PRIDE will literally be on the line for Jess Watterson and her New South Wales team-mates when they play their next match in the inaugural Hockey One season.
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It is because the NSW Pride outfit Watterson is a part of must win its two remaining games to be a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Pride suffered a 7-2 loss to HC Melbourne on Sunday which leaves them in sixth place.
It was a disappointing result for the Bathurst talent and her Pride team-mates, who had been looking to build on their 5-0 win over Tassie a week earlier, Watterson labelling that "a positive result heading into the rest tournament."
It was a match in which Lithgow's Abby Wilson scored all five goals, Watterson set one of them up in the second half with a perfect cross.
"We didn't take a lot of our chances in the first two games, but in the Tassie game we played more of a passing game and it seemed to open up the game better for us," Watterson said.
"Abby is a great player and it was nice to help her out with an assist. Sometimes you're just in the right spot at the right time."
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Against Melbourne it was the second quarter which hurt the Pride.
On level terms at 1-all after the first period - Wilson having found the mark once more for NSW - Melbourne lifted its intensity to push out to a 4-1 lead.
From there Pride was unable to recover.
The NSW Pride will head to Perth on Saturday to take on the Thundersticks, before a trip to Brisbane in the final home-and-away round.
It was a better Sunday for fellow Bathurst talent Rebecca Lee and her Canberra Chill team-mates as they posted a 2-1 win over the Tassie Tigers.
The victory, Chill's second of the season, lifted them into third on the ladder and keeps their hopes of a semi-final berth alive.
But as Chill has played five games already they will need to beat Adelaide Fire in their final round match to stay in contention.
"It'll be a tough match. We've been playing some good hockey but in saying that, Adelaide will be thinking the same thing," Chill coach Ian Rutledge said.
"We have a week to prepare and be aware of their strengths and weaknesses. We need to make sure we have an understanding of what Adelaide are doing for a crucial game."