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At National Hockey Stadium, Wellington: United States 1 (Caarls Sanne 21 min) Black Sticks 1 (Stephanie Dickins 60min). United States win 2-0 in shootout.
The Black Sticks Women haven’t been able to mark Liz Thompson’s double century in style, opening their FIH Pro League campaign with a disappointing display against the United States in Wellington on Saturday.
In the end they were able to salvage a bonus point thanks to losing in a shootout, following a dramatic final-minute equaliser, but the hosts would have been gunning for more against a side stationed seven places lower than them (16th to ninth) in the world rankings.
New Zealand had beaten the Americans in seven of their past eight meetings, including the last four – all Pro League encounters – having scored three goals on each occasion.
However, this time out, they never really looked threatening on attack, and it took 59 minutes for them to find their target, when Stephanie Dickins scored from a penalty corner against a States side down to nine players thanks to two late yellow cards.
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But after giving themselves hope with their magic moment at the death, the Sticks were then back to their wayward selves in the shootout as neither Katie Doar, Hope Ralph, Rose Tynan or Megan Hull could find the back of the net, and the States triumphed 2-0.
Hockey NZ
Rose Tynan, Black Sticks
It leaves new coach Phil Burrows, who took the reins in last month’s 2-1 defeat to seventh-ranked Spain in Mt Maunganui, with plenty of work to do, as world No 10 China lie in wait on Sunday, and the three teams then face one another again in the capital next weekend.
Defender Thompson was featuring in her 200th international for the New Zealand women’s side, in what was her first game back since an ACL injury last year, which ruled her out of both the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
But after proudly leading her side out at the National Hockey Stadium, the 28-year-old and her mates left it in a far more subdued state.
Despite the Sticks’ reasonable opening to the contest, the Americans defended stoutly to keep things goal-less at quarter-time, before breaking the deadlock in style six minutes into the second stanza.
That was thanks to a great aerial ball from Sessa Ashley, with Caarls Sanne brilliantly taking it down then strongly driving towards the near post, and her in-ball then deflecting in off the foot of Tarryn Davey.
The hosts threatened a hit-back, firstly with a decent Hannah Cotter shot, then a pair of penalty corners, but they weren’t able to convert, and went to halftime 1-0 behind.
Needing some sort of inspiration, New Zealand nearly had it from Alex Lukin midway through the quarter, but her shot was fired just wide of the post, and they went into the final 15 minutes still trailing.
A few promising runs up the middle turned into nothing, and when Thompson couldn’t latch onto a goal-bound ball in the final minutes, it looked all over, before the pair of yellow cards and late penalty-corner heroics.
But it still proved to be the Americans’ day.
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