The United States opened the Olympics with 2-1 victories over No. 2 Argentina and No. 3 Australia, then set a US women’s Olympic record with six goals against No. 10 Japan. The U.S. once again will leave empty-handed.
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But New Zealand tried to work a penalty corner, and Germany counter-attacked. I’m pleased for the team, I’m pleased for USA hockey.
They will face an in-form Argentina side, who powered into the final with a stunning 5-2 upset of defending champions Germany.
It began on day three when shooter Natalie Rooney was pipped by Aussie Catherine Skinner in the gold medal match. “That’s what we’re here for, right? When it comes down to these games you’ve got to be at your best or you get punished”.
Lisa Altenburg knocked in a backhanded shot high over U.S. goalkeeper Jackie Briggs to put Germany up 2-0 late in the first. The Americans opened play with wins against two powerhouse teams, in No. 2 Argentina and No. 3 Australia. The United States led their final pool play match against Britain heading into the fourth period before losing 2-1.
Blyth said her team played well in patches but “when you don’t take your chances it’s very hard to come back from a few goals down”. “We’ve not been able to do that”. “When I was working with other teams, we would always see those as big threats of the United States of America, and when you see it firsthand, you see it for what it is”. “We had three corners in the first part of the game and then we scored three-from-three so it was good, happy”, said 24-year-old Peillat.
Captain Madonna Blyth, Australia’s most-capped female player with 342 appearances, announced shortly after the match this would be her final Olympics. It’s not a big issue for us.
The Hockeyroos reduced the deficit early in the second half when Slattery latched onto a pass from Madonna Blyth after a penalty corner scramble. The U.S. team had seemed to get a respite when a penalty corner was awarded in the final period – but Germany requested a video review that showed an American player had been guilty of a foot foul, and possession went to Germany.
The Americans brought some tension back when goalie Kristina Reynolds was finally bettered by Katelyn Falgowski’s shot in off the stick of German defender Anne Schroder, but there was less than four minutes to go and the USA couldn’t threaten.
Even as the score mounted, Menini said their prime thought was not, “We’re smashing Germany by a record score”, but more, “Don’t lose this”.
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Parnham hopes the fast start in the tournament laid the foundation for future growth. Seconds later, the players were hugging and group hopping all over the Olympic Hockey Stadium, too, roared on by hundreds of fans. They lived dangerously here, and the great Furste admitted they didn’t play their best in the semis.
