The Black Sticks' head-to-head record now stretches to two wins, six draws and 36 losses against their Dutch foes, after they rarely threatened against a top-class Dutch outfit.
Despite the defeat, the Black Sticks can still take positives from the tournament, which saw them jump up to fourth in the world rankings. They rebounded superbly to make the final, after losing all three of their pool games – one of which was a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands, and tonight's clash had many similarities.
"The Dutch were better – they gave us a bit of a hockey lesson tonight," said Black Sticks coach Mark Hager.
"We played well for the first 10 minutes then fell away after that. We've got to learn to match the intensity for the whole game and not just for bits and pieces."
Those first 10 minutes gave the hosts hope, with Dutch midfielder Carlien Dirkse Van Den Heuvel earning a yellow card for a retaliatory shove, but Black Sticks couldn't make the most of their five-minute numerical advantage.
When numbers were even, a slightly scrappy end-to-end affair quickly turned into a one-sided romp, as the Netherlands started to control possession.
They took a deserved lead through Kelly Jonker, who had earlier scored twice against the Black Sticks in pool play, and opened the Dutch account midway through second quarter.
A poor clearance from Frances Davies fell straight into the path of Jonker, who made no mistake, and the Black Sticks' failure to clear their lines proved problematic again two minutes later.
This time it was Maria Verschoor who pounced, firing a shot from close range into the bottom right corner.
The Black Sticks couldn't keep the Netherlands at bay, as wave after wave attacked Sally Rutherford's goal, and the clash was killed off right after half-time, when Laurien Leurink slotted home from close range to put the hosts out of reach.
Hager was disappointed to not break the Netherlands defence, and noted that his side only scored one goal from open play all tournament.
"We do have to look at our forward line and look at patterns and ways we can score goals.
"Lessons learned, and we need to go back to the drawing board – we've got to be better next time."
South Korea finished in third after a 1-0 victory over England in the bronze medal match.
Netherlands 3 (Kelly Jonker, Maria Verschoor, Laurien Leurink)
Black Sticks 0
HT: 2-0
