SANTIAGO — Canada lost 2-0 to South Korea at the FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup on Sunday, relegating the Canadian women to the new third-tier Nations Cup 2 competition.
The Nations Cup features the best-ranked teams not participating in the FIH Hockey Pro League, with the winning side earning a spot in the top tier next season and the bottom side dropping down.
The Canadians will need to win the Nations Cup 2 to climb back up the field hockey ladder.
Canada, ranked 18th in the world, finished last in the eight-team tournament at 0-5-0 while No. 16 South Korea was seventh at 1-4-0.
No. 10 New Zealand faced No. 11 Ireland later Sunday in the final. Ireland won 1-0 when they met in pool play.
Canada finished bottom of Pool A after losses to the 14th-ranked U.S. (2-0), No. 13 Chile (5-0) and No. 12 Japan (2-1). The Canadian women then were beaten 2-0 by No. 15 Scotland in a placement match.
Victoria's Kat Leahy scored Canada's lone goal at the competition.
It's the third edition of the FIH Nations Cup, with Canada finishing sixth at the 2024 tournament in Spain.
The Canadians were forced to practice indoors in Vancouver, where they are centralized, for a week ahead of the tournament because of snow conditions outside.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2025.
The Canadian Press
