🇺🇸 United States 6-0 Italy 🇮🇹
Olympic Quarterfinal
Fiera Milano Rho, Milan 🇮🇹
Friday, 13 February 2026

The U.S. erupted for five second-period goals in a 6-0 Olympic quarter-final rout of host Italy on Friday night. Coach John Wroblewski’s awesome machine of a team is two wins away from Gold with a perfect 5-0 record.

Kendall Coyne Schofield scored twice for the Americans. Megan Keller, Laila Edwards and Britta Curl notched a goal and an assist apiece. Hannah Bilka added a single. Superstar blueliner Caroline Harvey got two assists and now leads these Olympics with nine points. Taylor Heise also had two helpers.

“I’ve been on a lot of teams throughout my career, but there is something special about this one,” said Coyne Schofield, a 2018 Olympic champion and seven-time IIHF Women’s World Championship Gold medalist. “Ultimately, it’s how enjoyable it is to be in that room, and how every single day, everyone’s willing to do whatever it takes to be the best that they can be for this team, no matter what the role is, whatever is asked of us.”

The U.S. outshot the underdog Italians 51-6 in their first meeting in IIHF women’s hockey history. The U.S. now has four straight shutout wins and a record-setting no-goals-allowed streak of 271:23, dating back to beating Czechia 5-1.

“It starts with our goalies,” said forward Abbey Murphy. “They are absolutely two brick walls back there. They give us so much confidence to just play in front of them. Our D are doing a really good job, kind of staying up tight, not really letting anything get by them. It’s allowing us to play free hockey, play fast, and get pucks deep and get to work. It’s been fun not allowing many goals. ”

U..S. backup goalie Gwyneth Philips, who stopped 20 shots in the 5-0 win over Switzerland before handing the net over to Ava McNaughton for the final 1:48, got the call again from coach John Wroblewski. Italian netminder Gabrielle Durante, who starred in the 3-2 win over Japan that earned her nation a quarter-final berth, battled valiantly with 45 stops.

Regardless of their opponent, the Americans enter the 2026 semi-finals as favourites. They have only lost one semi-final in Olympic history, 3-2 to Sweden, a shootout shocker in nearby Turin in 2006.

This quarter-final was a massive mismatch. The Americans outscored opponents 20-1 in the preliminary round. The defending world champions thrashed Olympic champion Canada 5-0. That marked the first time the Canadians have ever been shut out in 41 Olympic games.

So all things considered, the Italians didn’t fare too badly here. Coach Eric Bouchard’s Italians came out skating, backchecking, and battling hard for every puck.

“This is one of the most special teams I’ve been on,” said Italy’s Kristin Della Rovere. “Obviously, we played against the best team in the world, and we knew it would be a battle. Everyone worked super-hard and battled to the end. I’m just beyond proud of these girls.”

The Americans entered this quarter-final with their power play clicking at an impressive 26.6 percent. They got an early chance when Italian captain Nadia Mattivi was penalized for an illegal hit after laying out Curl in open ice, but the Azzurri killed it off.

Nearing the eight-minute mark, Justine Reyes got behind the pairing of Keller and Edwards for a breakaway but couldn’t solve Philips.

“I guess I’ll take a breakaway early rather than late,” Philips said. “But you know, that just kind of comes with the territory. The girls have my back and I have theirs.”

Italy got its first power play when Philips was called for delay of game for playing the puck outside the trapezoid. But that was wiped out when Italy’s Laura Lobis rammed Coyne Schofield into the side boards and was sent off for boarding. With the teams at 4-on-4, Keller and Edwards atoned for their earlier defensive blunder. They played catch off a faceoff in Italy’s end before the Boston Fleet captain hammered a point shot to open the scoring at 13:31.

At least the Italians succeeded in keeping the U.S.scoreless for longer than either Canada (3:45) or Switzerland (6:04) did in the preliminary round. Italy finished off the first period in survival mode.

