The Women's Medal Matches
BRONZE: Britain vs. India
These two Pool A teams met in the third match of this tournament where Great Britain earned a 4-1 win over India, but we saw the Indians play inspired hockey following that loss as they downed heavily-favoured Australia in the quarterfinal before falling just short in a 2-1 loss to the Argentinians in the semifinal. Great Britain ran into the Netherlands in the semifinal who made short work of the British, so both teams were looking to finish the tournament strong with a win!Great Britain was the more aggressive of the two teams to start the match, pushing the pace downfield as they worked the ball around the pitch, but the Indian defence was patient and found opportunities to jump into passing lanes and poke balls off sticks. While the pace the two squads played at was noticeably different, the offensive chances were there for both teams. However, neither team could find the net from the circle in the first quarter, and we'd move to the second quarter still locked at 0-0.
The second quarter started with a quick goal as Elena Rayer got the ball on the right side, dribbled into the circle, and attempted a centering pass that went off Indian defender Grace Ekka and into the Indian net for an own goal at the 16th-minute mark to put Great Britain up 1-0! Britain would double their lead in the 24th minute following some great ball movement down the right side that saw Shona McCallin feed Sarah Robertson at the top of the circle, and her strike caught the inside of the post to land in the netting past Indian goalkeeper Savita to make it 2-0!
Much like the Indian men, the two goals scored by Great Britian seemed to awaken the Indian women as they earned a penalty corner in the 25th minute, and Gurjit Kaur would find the net off the setup to cut the lead to 2-1! Moments later, India earned another penalty corner, and it would be Gurjit Kaur scoring her second of the game off the conversion as India ties the game 2-2 in the 26th minute! And they weren't done as they continued to push before the half when a ball centered into the British circle pinballed around before Vandana Katariya flicked it past Maddie Hinch to make it 3-2 for India in the 29th minute! As the horn for halftime sounded, the Indians carried a 3-2 lead into the break as the British women looked to regroup following the three goals in four minutes.
The 35th minute would see Sarah Jones battle her way into the circle on the right side before centering it, and British captain Hollie Pearne-Webb would hammer it home past Savita to tie the game at 3-3 early in the third quarter! India would continue to press the British, but the British women seemed to rediscover their confidence as they pushed back often against India. The remainder of the third quarter would see no additional goals, so we'd head to the fourth quarter where possibly the next goal would decide the medal!
Great Britain would continue to push the pace injectionurth quarter, and they earned a penalty corner in the 48th minute. Off that corner, Grace Balsdon's drag-flick would find the net through the Indian defence, and Great Britain found themselves ahead by a 4-3 score! India pressed late into the game, but struggled to break through the British defence around the circle for a good chance. Savita remained in the net, strangely, as the Indians looked to equalize, but the final horn would sound with Great Britain securing the 4-3 victory and the bronze medal over India!
GOLD: Netherlands vs. Argentina
The best women's team on the planet whose record in the Olympic tournament was still unblemished faced the third-place team from Pool B in what appeared to be a mismatch on paper. Argentina did upset the Germans in the quarterfinals before eliminating India from gold-medal contention, but the road to the final had a few bumps for the South American nation. Netherlands, meanwhile, has steamrolled nearly everyone in their path to the final, so would we see the Dutch women continue their impressive run and leave Argentina in their wake?The opening quarter seemed like both teams were looking for weaknesses in the other's defensive scheme as there were virtually no shots to speak of and the chances were minimal on both sides. With no shots, there were no goals, so we'd head to the second quarter still tied 0-0.
We'd see our first crack in the Argentian defence in the 23rd minute when a penalty corner was awarded to the Netherlands. Frederique Matla's drag-flick was deflected by Margot van Geffen on the way in and found room past Maria Succi in the Argentina net as the Netherlands took the 1-0 lead! They'd earn another penalty corner in the 26th minute, and Caia van Maasakker would drag-flick it into the right corner past the Argentinian defence for the 2-0 lead! And they'd keep coming at Argentina as a third penalty corner would find van Maasakker, and she goes low on the left side to make it 3-0 in the 29th minute of the game! Before the halftime break, though, Argentina would get a goal back as Agustina Gorzelany converted a penalty corner with 1.2 seconds remaining, and we'd head into the halftime break with Netherlands leading 3-1!
The third quarter felt a little like the first quarter in that neither side was willing to give up much ground to the other, but there were a handful of glorious opportunities on both side that went unfulfilled. Argentina looked, at times, dangerous, but Josine Koning was sharp in the Dutch net.
The fourth quarter was all about possession and pace as the Netherlands worked to control both in the final quarter knowing that they were fifteen minutes from their Olympic goal. The final two minutes felt more like an ice hockey game as any time that the Dutch felt threatened, they sent the ball down the pitch and out of trouble. It was puzzling to see Argentina leave Succi in the net when they needed a goal, but the final horn would sound on this game as the Netherlands defeated Argentina by the 3-1 score for the gold medal!
The following table shows how the remainder of the field finished.
| Rank | Country | 2016 Finish |
|---|---|---|
 | Netherlands | 2nd |
 | Argentina | 7th |
 | Great Britain | 1st |
| 4th | India | 12th |
| 5th | Australia | 6th |
| 6th | Germany | 3rd |
| 7th | Spain | 8th |
| 8th | New Zealand | 4th |
| 9th | China | 9th |
| 10th | Ireland | DNQ |
| 11th | Japan | 10th |
| 12th | South Africa | DNQ |
Congratulations go out to all the teams, but especially to gold medalist Netherlands, silver medalist Argentina, and bronze medalist Great Britain along with the other nine teams for what proved to be a most amazing tournament by all standards!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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