White Rock’s Kaitlyn Williams will defend Canada’s net at the 2019 field hockey Pan American Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee has published its roster for the July 29-Aug. 10 games, which are to be held in Lima, Peru.
The 29-year-old, nicknamed ‘Rocky’ by her teammates, has been a staple between the pipes for the women’s national team since making her debut in 2011, according to the Field Hockey Canada website.
Later that year, she was part of the Canadian team that just missed the podium at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara. In 2013, she helped Canada win bronze at the Pan American Cup and then competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
In 2015 she was part of the Canadian team that won bronze at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
The Pan American Games are part of the Olympic pathway, the winning team automatically qualifies for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Canada recently finished second at the International Field Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey Series Final event in Valencia, Spain, earning themselves a berth in a two-game qualification series in the fall with an Olympic spot on the line.
With wins over Pan American rivals Chile and the United States in the last year, Canada will be a threat and is in reach of the final this year, a news release states.
“Our first focus is to finish in the top two in our pool and we are very aware of the toughness of this, with both Argentina and Uruguay in our pool,” head coach Giles Bonnet said. “Uruguay is a team that is very capable and we have enormous respect for them and the improvement they have made.
“Argentina is a world class quality team and we will need to perform at our best to remain competitive against them in our pool game. Our aim at Lima is to do everything to create an upset.”
Out of the 16 players that made Team Canada, 13 are from B.C.
