After 18:25 of the second period of the Olympic semi-final in the Santagiulia Arena in Milan, Sweden's goalkeeper Emma Söderberg was hit by the USA's Abbey Murphy behind the goal.
"I had just passed the puck and it feels like, to me at least, she's hitting me right in the head," Söderberg said, who had been substituted just over two minutes earlier.
“Stand up for me”
After the collision, defender Jessica Adolfsson sought out the American.
"With all due respect. I consider myself the bodyguard for my goalkeepers out there. I take that with great honor and respect. If they touch my goalkeeper, they will suffer for it," Adolfsson said after the Olympic semi-final.
"Jessica stood up for me and I can only appreciate that," Söderberg said, who is a teammate of Adolfsson at SDE.
Murphy fell to the ice after the close contact. All too easily, according to Adolfsson, who was sent off for roughing. The American was sent off for interference.
"If you want to lie down and cry a little on the ice, you can do it after you get a little push. But regardless of her diving or the fact that I also had to go out, I think it was absolutely right of me to stand up," she said.
When it happened, the USA were trailing 5–0 to Sweden. Söderberg had been replaced by Ebba Träff Svensson when the score was 0–4.
"She goes for it and tries to win the puck. I don't think it's all too intentional," Söderberg said.
“A little trick”
Söderberg knows Murphy from Murphy's years playing for the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the United States.
"We played against each other a lot in college. She does some tricks and then she tends to fall very easily. But she has to take responsibility for that."
The Swedish women's team will now have to regroup for the bronze-medal match on Thursday.
"We're going for bronze and going home with a bronze. It's that simple," Jessica Adolfsson said.
They will face Switzerland there, who put unexpected pressure on Canada in the second semi-final but ultimately lost 1–2.
