The Canberra Chill women's team have made upsets a habit in this year's Hockey One season.
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In round one, the Chill avenged their 2018 semi-final loss to Queensland in the final edition of the Australian Hockey League, 2-2(3-2).
In the second round, played last Saturday, Canberra scored an even more impressive 2-1 win over the NSW Pride, who were the last champions of the AHL.
Goulburn's Sass Economos, who plays for the Chill, said that it was "definitely" pleasing to upset two of the tournament favourites early on.
"Especially considering it's the top two teams who finished on top of us last year," she said.
"It was good to get one over on Queensland in the shootout."
Canberra expected a tough game against NSW on Saturday, and the 2018 champions delivered in spades.
The Chill were the first to score, with five minutes remaining in the first quarter, and followed that up with a goal in the second to lead 2-0 at half time.
The Pride were obviously irate at conceding a significant lead, and came out with a point to prove in the third.
A goal to Morgan Blamey threatened to level the scores, but Chill keeper Sakiyo Asano saved the conversion, and NSW was unable to make any further inroads before the end of the match.
To overcome an opponent who was the favourite ahead of the game requires complete belief, something which Economos believes the Chill possess.
"We were pretty confident in our abilities," Economos said.
"We all get along really well. We're kind of best friends, it's a family environment. We play as a unit, not individuals, and we really want to get that [tournament] win. We've been working towards it for a few years now."
This weekend, Canberra will travel to Perth to take on the Perth Thundersticks.
The Thundersticks are currently ranked sixth on the Hockey One women's ladder, having played once against HC Melbourne for a 1-0 loss.
Despite Canberra's statistical advantage, Economos said the match might be closer than fans expect, as she will be in Fiji playing for the Australian PM's XIII and a number of her teammates will be out playing for the Hockeyroos.
"We've got a deep squad, [and] we've got a pretty good record against WA so hopefully we can keep that up," she said.
Meanwhile, the Chill men succumbed to a heavy 7-0 defeat at the hands of the Pride on Saturday, their second in as many matches.
The defeat leaves Canberra in desperate need of a win this weekend. With the Chill ranked seventh and Perth ranked fifth, it is an important game for both teams.
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