The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is hosting the third edition of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup (women) which will be played in Santiago, Chile from 23 February to 2 March 2025. Canada is looking to build on their 6th place finish from the 2024 tournament in Spain.
Canada’s opening match took place in prime time this evening in Santiago. There is always a special energy when Canada and USA clash at a big tournament and tonight was no exception. The teams exchanged chances in the first half with USA capitalizing on two penalty corner set pieces. The second half was much of the same. The field tilted in USA’s favour but Canada countering and challenging offensively when they were able. The USA defense was stout and protected the circle well only allowing two Canadian penalty corners throughout the game, defending both.
Canada’s play featured a balanced attack and defense. The dynamic midfield play of Natalie Sourisseau translated into a handful of quality chances by Canada’s attacking unit of Dani Husar, Thora Rae and first-cap addition Allison Kuzyk. The goalkeeping tandem of Rowan Harris and Marcia Laplante shared the net in today’s match, combining for several important saves, keeping the game in reach. Canada had plenty of chances in the second half, including a handful of third and fourth quarter shots deflected away by the American keeper.
The Canadian Wolf Pack is up against some familiar foes in the group stage at the FIH Nations Cup. They have USA and Chile, Pan Am rivals and Japan, who they faced twice at last year’s Nations Cup. Canada has faced USA and Chile a combined 44 times since 2013. They are familiar with their play style and it just comes down to any given day for who is going to win. Canada comes into the tournament with a blended roster of experience and new blood.
Key veterans include Natalie Sourisseau, Karli Johansen, Kat Leahy, and goalkeeper Rowan Harris, all of whom bring extensive experience from multi-sport games, the 2022 World Cup, and other major tournaments over the last decade. Among the younger players, Anna Mollenhauer stands out. She is still young but has been consistently touring with the Wolfpack since 2020 and already amassed significant experience. She is joined by Thora Rae, Sara Goodman, Audrey Sawers, who form the young core of the team. Making her senior international debut will be Vancouver’s Allison Kuzyk, while recent graduates from the junior program, Brooke McCusker and Mikayla Stelling will be participating in their second top-level senior tournament.
Read more about the roster here. The tournament format sees the top two teams from each pool advancing to the semifinals, while the bottom teams will play in placement matches. The winner of the tournament will earn a spot in the FIH Pro League, while the lower-ranked teams face potential relegation to the new Nations Cup 2 tournament. Coming into the tournament, the Canadian Women’s National Team was forced indoors for their last two weeks of training. Snow stacked up in Vancouver, where the team is centralized, forcing them to adapt and prepare in a different way. The team is now on site in Santiago and have played training matches and practiced for a week leading up to the event.