(1 August 1996; Day 13)
It may have been for the bronze medal, but the women's hockey third-place game pitting Great Britain against the Netherlands on Thursday night at Morris Brown College certainly had a golden feel to it.
Fans arrived at the stadium on a humid afternoon expecting to see a mere warm-up for the gold-medal fireworks between Korea and Australia. What they saw was a defensive battle, two superb goalkeeping efforts and the first shootout to decide a medal in two Olympic Games.
The score at the end of regulation was 0-0. Both teams had their chances to score. Both teams had their defensive moments. Both teams had an apparent goal disallowed. Neither team could find a way to put a shot past British goalkeeper Joanne THOMPSON or Dutch goalie Jacqueline TOXOPEUS.
Fans gasped with every shot taken. At times a sea of orange would cheer as the Netherlands appeared to gain the upper hand in the competition. Suddenly a defensive stop would bring out the Union Jack flags. There were cheers for good play. There were whistles for questionable calls. The only thing that both sets of fans seemed to agree on was that this game had all of the makings of one of the more dramatic games in Olympic women's hockey history.
The penalty stroke shootout was just as tense for the players, coaches and spectators. The two teams matched each other on every shot. Both made their first attempts. Both goalkeepers stopped the second, but could not prevent the third and fourth. On the fifth stroke, Suzan van der WIELEN whizzed a shot to the left of THOMPSON and into the goal. The Dutch were now up 4-3 in the shootout. All eyes, and the hopes of Great Britain for a second consecutive bronze medal, rested on the stick of Kathryn JOHNSON.
JOHNSON lined up for the shot. TOXOPEUS took her position. The stadium's 12,136 fans made the stadium as quiet as if it was desolate. The referee's whistle blew. JOHNSON fired her shot to the right of TOXOPEUS. It never made it into the goal as the goalkeeper's glove smothered the shot. The Dutch bench erupted into celebration. The British bench sunk into disbelief.
"Kath goes right, I knew that, but you can never be completely sure," TOXOPEUS said. "I went to the right and made the save."
The titanic battle was over, but it will certainly never be forgotten.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Kevin Henry.
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