BERLIN, Germany – February 7, 2018 – Making their debut at the women’s Indoor Hockey World Cup in Berlin, Germany, the U.S. Women’s National Indoor Team came out quick in their first pool match against No. 5 Belarus. Tallying a goal within the first four minutes, the match was evenly set before Belarus scored two penalty corners and two field goals for the come from behind 4-1 win.
As the youngest team in this tournament, the Indoor USWNT hit the court with nothing to lose. The first two minutes saw chances for both sides, as goalkeeper Samantha Carlino (Kennett Square, Pa.) was tested with a reverse flick and Corinne Zanolli (Newtown Square, Pa.) got it past Belarus’ goalkeeper but no one was there to finish. In the 4th minute of play, Mary Beth Barham (Fairfax, Va.) took a restart quickly and found herself in a 2v1 situation with Zanolli. She passed it off, got it back and finished behind the goalkeeper to give USA a 1-0 lead.
Action between the boards remained static for a period as Ali Campbell (Boyertown, Pa.) and Annie McDonough (Kennett Square, Pa.) controlled momentum in the backfield looking for the opportune lane to threaten forward. Collective defense by Carlino and the USA defenders cleared a few Belarus chances, but momentum started to shift their way. In the 14th minute, Belarus earned their first penalty corner. This attempt was saved by Carlino’s glove as they earned another. Off the second try, Belarus tallied the equalizer on a drag flick from team captain Ryta Batura to make it 1-1. USA quickly took the restart down court and responded with their own penalty corner, but Campbell’s drag flick was rejected by Belarus’ goalkeeper as the half finished in a deadlock.
Carlino was tested early in the opening minute of the second half with Belarus holding much of the possession. As USA fell to their heels, Belarus continued to persist forward and in the 23rd minute notched two goals to extend their lead to 3-1. The first came from a low angle shot by Svitlana Bahushevich and the second was recorded by Nadzeya Silitskaya. With the team unsettled, USA instantly called a timeout to regroup. As USA looked up court they were met by a hard-tackling Belarus team who limited all attack. Carlino continued to play aggressively as she came out of the goal to cut down a few more Belarus attempts. A penalty corner for the opposition finished with a save off the goal line by McDonough.
As time started to tick down, USA knew they had to find a way to generate some offensive movement. A green card issued to Belarus’ Maryan Nikitsina opened a window, but USA was unable to connect in the attacking end. With one-minute remaining until the final whistle, Belarus finalized the game as Batura scored her second penalty corner drag flick of the match to make the final score USA 1, Belarus 4.
With a quick turnaround, the U.S. Women’s National Indoor Team will compete in their second pool match against Poland at 10:00 a.m. ET. This game will be live streamed and can be watched on usafieldhockey.com. For the full schedule, results, and more, check out the official Indoor Hockey World Cup Event Page. #IHWC2018