The Australian women’s hockey team has been knocked out of the Rio Olympics, losing 4-2 to New Zealand in the quarter-finals.
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Edwina Bone during an earlier game at the Rio Olympics against GB. “That’s what we have to think about this evening, and from tonight, we have to focus on this game”.
An Olympic field hockey game lasts 60 minutes.
The game brought what was, for us, an unusual sight: a German Field Hockey staff member wearing a wireless headphone set watched the game from the stands near his team’s goal, calling out instructions to the defense and relaying commentary over his headset. Briggs was there yet again for the save and Penn Manor product Jill Witmer earned the USA its second corner five minutes later, but Dawson’s drag flick was stopped again.
The U.S. team had several chances to get back into today’s quarterfinal game but was unable to convert them into goals until Katelyn Falgowski scored with 3:54 remaining in the fourth period. The past four years have been incredible.
However, the Germans are fresh off of a game that they never trailed in and did a strong job of keeping control of the game over a gritty United States team. Four years ago, in London again, it was 10th. The team took seven shots on goal and earned three penalty shots, giving it a significant edge over the Americans.
But Germany was re-energized when Furste put a penalty corner shot through the goalkeeper’s legs with 4 1/2 minutes left, and hit in a second with 41 seconds to go. The opportunity was there.
Germany had produced result-altering goals in the final eight seconds of three different matches before Tuesday, lending hope that the team still could hang tough, even when it trailed 2-0 at the end of the first period. Lisa Altenburg knocked in a backhanded shot high over United States of America goalie Jackie Briggs to put Germany up 2-0 late in the first.
Belgium took the lead after a scoreless first quarter between both teams. “When it comes down to these games you’ve got to be at your best or you get punished”.
“It’s a little bit of a disappointing way to go out but it’s just the way it goes sometimes”.
The U.S. did that but couldn’t break through. Each American penalty corner was turned aside. Briggs was there for the stick save and to bat away a pair of German corners before Team USA finally seemed to get its offensive attack going.
The U.S. had two good scoring chances in the first half. “We’ve worked really hard, especially after the Champions Trophy, we’ve been working on goalscoring and to see it pay off is great”. There was no call.
“I thought it was a pretty tough tackle”, Parnham said.
With that attempt gone, and with Bam off with what she said was a hyper-extended knee, time ran out on the Americans. “You can’t have the fairy tale finishes when you want them”. You have to give yourself time to regroup and figure it out.
“It’s a performance that we will be bitterly disappointed (about)”, Knowles said.
Back for more means a new journey, from Monday’s loss to 2020 in Tokyo.
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Before the final on Thursday, Germany and the Netherlands, the finalists in London, will play for bronze. I’m pleased for the team, I’m pleased for US hockey.
