|May 1st, 2012|
|12||Pool A||6:30pm||BLR - AUT||5 - 0 (3 - 0)||Final|
Belarus 5, Austria 0
Belarus earned its second win of the Olympic Qualifier and kept a glimmer of hope alive to make Sunday’s final with a 5-0 win against Austria. The Austrians are still looking for their first point of the tournament.
Belarus put in a solid effort in the first half and steadily built up its lead. At the break, Belarus owned a 3-0 advantage on the strength of three field goals from three different players. Yuliya Kurhanskaya, Yuiliy Mikheichyk and Natalia Stsiafutkina were the goal scorers, but it was Mikheichyk’s 3-0 tally that will make the highlight reel as she rattled it into the far corner five minutes before the break.
Things stalled a bit in the second half. With the game basically decided, Belarus eased the pace and put in two goals in the last two minutes of regulation. Austria fought valiantly to put in its first goal of the tournament, including a huge missed chance when Irene Balek's penalty stroke hit the post, but ultimately, Austria suffered its fourth consecutive shutout.
Belarus now has seven points and with a win over top-seeded Japan on Friday could move up to 10 points to tie Japan, which currently has 10 points. Depending on the outcome of the Azerbaijan vs. Chile game, three teams could end up with at the 10-point mark. Chile currently sits at seven points, and Azerbaijan has nine, making anything possible on the last day of the round robin on Friday.
Austria and Malaysia are out of the London hunt. Malaysia has just one point in four games, while Austria is empty handed.