OSAKA, Japan - September 12, 2018 - To kick off action at the Sompo Cup Four Nations Women’s Ibaraki International Tournament, the U.S. Women’s National Team opened up the round robin competition against No. 10 Korea. Tied after the first half, USA remained solid on defense to shutdown Korea’s threats as a fourth quarter goal gave USA a 2-1 win.
“We were off to a slow start, but I saw a team that played with their heart,” said Janneke Schopman, USWNT Head Coach. “We tried to do the things we decided in our brief and they worked really hard and we got the reward.”
The first quarter saw a lot of back-and-forth action as both teams looked to advance the ball into their attacking circle. In the 4th minute, captain Kathleen Sharkey (Moosic, Pa.) took an off balanced shot that was almost hit out of the air by a rushing Taylor West (Princess Anne, Md.). Korea responded and instantly took possession the other way, but USA’s defense prevailed. Moments later, Korea’s Yun Kyoung Cho connected with a backhand attempt, but the high ball crossed and was not handled off the left post. USA continued to work momentum in their favor and earned their first penalty corner in the 7th minute. Laura Hurff’s (Newark, Del.) drag was deflected and the rebound fell to Amanda Magadan (Randolph, N.J.) who turned and fired but it hit a USA foot prior. Korea started to break through USA’s tough defense as Cho saw another backhand look that hit the outside of the net. This determination led to a skillful play along the left baseline earning Korea their first penalty corner of the match. A sequence of four attempts saw flyer West make the stop, post Caitlin Van Sickle (Wilmington, Del.) clear it wide and USA break the line early all before goalkeeper Jess Jecko (Sauquoit, N.Y.) made a diving stick save. The period finished with neither team having true looks on goal, aside from penalty corners, as the score line remained unbroken.
The opening minutes of the second quarter saw majority of the possession with USA as they continued to search for a positive circle entry. Persistence along with a high press, aided Lauren Moyer (York, Pa.) earning USA a penalty corner in the 19th minute, but the ball was miss trapped. Down the other way on the left side of the pitch, Korea sent the ball into the circle where it was deflected and unsuccessfully cleared as Joengihn Kim swarmed on the rebound and put it past USA goalkeeper Jecko for a 0-1 lead in the 22nd minute. On the hunt for the equalizer and just a minute later, Anna Dessoye (Mountaintop, Pa.) took a free-hit quickly and the restart earned USA another penalty corner. Although the straight shot by Sharkey was tipped over the goal, USA maintained possession. As they continued to threaten, in the 27th minute Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) recovered and picked the ball from Korea, beat two defenders by dumping it forward as Sharkey pushed it strong past Korea goalkeeper Sanga Lee to tie the game. With seconds left in the half, Korea’s Hawa In received it and got a shot off that went wide as the halftime score stood tied, 1-1.
In the opening minutes of the third period, Korea strung more consecutive passes together as they held much of the possession. Striker Cho continued to be an offensive threat, but USA’s defensive unit remained strong. Within a five-minute span, USA earned two more penalty corners, that they were unsuccessful on converting. This was countered by Korea producing a close chance in the 40th minute when Joeun Lee received the ball off a Korea aerial and found herself up field alone. A recovering Mary Beth Barham (Fairfax, Va.) got a stick on the shot to block the play. Off USA’s second penalty corner, Korea turned it into a fast break where Kim finished with a shot, forcing USA goalkeeper Jecko to make back-to-back saves before USA’s defense assisted to clear it away.
The final frame was stagnant at the start before USA started to generate positive forward control. In the 48th minute, working the ball down the right side of the field, Sharkey found Nicole Woods (Beverly, Mass.) with space and shot hard on goal. The shot tipped off Korea goalkeeper Lee’s stick to give USA the 2-1 advantage. Korea responded with a flurry of attempts as they were desperate to find the equalizer. USA’s defense stayed poised and continued to clear away any attempts, even reading Korea’s penalty corner slip pass. With four minutes remaining, USA had a good look when T. Vittese found Catherine Caro (Martinsville, N.J.) in the circle, who passed it across to Dessoye who earned USA a penalty corner. Ali Froede’s (Burke, Va.) straight sweep was saved off the glove of Korea goalkeeper Youbin Choi. Korea had one final possession sequence, but USA stayed strong to secure the 2-1 win.
Today’s match saw two noteworthy career accomplishments recognized. USWNT goalkeeper Jecko secured her first international cap while West played in her 50th international competition. At the conclusion of the game, the Japan Hockey Association awarded Jecko with the “Queen of the Game” award for her performance in goal.
“We are excited to play Japan,” commented Sharkey, when asked about how they feel about playing the host nation. “They are really speedy, skilled and a fun team to play. We are going to do our homework and we are looking forward to the match.”
The U.S. Women’s National Team will face No. 15 Japan tomorrow, Thursday, September 13 at 5:30 a.m. ET. in their second-round robin match. In the second game today, Australia defeated Japan 2-0.
For more information regarding the Sompo Cup Four Nations Women’s Ibaraki International Tournament, including the full schedule, results, roster, live stream information and more, check out the official event page by clicking here. #SompoCup
