Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty ImagesNew Zealand defender Ali Riley in Group B action against Japan. It is said that a 2-0 lead is the toughest to maintain. The first and worst time the Football Ferns experienced this phenomenon was at the 2008 Olympic Games, when Japan crushed our dreams of winning the tournament opener.
Here's my explanation: When your team is up 1-0, you keep driving because the opposition is still breathing down your neck. A 3-0 lead suggests total domination, and while some players might start to get a little too casual, thinking about the postgame celebration, a team with this type of lead can usually secure the win.
The danger of the 2-0 lead lies in the fact that if the opposition can score just one goal, its players see the light at the end of the tunnel, while your team goes into panic mode and your game plan suddenly flies out the window. The losing team has renewed energy, belief and confidence.
On Tuesday night, we were that losing team, and let me tell you, in that 90th minute, when Rebecca Smith scored our first goal against Mexico, the change in the atmosphere in the Rhein-Neckar Arena was remarkable. It didn't matter that the final whistle was just minutes away. It didn't matter that our flights home had already been booked.
In that moment, 21 players and 20,000 fans realized a miracle was still possible. And four minutes later, that miracle happened.
I know we didn't win the game, and I don't want you to think the Football Ferns aim for ties. Still, any player can tell you that there are ties that feel like losses and ties that feel like wins.
If any of you saw our reaction to that final whistle, you know this result meant a lot to us. Are we disappointed? Of course. Even when nobody else did, we believed that we could, and would, advance to the quarters, and that makes our elimination hurt even more.
I used to think it would be easier to expect defeat, to prepare myself for the heartbreak, but that is not the Football Fern way. So although we did finish last in our group, without a win, and saw our tie against Japan and our lead over England slip away, I tell you with pride that we never stopped believing and we never gave up.
And while believing in yourself might be risky, it might also lead to greatness, so doesn't that make it worth the risk?
Greatness is a relative term, but for us, greatness was this: scoring four goals (that's four more than in 2007) and earning New Zealand's first-ever point at a Women's World Cup.
So while I would obviously rather be at a hotel in Germany instead of flying over the Atlantic Ocean, I am so thankful for this experience. I am proud to be a Football Fern, proud to be a believer and proud of our one point.
