Thursday, December 20, 2012
Another beautifully sunny day in Adelaide set the stage for our first of three matches against the Australian National Team. In the final stages of their World Cup selection process, the Aussies showed strong connection on the field as many of their current players are veteran World Cup participants.

The Big Green took the field for the 6 p.m. game after a successful morning practice, shopping in town and a rousing "Secret Santa" team gift exchange. With our game goals of executing what we've been practicing all week: different attack sets and new team defenses, we were eager to test it versus the Aussies.

Dartmouth opened the game decisively with Kelsey Johnson '13 firing a free position shot high right of the Aussie goalie. Draw controls proved to be a real battle in favor of the Australian squad however, as Dartmouth did not get back on the scoreboard until Hana Bowers '13 found the net twice off a fast break and crease roll. In the second half, Johnson again proved herself too much for the Aussie keepers and recorded two more goals. Samantha Schiff '15, Sarah Byrne '15 and Liz Calby '14 also netted goals in the game, including a few absolutely beautiful assists and dodges around multiple defenders.

In the end, though, Australia proved a bit much to overcome in this first game, taking out the Big Green, 25-8.

- To read the complete recap, please see the entire blog posting HERE.