Bermuda 2 Brazil 1

Bermuda women’s hockey team produced a sensational comeback to conquer Brazil at the National Sports Centre last night to storm into contention for a bronze medal in the Pan Am Challenge.

The home side’s first victory in the five-team tournament saw them set up a date with Guyana on Saturday. The match starts at 3.30pm, a curtain-raiser for the 6pm final between Mexico and Paraguay.

Brazil had made sure their dominance count when they surged ahead in the 18th minute through their captain Mayara Eiko on her 50th appearance.

But Bermuda had other ideas. Mallory Towlson netted in the 38th minute from a short corner taken by Georgia Harris and Jessica Hollis held her cool to slot in a penalty stroke in the 46th minute, awarded Yvonna Osborne was impeded as she went for goal.

Towlson, the scorer of the goal that secured Bermuda’s qualification for the Central American and Caribbean Games two years ago, ensured that she broke her scoring duck in this tournament when it mattered most.

“I’m extremely proud of the team for fighting until the very end,’’ Towlson told The Royal Gazette. “We definitely showed heart out there and everyone should be proud of themselves for how they performed.

“For me to score is honestly a massive relief. I’m so happy that we could bring the team up with that, and get the spirits up to keep fighting in the game.”

With a passionate crowd urging them on, Bermuda, having been dominated by the Brazilians in the opening two quarters, displayed a never-say-die attitude after the break. They will be looking to maintain the momentum against Guyana, who held Bermuda to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.

“It’s so amazing when you have the home field advantage and you have a massive crowd supporting you,’’ she said.

“We’re going for bronze, we’re going to get a good rest tonight and fight again tomorrow. We’ll fight for one another, it won’t be so much about individual performances, but we’re going into that match as a collective.”

The Brazilians, who only needed a draw to qualify for the third place play-off, were in tears at the end of the match. Defeat to Bermuda meant that they finish the tournament winless, and will be reduced to spectators with no match for them on the final day.

Eiko, the most-capped player, was left to console her younger team-mates, as they tried to come to terms with the loss.

“I’m really proud of my team, we appreciate all the support from the Brazilians, it meant a lot to us.”

Earlier in the day, tournament favourites Mexico maintained their 100 per cent record when they defeated Guyana 4-0. It was the fourth win of the tournament for the Mexicans.

The loss saw the Guyanese, who started the competition well with a 1-0 win over Brazil, before drawing with Paraguay and Bermuda, slip to third.

Mexico, the highest-ranked team in the tournament, are heavy favourites to beat Paraguay in the final. Victory would see the Mexicans qualify for next year’s Pan American Cup, to be held in Montevideo, Uruguay.