Well, at least the U.S. will have a lot of open play dates in the next couple of years.
The United States’ 2-1 loss to Ireland in the semifinal round of the FIH Nations Cup in Santiago, Chile takes the U.S. out of contention for winning its way back into the FIH Pro League; only the winner of the Nations Cup will have the opportunity to exchange places with the last-place team in the current Pro League.
The game started off promisingly for the Eagles. When Maddie Zimmer clouted a long shot into the far corner of the goal cage in the fourth minute it was cause for celebration.
But the problem was, there were still 56 minutes to play.
In the remainder of the game, Ayeisha McFerran, the former Louisville University star goalie, retained her amazing form, especially when it comes to playing the United States.
Ireland, remember, shut down the U.S. in the 2018 FIH World Cup in a game which set the tone for the United Eagles’ campaign in this competition as they didn’t qualify for the knockout phase.
McFerran did enough against the U.S. attack, while Roisin Upton managed a penalty stroke and Kathryn Mullan banked one in off a U.S. foot in the goalmouth as the Green Army won the game.
David Passmore, the U.S. head coach, made a major shakeup in the lineup by putting Jenny Rizzo in the goal cage for her first minutes of this competition. Rizzo, who competed in the Women’s Hockey India League a few weeks ago, was magnificent in the game, and was unlucky not to have stopped the stroke of Upton, the former UConn star. On the stroke, Rizzo was perhaps two inches — the width of the ball — away from making the stick save as Upton fired her shot shoulder-high.
The game-winner, by Mullan, was a somewhat innocuous forward pass that found its way through the U.S. defense and over the goal line.