Women’s Ice Hockey World Cup: Argentina stun Netherlands in shootout thriller to clinch third title

Argentina stunned the Netherlands to win their third title. (Photo credit: FIH) Argentina’s women’s ice hockey team pulled off a miracle on Saturday, defeating world number one and three-time defending champions the Netherlands in the World Cup final at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen to lift the title for the third time.Playing in front of a raucous crowd, the South Americans were crowned world champions after winning 3-1 in a shootout, after a 1-1 draw at the end of 60 minutes. Goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino was the star, making a number of brilliant saves – both in the shootout and in regulation time – to help Argentina pull off the upset.Cosentino was duly named Player of the Match and after the match she couldn’t have been more proud of her teammates and what they had achieved.After all, it was the first time since 2010 that the Dutch lost the World Cup final. And 16 years ago, it was Argentina who beat them to win the title for the second time – the first time was in 2002, also defeating the Netherlands.On Saturday, however, it seemed for a long time that Argentina would not repeat this feat. They also lost the final in 2022 and it looked like history would repeat itself when the Netherlands took the lead through Yibbi Jansen from a penalty corner in the 30th minute and maintained their advantage until the final quarter.But Argentina simply refused to give up.They constantly pushed the Dutch back and won many PKs. The Dutch defense held firm for most of the game, but Argentina finally found a way through in the 54th minute.After their seventh penalty corner, a miscue saw Agustina Gorzelany blast the ball towards goal. The Dutch defender managed to get a stick to her but the ball fell to Maria Granatta who made no mistake from the left of the D as she found the back of the net to put Argentina level with six minutes remaining.The equalizer seemed to rattle the Dutch, who completely lost their composure in the shootout.Pien Sanders, Felice Albers and Freeke Moes failed to convert their attempts as Cosentino produced a sensational performance in goal. For Argentina, Zoe Diaz’s effort was blocked off the back post, but Victoria Granatto, Brisa Bruggesser and Sofia Cairo all found the net to seal a 3-1 victory.Earlier, the final was a tricky affair, with neither side creating too many clear-cut chances. At the end of the first quarter, Pien Dicke had several chances, but Cosentino stood firm and kept the Dutch at bay.Jansen finally gave the Dutch the lead late in the second quarter, but they couldn’t assert the control they are known for.Argentina, meanwhile, kept believing and pushing until they eventually found their way back into the competition. And when it came to the shootout, Cosentino created the decisive moments to help Argentina complete a stunning victory and claim their third World Cup title.Meanwhile, in the other match of the day, Belgium beat Australia 1-0 to finish third.