Wales hockey: 1-1 Uruguay draw leaves Welsh side winless in Tri-Nations series
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Wales played both hosts Uruguay and Chile twice in a Tri-Nations series warm-up for July's European Championships in Prague
Wales secured a second draw in their Tri-Nations series in Montevideo, finishing 1-1 with Uruguay in their final game on Monday.
The Welsh side also drew their opening game with Chile 2-2, before consecutive defeats against both countries.
Eloise Laity scored her second goal of the series to put Wales ahead after three minutes, before the hosts equalised in the final quarter.
"It was a really strong performance," said captain Beth Bingham.
"I think we were unlucky not to come away with the three points.
"We've played six games in a short amount of time and the improvements we've made have been massive and we can look forward to the Europeans now."
After twice coming from behind in their opening fixture against Chile, with equalisers from Izzy Webb and Laity, Wales were then beaten 2-0 by Uruguay in a game which saw first senior international caps awarded to Maisie Riley, Betsan Thomas, Amy Cradden and Sophia Crawshay.
Following a 1-0 defeat to world number 14 ranked Chile on Sunday, the Welsh side - with two more first caps for Lucy Daman and Anja Atkin - started with full intent against Uruguay in the tournament's closing fixture, scoring from a well executed early penalty corner.
Ranked 25th in the world, one place below their opponents, Uruguay forced a number of critical saves from goalkeeper Lauren Roberts before scoring from close range in the 53rd minute to leave Wales without a win in the series.
"I reflect on this final game with a huge admiration for the players," said head coach Kevin Johnson.
"On a back-to-back game day after we worked so hard last night, we managed to find a performance this evening against the hosts that showed quality, character and in some of the most challenging circumstances I can remember as a head coach.
"Whilst we were unlucky to concede a late equaliser to deny us what would have been a well-deserved victory, we can look back on this series of matches as an experience that has connected us closer together as a group and will no doubt be beneficial to us as we edge closer to European competition in July."
Wales are in Pool B at the second division of the European Championships in Prague next month, with their opening fixture against Austria on Sunday, 30 July (10:15 BST).
They then play France on Monday, 31 July (18:00 BST) before completing their group fixtures against Lithuania on Wednesday, 2 August (11.15 BST).
In the other games at the Tri-Nations series in Montevideo, Uruguay beat Chile 1-0 in the opening match, before losing to their South American rivals 4-2 in their second meeting.
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