Thursday started like any other, with a morning jog through the village and a team stretch on the artificial grass lawn outside the dining hall, but there was an added pep in everyone’s step – it was game day.
Our first game of the tournament, that night against New Zealand, didn’t start until 9:00 pm local time. It was the latest international game many of us had ever played, and as such required significant tweaking to some of our preparation routine. Of course, a midday nap was an absolute must, but how much and when to eat still troubled many.
Nonetheless, as we ran though a newly tweaked team warm-up, everyone was psyched and ready to go. A sizeable and enthusiastic crowd (including many friends and family) filled the stadium. New Zealand started strong, however, and earned a penalty corner early in the match; the dragflick struck Captain Scott Tupper on the line, and despite coming maddeningly close, goalkeeper Dave Carter could not prevent the Kiwis from converting on the resulting penalty stroke.
Canada responded well with a period of sustained attacking pressure, culminating with a tying goal off a Sukhi Panesar backhand from outside the far post. We continued to press forward, producing several dangerous scoring chances, but went into the halftime break in a 1-1 deadlock.
New Zealand came out blazing in the second half, but our defensive corps held fast under seemingly unrelenting pressure. Finally, the Kiwis found a way though, taking a narrow 2-1 lead. The remainder of the game was a hard-fought, spirited affair, and despite generating offensive opportunties and a string of penalty corners, we were unable to equalize; New Zealand added a final goal late in the match as we pressed forward, and the game finished 3-1.
Although disappointed with the result, and despite not playing some of our best hockey, we found some solice in the fact that we had hung with one of the best teams in the world and given ourselves a legitimate chance to win.
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