U.S. Olympic Women’s Field Hockey Team Captures Fourth Straight Victory Earning a Total of 12 Event Points

Photo Credit: TeamUSA Field Hockey

DEODORO, Brazil - They shook hands after a draw in Lancaster, Pa. knowing all too well it wasn’t over; there was more to the story. Only a few weeks before the Olympic Games during the Citi Rio Send-Off Series, India and the U.S. Olympic Women’s Field Hockey Team’s walked away with one win apiece. The moment to prove who has enough gusto to edge out the other was revealed on the ultimate stage at the Deodoro Olympic Park under the spotlight of watchful eyes of those in the stadium stands and those glued to their television sets at home. Keeping match tempo in fifth gear, Team USA drove hard, engines at full tilt for 60 minutes to leave the pitch as victors with a goal line 3-0. The missing element between the Citi Rio Send-Off Series and the Olympic Games? USWNT dynamite defender and captain Lauren Crandall (Doylestown, Pa.). A key contributor in the backfield and leadership, Crandall was out recovering and prepping in the weeks leading up to Rio. Now, rejoining the team, the United States is the strongest it has ever been.

"It was an advantage to be up in the stands watching those 120 minutes of hockey," said