Elms College Field Hockey Takes Holland!: Closing Our Trip With Some World Cup Hockey Action!

Lets Celebrate Hockey!

Hello Elms College Field Hockey Friends and Family!

Today was our final full day in Holland; it is true that all good things must come to an end. Therefore, we started our day bright and early at around 9 a.m.; we then were en route to the world cup for another thrilling day of watching amazing hockey. We munched on bagels in the vans and found ourselves fully energized to start our 12-hour day outside.

We arrived at the World Cup at around 10:30 a.m. which was when the first game of the day started. This was a women’s hockey game featuring Belgium versus Australia. This was a very intense game and it seemed like most of the crowd was cheering for Belgium (at least the people behind us). The final score was 3-2 Australia, a very close game and even match up. After the game, most people were hungry and ventured out to find food and also to shop for any World Cup apparel and trinkets. We made our way to the marketplace with a wide variety of delicious food. There were many options to choose from and it seemed like the homemade pizza was a favorite for everyone. As we were finishing up our lunch, a storm (monsoon) began and it started down pouring but luckily we all hung out under the tent—thank goodness! Luckily, the rain did not slow down our day one bit. The storm passed over and was finished as quickly as it started and was gone about 20 minutes later. With the rain behind us we continued on to the next game of the day!

The second game of the day was the men’s teams Malaysia and England. This game was definitely more eventful than the first game of the morning. During the first 5 minutes of this game a Malaysian player was injured because the England goalie came out to make a save and tackled the player in the meantime. Unfortunately, the player was removed from the field on a stretcher and was unable to finish the must-anticipated game. Hopefully the athlete was okay! The English men scored two goals during the game while the Malaysians were unable to put one in the net. The final score of the game was 2-0 in England’s favor.

After the game ended we found our way over to the smaller Greenfields Stadium across the way to watch the women’s game between Korea and Japan. Luckily during the game the weather started to clear up and the sky was picturesque (blue skies and sun). The final score to the game was a tie between Korea and Japan.

Next was yet another game! Can you believe it?! It was now another time for a Men’s game between Belgium and Australia. The Australins followed in the women’s footsteps and came out on top in this match. The final score of this game was 3-1 Australia.

After this everyone took a little break from watching games. Many people walked around the arena and have a little bite to eat (we are all extremely obsessed with the fries and mayo)! We also found a nice area to sit outside and to enjoy the weather as it was warming up around mid afternoon.

The final game of the day was the game that everyone was so excited for! The Netherlands versus New Zealand! The stadium was filled at the start of this game and most of the crowd was wearing some sort of orange apparel. There were countless fans with crazy outfits and hair do’s and the cheering and excitement carried throughout the entire stadium. During many parts of the game the entire crowd participated in the wave, which was amazing to see! When The Netherlands first scored on a penalty corner the crowd went crazy! It was amazing to be at the World Cup with thousands of people supporting the Netherlands. The Netherlands then scored another goal in the second half of the game. The final score of the game was 2-0 in favor of the Netherlands. After the game the team even walked around the stadium throwing memorabilia to all the fans. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to have the Dutch women toss a water bottle into our section. The unfortunate part is that Abby dove for the water bottle and fell directly backwards into the seat while screaming the entire time. This is just one example of how it is hard to take our team out in public because we are always falling and making a scene. In the end, Marie ended up picking the water bottle up off the ground and Abby’s efforts were in vain.

It is hard to believe that 10 days have come to an end; it seems like we arrived at the airport yesterday! Our days were jam packed with amazing memories that will last a lifetime! A shout out to Coach’s for all of their hard work, this trip would not have been possible without you. We are beyond thankful to everyone that helped us along the way and although the blog entries will stop within the next few days the memories will never fade.