.
Kamar Bovell gave Barbados their first lead of the match in the 47th minute, but it was short-lived as Mateo Pereiro tied it up in the 51st.
Neither team could find the breakthrough in extra time and with both down to ten men each, the match went down to penalty flicks with Knight carrying Barbados on his shoulders.
Trinidad and Tobago secured fifth place with a 4-3 golden goal victory over Mexico.
Last night Canada and Argentina were playing for the women’s title while the United States and Chile were set to face off for third place. (SAT)