IRELAND 2-1 USA
Ireland rallied from behind to defeat USA 2-1 and secure their place in tomorrow's FIH Hockey Nations Cup Final.
Madeleine Zimmer opened the scoring after four minutes, but Ireland levelled matters at the midway point of the second quarter when Niamh Carey won a penalty stroke that Roisín Upton calmly converted.
Talismanic forward Katie Mullan produced the decisive moment with just over a minute left in the third quarter with what proved to be the winner, with Ireland weathering a late USA storm to progress to the final in Santiago.
They will play the winner of the second semi-final in Santiago between Chile and New Zealand.
USA grabbed an early lead when Zimmer shot from the right side of the circle with just four minutes on the clock.
Ireland looked like they had equalised seconds before the end of the first quarter when Mullan found Mikayla Power in the circle, with the young forward deflecting into the roof of the net, but the goal was chalked off for a dangerous ball from the delivery.
Ireland upped the intensity from the off in the second quarter.
The equaliser eventually came from a penalty stroke won by Carey, her follow up shot from a penalty corner hitting a US defender on the goal-line. Upton stepped up to calmy convert the opportunity.
Ireland almost doubled the lead just moments later when Emily Kealy found the net, but the ball hit Sarah Torrans on the way through so again, the goal didn’t stand.
Ireland continued to create chances in the third quarter, Torrans shooting just wide from a tight angle.
Minutes later Elena Neill played an inch perfect pass to find Mullan in the circle, with work to do. Mullan beat two and snuck the ball past goalkeeper Jennifer Rizzo to give Ireland the lead.
A tense final quarter saw the USA step higher in the press to pile the pressure on. A yellow card for captain Sarah Hawkshaw and a green for Mullan saw Ireland at a significant player disadvantage, with USA opting to substitute their keeper in the closing minutes.
A flurry of late chances, including a close penalty corner gave USA opportunities to level the scoring but again Ireland’s defence held firm, booking their place in their second FIH Hockey Nations Cup final in as many years.
