AUCKLAND, New Zealand – November 17, 2017 – Under the lights of the North Harbour Hockey Stadium, the U.S. Women’s National Team took on FIH Hero World Ranked No. 9 Korea in their first pool match of the Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final. A second quarter goal for USA was equalized late in the fourth by Korea as the opening match finished in a 1-1 tie.
“We struggled a bit in the third quarter,” said Janneke Schopman, USWNT Head Coach. “Not necessarily on the ball but more with the press and with them throwing aerials and hitting long balls. The struggle for us was that we didn’t play a country like this for a while. Even our most experienced have only played them once.”
USA came out holding possession at the start of the match. A few close chances were present as they used quick, one and two touch passes to work it through Korea's defense. About midway through the quarter, Korea generated attack but a solid defensive step by Ali Froede (Burke, Va.) cut the play down. Maintaining possession, Korea earned a penalty corner and although it was miss trapped, they recovered possession and threatened USA’s circle again. The quarter finished with Korea persistent on goal as the score remained locked at zeros.
Tides shifted at the start of the second as USA quickly worked the ball in and out of pockets and up field. The hard work paid off in the 19th minute when USA earned their first penalty corner of the match. The straight sweep from Froede was saved but Lauren Moyer (York, Pa.) got a touch and inserter Erin Matson (Chadds Ford, Pa.) slipped it past Korea’s goalkeeper to give USA a 1-0 lead. Korea had a near chance of their own off a deep USA turnover when a long ball was sent into the circle and a diving Korea strikers deflect went just wide. The halftime score stood with USA 1, Korea 0.
The battle of strong defenses showed in the third quarter as limited chances were present for either team. However, when the opportunities were present the hopes were high. In the 53rd minute, Korea’s defense had a miscommunication on a 16-yard restart that Casey Di Nardo (Virginia Beach, Va.) cheekily intercepted and earned USA penalty corner. The final minutes of the quarter saw possibilities for Korea, one near chance that deflected wide had the crowd roar. USA stayed on top to finish the quarter.
Eager to find the equalizer, Korea stepped up the pressure on USA’s defense to start the fourth. Back-to-back penalty corner chances for Korea were smartly saved by USA’s goalkeeper Jackie Briggs (Robesonia, Pa.). The intensity continued to rise in favor of Korea as they pulled their goalkeeper with two minutes to go and opted for a kicking back. The strategy paid off as Korea earned a penalty corner where a rebound off the pads was batted in by Yesol Cha to tie the game.
“We lost composure [in the fourth] mainly because of the cards we got against a very disciplined team that will play around you,” mentioned Schopman. “The improvement we made was on the ball where we did maintain possession at times and did create opportunities but were just too rushed. In the end, they just kept coming and when you are an athlete down it doesn’t really help.”
Turning their sights to The Netherlands, Schopman added a few words.
“We are here to learn and grow,” continued Schopman. “Our performance against them in Australia was poor and we are looking at if we can improve our performance. I am happy that we are back, back fighting and we are a team that doesn’t give up. We might not be good enough, and that’s fine, but we are contesting.”
The U.S. Women’s National Team will face No. 1 The Netherlands tomorrow, Saturday, November 18 at 2:00 a.m. ET in their second pool play match. For more information on the event including schedule, results and live stream, visit the Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final event page by clicking here.