Smith had stepped up to take the door- die fourth penalty shot in the Champions Trophy final against Argentina in front of a deafening Mendoza stadium on Monday.

Both teams had finished 1-all at fulltime and Argentina was now leading the penalty shootout 3-1.

All Australian hopes were resting on a must-score shot from Smith.

“It was completely nerve wracking,” Smith said.

“The crowd was going nuts. It was pretty intimidating and watching the other girls take their one-on-ones before me only made me more nervous. I couldn’t think. Then when I went to take mine it was just a mental blank.”

Argentinean goalkeeper Belen Succi, who had already saved a critical one-onone shot moments before, again stood strong to deny Smith.

Succi’s two saves saw Argentina claim their sixth Champions Trophy in dramatic fashion.

For Smith and the Hockeyroos, the loss was heartbreaking. It was their third devastating finals loss in a year after going down to Holland in both the World Cup final and the World League final.

White, who watched the heartbreak unfold from home as she recovers from her second knee reconstruction, couldn’t help but feel devastated for team mates and her partner in crime.

She immediately sent Smith a message.

“I told her that I knew that there wasn’t anything that I can say or do that would make her feel better, but I said that I’m here to support you 110%,” White said.

“I told her to be proud of yourself and the team because your performance the last few weeks has been amazing.”

She knows all too well the pain of a failed one-on-one contest.

In August, her one-on-one penalty shootout shot in the Commonwealth Games gold medal match against England was saved by the goalkeeper.

Although the Hockeyroos went on to celebrate a gold medal win, she says it was a situation she had to learn from. “I think you have to take from it, learn from it, and be smarter about it next time around,” she said.

“When I missed mine at the Commonwealth Games it was hard, but you have to remember it’s a 50/50 situation. “It’ll be a really good learning curve for her (Smith).”

Smith and the Hockeyroos arrived back in Australia on Tuesday.

Smith told the Post from Perth that despite going down in such dramatic circumstances, the attitude of the team was upbeat.

“We set goals to make the finals of the World Cup and Champions Trophy and we achieved that. Ever since London (2012 Olympics) we’ve worked harder and really knuckled down. I think it paid off. We’ve moved from world fifth to world number two.”

Smith admits the recent campaign was “different” without White. “Everyone knows we’re stuck on the hip,” she said.

But while Smith takes a well deserved break before returning to training in January, White will be doing the best she can to rehabilitate another ACL operated on knee.

“You train every day and you do it for the big tournaments and to stand on the podium. So sitting at home with a big knee brace on your leg sucks. But I know what I’m in for this time,” White said.

“The first time around it was an unknown and there were no goals to motivate me. I’m really goal driven and I know what I have to achieve.”