Danielle Husar Wins Gold at the 2021 Junior Pan American Championships

SANTIAGO, Chile – Virginia field hockey junior Danielle Husar (Mississauga, Canada.) has won gold as a member of Team Canada at the 2021 Junior Pan American Cup in Santiago, Chile in August.

After playing to a 0-0 draw in pool play, the Canadian U-22 team took down Uruguay 1-0 in the finals, capping off an incredible undefeated run at the 2021 Pan American Games. The gold medal is the first in program history and the first Canadian women’s Pan American gold registered at any level.

By defeating Chile in the semifinals, Canada had already secured their berth in the 2021 Junior World Cup. They came into the finals riding high off the semifinal win and carried the momentum into the gold medal match. After three quarters of scoreless play, Canada’s penalty corner unit earned a PC in the 53rd minute. Anna Mollenhauer, one of Canada’s stalwart defenders and corner takers, mashed in a PC rocket, to give Canada the lead.

Husar, who plays midfield for the Cavaliers but is a striker for Team Canada, is a veteran of international competition winning a bronze medal in Dublin, Ireland in 2019 with the Canada U21 team at the 4 Nations Tournament, and also played in a test series with the U23 team in China that same year.

The original U21 Pan Am Cup was scheduled for 2020 but was rescheduled to August 2021 due to COVID-19. The age restrictions shifted to U22 recognize the postponement of the tournament. Anyone born in 1999 or later will be eligible to compete in the Junior Pan American Cup but only those born in 2000 or later are eligible to compete in the Junior World Cup.

This is the first time Team Canada has qualified for the Junior World Cup since 2013, when they placed fourteenth. Argentina has won seven of the previous eight iterations of this event, with USA winning one in 2008. Today’s win will go down in history as the first Canadian Junior Pan American gold for any Team Canada. This is also the first Pan American gold for any Canadian women’s program.

The US-22 team has also qualified for the Junior World Cup with a bronze finish at the Junior Pan Ams.