As the final whistle blew the Kiwi girls sank to their knees, dejected after going down in the semi final at their second Olympics in a row.
Coach Mark Hager didn't mince words when asked what he put the loss down to.
"Bottom line is I think they wanted it more, they were more desperate than us all around the park".
The women's Black Sticks have never medalled at an Olympics so the team must now turn itself around with a chance to make history in the bronze medal playoff.
"Same as four years ago, you either go home with a medal or you don't and if our players can't pick themselves up then we need to have a hard look at ourselves", said Hager.
New Zealand face Germany for third place at 3AM Saturday New Zealand time.
They were defeated by the Europeans 2-1 in pool play but the Kiwis are ranked far higher on paper, sitting at 4th compared to Germanys 9th.
"It doesn't matter who it is, they beat us in the round game and they played pretty well against us".
"It's up to us now to regroup and make sure we can play as a team and that'll be the message to the girls".
Bronze may be the constellation prize but it's one both teams will be hungry for.
Lewis Hampton / Newshub
