The women's team from Cuba was crowned champion of the field hockey tournament at the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 this Monday, defeating Mexico 2-0 in the penalty shootout after a scoreless regulation time.
The main star of the final was the goalkeeper Yurismailis García, who stopped all four shots taken by the Mexican players during the shootout: the attempts by Grecia Mendoza, Mayra Lacheño, Arlette Estrada, and Valeria Espinoza were thwarted by her performance.
Cuba, on the other hand, did not hold back. Yuraima Vera opened the scoring in the shootout, and captain Sunaylis Nikle sealed the title with the second decisive goal.
The victory capped off an almost perfect campaign: the Cuban team scored 29 goals throughout the tournament and only conceded one, a statistic that reflects their absolute dominance in both offense and defense.
In the group stage, Cuba dominated with victories of 7-0 against Jamaica, 7-1 against Barbados, and 9-0 against Bermuda, before defeating Venezuela 6-0 in the semifinals.
In the individual section, Vera finished as the team's top scorer with eight goals, followed by Chiela Darias with seven.
The match was held before a completely full crowd at the hockey stadium in Parque del Este, where athletes from Barbados, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and other delegations joined in the festive atmosphere. The chants of "Cuba, Cuba!" and "Mexico, Mexico!" accompanied a contest that kept the tension high until the final penalty.
This gold has a special taste of revenge. In the Central American Games in San Salvador 2023, Cuba reached the final against the same opponent, drew 1-1 in regular time, and lost the gold in penalties 5-3, settling for silver. In Santo Domingo 2026, the script was completely reversed.
Captain Nikle, who scored Cuba's goal in that final in San Salvador before Mexico equalized, wrapped up a symbolic chapter on Monday by converting the decisive penalty for the title.
In the bronze medal match, Venezuela defeated Barbados 4-1 to complete the podium. The first three Venezuelan goals came in less than six minutes, with goals from María Artigas, Mery Rodríguez, and Johandri Sánchez.
Cuba participates in Santo Domingo 2026 with 504 athletes registered in 42 disciplines and the stated goal of finishing among the top three in the overall medal table, a position it held at the end of last week, behind Mexico and Colombia.
The men's field hockey tournament will conclude this Tuesday with the contest for its medals.
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