Argentina clinched its sixth medal in seven Olympic competitions Friday in Paris, outlasting Belgium in a shootout to grab the country's third-ever bronze.
A scoreless first period preceded an explosive, back-and-forth second quarter marked by loose balls, redirects, and scrappy play.
Belgium struck first on a penalty corner in the eighth minute. Emma Puvrez grabbed a deflected drag flick and slid it into the side of the net, but the lead didn't last long. Six and a half minutes into the second, Argentina retaliated with a penalty corner of its own.
Las Leonas added a second five minutes later, finding a loose ball and taking advantage of a confused Belgian goalie, who had already made two stops. Then, it was Belgium's turn to even the score, potting another loose rebound while Argentinian goalie Cristina Cosentino frantically searched for the ball.
After two more evenly-matched quarters that finished with no change in score, the match headed to a shootout — the fifth across both the men's and women's Olympic tournaments and the third in the women's series. Both teams had been involved in shootouts during the knockout round. Argentina might have had the morale advantage after it won a shootout against Germany in the quarterfinal. Belgium, on the other hand, lost its shootout to China in the semifinal.
Las Leonas led the shootout from the first round, putting their initial attempt just past Belgian goalie Aisling D'Hooge while the Red Panthers missed their first two. Belgium potted one to close the gap, but shots from 18-year-old Zoe Diaz de Armas and Sofia Cairo secured the 3-1 win for Argentina.
In its second-ever tournament appearance, Belgium's advancement to the medal round is an accomplishment in and of itself, but the inexperienced squad crumbled under the pressure, seemingly forgetting that a shootout in field hockey awards eight seconds to take as many shots as possible, even if the initial shot is stopped by the goalkeeper. In both of their last two attempts, the Red Panthers walked away from a blocked shot rather than tracking it down.
Schedule: 2024 Paris Olympics women's field hockey medal matches
Friday, Aug. 9
Gold medal match — Netherlands vs. China: 2 p.m. ET