Women Poll B: Argentina v USA 2-2 (1-1)
A 64th minute strike from Kelsey Kolojejchick earned 10th-ranked USA a point against reigning World Champions Argentina in an entertaining but rainy contest at the GreenFields Stadium. Kolojejchick's close range finish proved to be enough to seal a 2-2 result against Las Leonas, cancelling out a stunning second half strike from eight times World Player of the Year Luciana Aymar. The result moved both teams onto four points in Pool B, drawing them level with Germany and China whilst moving even further ahead of the currently pointless England and South Africa.
The match at the GreenFields Stadium started just four minutes after Argentina's men had earned a fabulous 1-0 victory over reigning Olympic Champions Germany. The scheduling proved to be tricky for joint men's and women's head coach Carlos Retegui, who was forced to cut short his celebrations in the Kyocera and sprint to the GreenFields, arriving just in time to witness an absorbing first half between the two giants of Pan American hockey.
The action in the first period swung from end to end, as both teams completely ignored the nine-place difference in the FIH World Rankings. The USA more than matched their illustrious South American opponents, although Argentina created the majority of the scoring opportunities in the first half. A penalty corner from Carla Rebecchi rattled the frame of the USA goal early on, while Delfina Merino forced USA keeper Jackie Kintzer into three very good saves.
At the other end, Argentina shot-stopper Belen Succi made numerous saves before USA eventually got the ball in the back of the net thanks to a penalty corner deflection from Kathleen Sharkey, although the strike was ruled out by the video umpire who spotted an infringement. The Americans didn't have to wait long for another opportunity though, with the lively Katie Reinprecht smashing a tomahawk shot from the top of the circle just inside the right post.
Las Leonas drew themselves level in the 32nd minute when Luciana Aymar showed quick hands to draw and foul and win a penalty corner, with Silvina D'Elia's mis-hit effort looping into the net to restore parity at half time.
A heavy rainstorm disrupted the quality of the matchplay in the second half, but it certainly didn't affect the drama. With ten minutes of the match remaining, Luciana Aymar produced a moment of magic when she squeezed a shot between the post and the goalkeeper from a tight angle, moving Argentina ahead for the first time in the game.
However, USA stormed back to grab throughly deserved equaliser, with Kelsey Kolojejchick forcing the ball home from close range after great build-up play from Michelle Vittese with six minutes remaining. It was no more than the Americans deserved, ensuring that the World Number 10 ranked side remain unbeaten at the Rabobank Hockey World Cup.
The never-say-die attitude of the USA is something that Argentina are becoming used to. Aymar said: "I am sad that in the last nine minutes we could not sustain the pressure on the USA goal. At least we felt we played better than in the first game against South Africa." This was a point that her coach, Carlos Retegui agreed on:
"We could have turned around the result when we were 2-1, but we needed to score to make the game safe. They (the USA) are very fit and strong and they came at us in the last nine minutes, and they could have come again, so that is a valuable point for us."
Speaking after the game, captain of the USA team Lauren Crandall said: "Our coach Craig (Parnham) is pretty humble about his coaching, but he has come in and instilled a culture. And part of that culture is about getting on the field and getting a result."
Parnham was equally congratulatory about his players: "These athletes are prepared to work hard and learn. They train every day and they can compete with anyone on this stage."
For schedules, highlights, stories and more visit rabobankhockeyworldcup2014.com
