FIH Hockey Pro League: Heartbreak for the USA as Spain grab a late winner

Within the regulation time, Barrios Sara in the 35th minute and Garcia Begona in the 56th and 57th minute were the goal scorers for Spain. In contrast, Matson Erin in the 28th minute and Hoffman Ashley in the 53rd minute scored for the USA.

Spain had a great start to the match, controlled 66% of the ball, and launched back-to-back attacks in the game's opening quarter. However, the American defensive line held firm and faced consecutive waves of pressure to deny the Spanish attackers. Matson Erin opened the scoring for the USA with a penalty flick past the Spanish goalkeeper Melanie Garcia with just two minutes left before the halftime. The first half ended with a 1-0 lead for the USA.

Sara Barrios equalized the score for Spain in the 35th minute with her maiden international goal for the senior team. The USA soon launched a counterattack and got a penalty after a foul in the Spanish box. Ashley Hoffman took the shot and easily slotted the ball into the net to regain the USA lead. 

Spanish midfielder Garcia Begoña saved the match for Spain with two goals within two minutes in the final quarter. She successfully scored from two consecutive penalty corners to deny the US their first FIH Pro League win of the season.

In a post-match interview, Georgina Oliva said, "It was a challenging game. They are very physical. We were losing, so we had to focus and keep fighting. Now we are happy, but it was tough. Small details in the second half made the difference. We had the same situations in the first half but dealt with them better in the second half.

Owing to the victory, Spain ends their FIH Pro League season the fourth on the charts, while the USA stands at the ninth position.

Netherlands women outclass Germany

The Netherlands won against Germany 3-1 in the second leg of the FIH Pro League match at  Sportanlage Gruner Jager in Hamburg

Moes Freeke in the 9th minute, Charlotte Englebert in the 21st minute, De Waard Xan in the 21st minute and Jansen Yibbi in the 41st minute were the goalscorers for the Netherlands. In contrast, Zimmermann Sonja, in the 34th minute, was the lone goalscorer for Germany.

Moes Freeke opened the scoring for the Dutch side with a shot past German goalkeeper Julia Sonntag just nine minutes into the match. De Waard Xan added another early into the second quarter with a slight deflection on Sanne Koolen's pass from a penalty corner. 

Germany attempted to attack whenever possible but failed to offer much trouble to the Dutch defence. They found a breakthrough in the 34th minute when Zimmermann Sonja fired the ball past the Netherlands goalkeeper Josine Koning to make it 2-1. However, the Netherlands immediately regained their footing as Jansen Yibbi scored from a penalty corner after a foul on Felice Albers, sealing the victory for the Dutch side.

Jansen Yibbi clinched the top spot on the FIH Pro League scoring table from Agustiana Gorzelany with her ninth-season goal.

In a post-match interview, Player of the Match Laurien Leurink said, "I think we started well, but the third and fourth quarter was not so good. We made some excellent progress towards the World Cup. I am proud of the team in the process of where we are"