Having been officially eliminated from knockout contention on Thursday, the United States' women's field hockey team had nothing to lose heading into its final match at the Paris Olympics. Despite getting off to another slow start, the United Eagles put it all on the line in an attempt to nab their first win of the tournament and succeeded, beating South Africa 1-0.
Both teams began the contest with a palpable sense of ennui, splitting possession almost evenly through a scoreless first half. Each team jogged after the ball with little direction or enthusiasm, creating few real scoring opportunities until the latter half of the third quarter.
Finally, in the 43rd minute, the Eagles found the back of the net.
The U.S. took a penalty corner shot that bounced off South Africa keeper Anelle Lloyd's pad right in American Meredith Sholder's direction. The 25-year-old set herself up by the left corner of the net as the penalty corner began and waited patiently, effortlessly picking up the rebound and tucking it into the cage. It would be the only goal of the match.
Kelsey Bing made eight saves in the shutout.
For an all-rookie squad that failed to qualify for the previous Olympic Games in Tokyo, simply earning the opportunity to gain experience at the highest international level is a huge step forward. Their surprising showing at the Olympic qualifier in February, in which the young Eagles pulled off a series of upsets to win their group and finish the tournament in second overall, proved this crew has grit and promise.
Their youth served as both a hinderance and advantage. On the one hand, the squad often lost sight of the little things that can (and did) make or break a game, like maintaining a tight defensive corps and landing passes. On the other, all of the Eagles' offensive success originated from players under the age of 23 — Ashley Sessa (21) found the only tally versus Argentina, Sophia Gladieux (22) struck early in what would be a 1-1 tie against Spain, and Abby Tamer (21) grabbed two against Great Britain.
All obvious weaknesses aside, this team showed potential and unrelenting drive. If they have any say in it, the Eagles will be back in Los Angeles in 2028.