Hockeyroos edge USA on penalties to reach World Cup hockey final
Updated
Australia's women are into the hockey World Cup final against the Netherlands after a controversial semi-final win over the USA.
For the first time in nearly a decade the Hockeyroos will compete for a major title, after a nail-biting shootout victory over the United States on Thursday set up a World Cup final with the Netherlands.
In a physical, and at times controversial, clash Australia's women were forced to dig deep for the win, with American star Kelsey Kolojejchick twice levelling the scores in the 2-2 (3-1) game.
Kookaburras v Argentina live
Follow the World Cup finals live on ABC2 TV.
The men's semi-finals are on from 11pm (AEST) on Friday.
First up England plays Netherlands followed by the Kookaburras taking on Netherlands.
Australia appeared to have secured victory following goals to Kellie White and the tournament's leading sharp-shooter Anna Flanagan, only for Kolojejchick to send the match to a shootout by equalising with just two minutes left in regular time in the Hague.
But Australia could not be denied, with goalkeeper Rachael Lynch standing tall to make three stunning saves and send the Hockeyroos into Saturday's final - their first World Cup or Olympic Games final since 2006.
"To do it now is off the back of some hard work over a number of years," said coach Adam Commens, who took over in 2011.
With Lynch's defensive brilliance, Australia cruised through the shootout care of goals to White, Georgie Parker and Jodie Kenny.
"That's why we pick (Lynch)," Hockeyroos captain Madonna Blyth beamed afterwards.
"For Rachael today to save as many as she did and come so close on that other one, I think it just shows that she's a really good, class player back there. And we rely heavily on it."
The match was not without controversy, with the Americans complaining to officials about Australia's physical approach and aggressive tackling - while there were question marks surrounding the legitimacy of Kolojejchick's second goal.
Her shot was deflected in by Blyth, who immediately complained to officials that it was high and had been sailing wide before ricocheting in off her shoulder - which would be cause for a penalty.
Despite replays appearing to indicate the ball was indeed going wide, the goal stood.
The Australians understand they will face an ever sterner test against world numner one Holland, who thumped Argentina 4-0 in the later semi-final in front of a raucous home crowd.
The Dutch downed Australia 2-0 in the group stages, but Commens saw enough in that contest to suggest an upset is on the cards.
"They've gone from a team that probably fought hard and was a tough side and was reasonably physically, to a side that is now capable of taking the game to the top nations in the world," he said.
"I think we saw that against the Netherlands in the round match.
"There's not many teams in the world that have been able to do that against the Netherlands in the last two years.
"I thought we were better than them for that (first half). I think that shows how far we've come."
Commens was not entirely satisfied with the performance against the US, but would've been pleased to see White notch her first goal of the tournament, a speculative swipe into the goal mouth which deflected in off the goalkeeper.
Likewise, the continuation of Anna Flanagan's set piece dominance should have raised a smile - she netted a sixth goal of the tournament with another trademark drag-flick to restore Australia's one-goal advantage.
AAP
Topics: field-hockey, sport, netherlands, united-states, australia
First posted
In  at , ,  defeated the Netherlands to win the  yesterday, and was defeated by the Netherlands in the  on Saturday. Never before have the same two countries played in both Hockey World Cup finals in a single year.


In the men's final, the , known as the Kookaburras and coached by , successfully defended the World Cup they won back in 2010 with a 6–1 win over the , which was playing in its first final since 1998. 

The Netherlands put the Kookaburras on the back foot when  scored the first goal. In five consecutive games in the series the Australians had scored their first goal in the first seven minutes. Australia's  equalised with a goal from a . Another goal by  gave the Kookaburras a 2–1 lead at the half time break. Four more goals in the second half, including one by 321-game veteran , put the result beyond doubt.

The story was very different in the women's competition, where the , known as the Hockeyroos, were the underdogs, having not made a final in the World Cup or the  since 2006. They made this final only after defeating the  in a semi-final  after a 2–2 draw in which the teams alternated goals, each Australian goal followed by a US goal by . Whereas, the Netherlands team had scored 21 goals in the tournament up to this point, while only conceding one, and had not been beaten by Australia since 1998. 

Netherlands captain  scored the first goal of the match from a , giving the Netherlands team their seventh Hockey World Cup win.  then made it 2–0.  Neither side was able to score in the second half, but it was not for want of trying, and Australian goal keeper  ended up with a total of eight saves.

 defeated the United States 2–1 in the women's bronze medal game.