Team USA Falls 1-0 to Australia

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Aug. 2, 2012

LONDON – Australia defender Anna Flanagan smashed in a penalty corner in the 33rd minute to score the winning goal for Australia in closely fought 1-0 match against the U.S. in women’s hockey at the London Olympics Thursday.

The United States, coming off Tuesday’s 1-0 upset of Argentina, had their best scoring chance at the 28:06 mark of the first half. In a scoreless game, team captain Lauren Crandall was awarded a penalty stroke, with Australia’s Toni Cronk coming up with the save. Four minutes later, the Australian squad capitalized on a penalty corner to score the lone goal of the game.

Virginia’s Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese, a pair of redshirt seniors playing in their first Olympic games, both saw significant playing time in the match with Vittese playing 57 minutes and Selenski 27. Selenski also took a shot in the match, her fourth shot of the Games. Vittese has two shots and an assist in the three contests.

The American squad has two games left to try to advance out of pool play. They take on New Zealand on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. They close out pool play on Monday, Aug. 6 with another 5:45 a.m. ET contest, taking on South Africa. The top two teams in Group B will advance out of qualifying play into the semifinals.