At 1:41 of the second period, the U.S. doubled its lead. Harvey blasted the puck off the glass and Coyne Schofield whacked it in off Durante from behind the goal line.

Coyne Schofield scored again at 4:51 on a short pass from Britta Curl, prompting Bouchard to call his timeout for an Italian strategy session.

It made no difference. Edwards whipped a long wrister over Durante’s glove just 26 seconds later for a 4-0 lead.

Seconds after Joy Dunne failed to capitalize on a wraparound attempt, Curl grabbed the puck and wrapped it around on the opposite side for a shorthanded marker at 11:29.

Bilka made it 6-0 at 18:27 off a sweet Heise feed on the rush. A grinning Murphy then sparked a scrum, as is her wont, at the net and was sent off with Italy’s Franziska Stocker. The Italians went to the dressing room no closer to having scored than a Della Rovere cross bar.

In the scoreless third period, the U.S. took its foot off the gas pedal a little bit. The biggest games are yet to come, after all. The Italian fans chanted for their team as the clock ticked down.

Murphy said recovery would be a priority ahead of Monday’s semi-finals: “We’re going to prioritize our two days off. Get some rest, do nothing, chill out, eat some pasta. Enjoy time together.”

The Italians can take pride in the progress their program has made since being outscored 48-3 in their previous Olympic hosting stint in Turin 2006. Their two surprising wins over France and Japan electrified the host nation and will undoubtedly inspire more youngsters to enroll in hockey.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
03:09 – 🇮🇹 PEN – Mattivi, body checking
11:40 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Philips, delay of game
13:16 – 🇮🇹 PEN – Lobis, boarding
13:31 – 🇺🇸 GOAL – Keller (Edwards, Carpenter)

2nd Period
21:41 – 🇺🇸 GOAL – Coyne (Harvey, Winn)
24:51 – 🇺🇸 GOAL – Coyne (Curl, Zumwinkle)
25:17 – 🇺🇸 GOAL – Edwards (Keller, Janecke)
25:17 – 🇮🇹 PEN – Fantin, interference
30:19 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Guilday, boarding
31:29 – 🇺🇸 SH GOAL – Curl (Dunne, Stecklein)
35:19 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Barnes, interference
38:27 – 🇺🇸 GOAL – Bilka (Heise, Harvey)
38:27 – 🇮🇹 PEN – Stocker, cross checking
38:27 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Murphy, roughing

3rd Period
52:46 – 🇮🇹 PEN – Guerriero, cross checking
56:47 – 🇮🇹 PEN – Mattivi, body checking

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇺🇸 Philips (6-6)
L: 🇮🇹 Durante (45-51)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇺🇸 20+19+12 = 51
🇮🇹 2+2+2 = 6

ROSTERS
🇺🇸 Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel, Gwyneth Philips. Defence: Cayla Barnes, Laila Edwards, Rory Guilday, Caroline Harvey, Megan Keller (A), Lee Stecklein, Haley Winn. Forwards: Hannah Bilka, Alex Carpenter (A), Kendall Coyne, Britta Curl, Joy Dunne, Taylor Heise, Tessa Janecke, Hilary Knight (C), Abbey Murphy, Kelly Pannek, Hayley Scamurra, Kirsten Simms, Grace Zumwinkle.
🇮🇹 Goaltenders: Gabriella Durante, Martina Fedel. Defence: Laura Fortino (A), Kristen Guerriero, Laura Lobis, Nadia Mattivi (C), Jacqueline Pierri, Franziska Stocker, Amie Varano. Forwards: Aurora Abatangelo, Eleonora Bonafini, Anna Caumo, Kristin Della Rovere, Matilde Fantin, Manuela Heidenberger, Sara Kaneppele, Marta Mazzocchi, Greta Niccolai, Justine Reyes, Rebecca Roccella, Carola Saletta, Kayla Tutino (A).

Article Credit: Milan 2026
Photo Credit: Milan 2026 – IIHF – HHOF – IOC