Less than 30 hours removed from becoming the first Usa women’s field hockey team to record more than two wins in a single Olympics, the ladies in red, white and blue got back out there on Thursday in search of victory No. 4.
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Early in the fourth quarter, Fee preserved a 4-1 US advantage by stepping up to make a strong block tackle to thwart a second Japanese score. Vittese was denied on that scoring play though the rebound handled by defender Cait Van Sickle (Wilmington) would not as the Americans would take a 2-0 lead in the 41st minute of play.
Two minutes later with two players in the penalty box, the Australians cut the Americans’ lead in half on a goal by Kathryn Slattery but could not get the equalizer by the end of the third quarter and were held scoreless in the fourth. The Indians had just a couple of shots at the opposition goal.
“I’m not sure it has sunk in yet”, Bam said via a team release. “Regardless of our past or current ranking, regardless of our previous results, we play hard and I think the results of that show”. India are yet to register a win at Rio and face Argentina next on Saturday.
Kathleen Bam scored two goals for United States of America, with Melissa Gonzalez slotting in the third.
Both Sharkey and Kolojejchick stayed heavily involved down the stretch with Sharkey drawing a penalty corner thanks to a well placed reverse stick shot and Kolojejchick showing off her handle by helping to dribble out the majority of the final 1:30.
The Americans, however, could not score a single goal from the penalty corner. All the three goals came from field efforts. Briggs was credited with a dozen saves in the opening match for the U.S.
“Really important game for us”, United States of America coach Craig Parnham said.
Gonzalez gave the US some breathing room with 8:23 to play the the fourth when she buried a nice feed from Katie Reinprecht to cap the scoring on the day.
The Americans, ranked fifth in the world, asserted themselves early against 16th-ranked Japan, scoring two goals in the first five minutes. The American team is captained by Central Bucks East grad Lauren Crandall and also features Perkasie’s Julia Reinprecht.
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United States of America leads Group B with 12 points, having won all four matches.
