Olympic Physiques - Lauren Powley and Rachel Dawson

Lauren Powley controls the ball

BW Blog - Olympic Physiques - Field Hockey athletes Lauren Powley and Rachel Dawson, USA

BW Olympic Physiques 

If you went to an Ivy League school (or one of the "Southern Ivies" like Duke) you probably know that field hockey athletes have some of the best bodies and best uniforms on campus.  There are two Olympians on the team who set themselves apart by making our top 20.

Lauren Powley and Rachel Dawson, field hockey

Country:  United States

When to see them:  Tuesday, August 12th at 6am eastern time, versus Japan.  Check your local listings.

The United States and Argentina viewed a 2-2 tie in their Olympic women's field hockey opener through much different lenses.

"The 11th-ranked Americans got a goal from Angie Loy in the 64th minute to even the score after falling behind 2-0 early, and they left Olympic Green Hockey Stadium feeling good about themselves.

To play the world No. 2 in the first game of the Olympics and come away with a 2-all tie, we are to a degree satisfied," U.S. coach Lee Bodimeade said.

Argentina wasn't so positive after scoring on just one of 12 penalty corners in a driving rainstorm.

"I am not so happy with the result, because first, we were winning five minutes before finishing the game," Argentine captain Magdalena Aicega said. "When we saw the number of shot corners we had and the number of penetrations we had ... we had more than the U.S.A."

Aicega said there's no time to worry about the result. Argentina will play Great Britain when pool play resumes Tuesday.

"The team have to look forward because it's the first game, and we had a point," she said.

The U.S. will play Japan on Tuesday.

Argentina's Carla Rebecchi scored two goals in the first 12 minutes, and her team threatened to score several more times before the U.S. replied. Keli Smith scored after a penalty corner to cut Argentina's lead to 2-1 18 minutes into the game. The Americans continued to control play for the remainder of the first half, but they missed on their next two penalty corners, and Argentina maintained its lead.

U.S. captain Kate Barber said her team remained calm after falling behind.

"We were a little bit on the back foot to start, and Argentina made us pay for that," she said. "Our team is known to persist throughout the game, regardless of the situation or the time or phase of the game."

The U.S. had a chance to win, but couldn't convert after getting a penalty corner in the final minute. That opportunity, and the many stops the Americans made on Argentina's penalty corners made Bodimeade think the Americans could have won.

"I'll take the point," he said. "We have some work to do."

Sources:  NBC Olympics, USA Today, FigureRX Magazine