The Argentine women’s field hockey team is one step closer to a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Leonas beat Germany in a penalty shootout after tying 1-1 in their quarterfinals clash on Monday. Now, they will face The Netherlands in the semis.

The game was hard-fought and evenly-matched throughout, with Argentine goalkeeper Cristina Cosentino saving a shot from a Germany penalty corner in the third quarter.

Germany took the lead with just three minutes left in the final quarter when Viktoria Huse scored a penalty. The Leonas squeezed in an equalizer in the final minute, when Julieta Jankunas scored an equalizer from a penalty corner.

Since 2011, field hockey has used the “Australian penalties” shoot-out style: an attacker starting with the ball on the 23-meter line has eight seconds to score a goal one-on-one against the goalkeeper, who starts on the goal line.

Cosentino became the hero once again, saving attempts from Huse and Sonja Zimmermann to claim the series and send Argentina into its sixth semifinal in the last seven Olympics.

“I’m shaking, I’m overwhelmed,” Leonas forward Zoe Díaz told Televisión Pública after the game. She added she was very nervous with the penalty shoot-out and tried not to think too much when it was her turn. 

“We knew we were going to win. We always remained positive,” she said.

Argentina will now face The Netherlands, who beat Great Britain in their quarterfinal clash. The Dutch are the defending Olympic champions: they beat Argentina in the Tokyo 2020 final. The semi finals are set to be played on Wednesday, at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.

Larregina makes it to 400m semis, Larocca to final

The Leonas weren’t the only Argentines moving ahead. Sprinter Elián Larregina won the 400m repechage race — a last-chance race for sprinters who failed to make it in the first round — and will run in the semis on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old, from Suipacha in Buenos Aires province, is one of Argentine athletics’ rising stars. He has already won two South American Indoor Championships, a gold medal at the South American Games in 2022 and a bronze medal at the 2024 Ibero-American Championships. Paris is his first Olympics.

“[Sunday] was a tricky day, I was very nervous and that didn’t help,” Larregina told sports outlet TyC, but added that a calmer mindset on Monday helped his performance, where he managed a time of 45.36 seconds.

“[On Tuesday] I’ll look to improve my best time. That will make me happy. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just enjoy what’s left. It’s a unique experience for me.”

The semifinal is set to start on Tuesday at 2:35 p.m.

In individual equestrian jumping, José María Larocca, who’s taking part in his fifth Olympics, qualified for the final. Set to start at 5 a.m., it will consist of two runs. The top 18 after the first run take part in the second.

All times shown are for Argentina local time (GMT-3). For local times, check the Paris 2024 Olympics site.