New Delhi: India were blanked 0-3 by USA in their opening match at the second leg of the Women four-nation hockey tournament at Lloyd Elsmore Hockey Stadium in Pakuranga, New Zealand on Wednesday. Shannon Taylor (PC, 14th minute), Paige Selenski (30th) and Michelle Cesan (47th) were the goal scorers for the winners.
USA dominated the proceedings as India played insipidly with numerous unforced errors. India took the field without central midfielder Asunta Lakra, who is suffering from a sprained neck which helped their rivals to maneuver their attacks into the Indian striking circle without much difficulty.
There was pressure on Indian deep defenders Joydeep Kaur and Kirandeep Kaur who were unable to rise to the occasion. India should have taken an early lead but Anuradha Thokchom, who was setup after a good move by Poonam Rani, and Ritu Rani failed to beat the USA goalkeeper Amy Swensen.
Shortly after Rani also missed an easy scoring opportunity as she could not beat the goalkeeper on the one to one situation.
USA took the lead in the 14th minute from a penalty corner rebound scored by Shannon. India tried to find the equaliser and earned two penalty corners. While the first one was easily intercepted, the second one, a direct set piece by Deepika was stopped on the goal line by Michelle Dawson.
USA increased their tally in the 30th minute when the Paige Selenski beat Indian goalkeeper Yogita Bali after dogging passed the fullbacks. As India continued to commit unforced errors USA sealed India's fate when they scored their third goal in the 47th minute through Michelle Cesan.
India will play their next match against Australia on Thursday.BLUR_B
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