SVETI IVAN ZELINA, Croatia - January 5, 2019 - On day 2 of the Croatia Cup in Sveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia, the Junior and Senior U.S. Women's National Indoor Teams continued their winning ways tallying two victories each. The first game saw the Indoor USWNT work around a tight Slovakia defense to win 11-0. Next the U-21 Indoor USWNT and Croatia went head to head in an exciting match that finished 3-2. The Indoor USWNT continued to be a scoring threat and converted 13 against Slovenia. In their second game, the U-21 Indoor USWNT found their rhythm in the second half to win a competitive 7-1 match against Slovakia.

USA 11 - Slovakia 0

Slovakia played a deep, tight, defensive zone that tested the Indoor USWNT’s patience and creativity. They held USA at bay until the 8th minute when Corinne Zanolli (Newtown Square, Pa.) found space on the right, she took the ball to the baseline at speed and passed it to Paityn Wirth’s (Thompsontown, Pa.) stick in front of goal to open the scoring. Cat and mouse play continued, until Hope Rose (Dauphin, Pa.) intercepted an outlet pass and rounded Slovakia’s goalkeeper Daniela Sutovska to put USA two up. Two minutes later Rose intercepted again, this time she passed to Maddie Orobono (Macungie, Pa.), who quickly moved in support, and she shot high over the diving goalkeeper. An identical play a minute later, this time Ashley Sessa (Schwenksville, Pa.) intercepted and passed to Rose to give USA a 4-0 lead. Zanolli converted on a penalty corner in the 17th minute and then picked up a loose ball and made no mistake with a hard shot just before half time to make it 6-0.

Slovakia maintained their tight, shifting defense in the second half.  USA found gaps with quick passes and were awarded with a penalty corner where Elizabeth Yeager’s (Rye, N.Y.) hard shot ricocheted off the cross bar. Slovakia’s defense showed signs of tiring in the final five minutes allowing USA with more openings. From a penalty corner in the 36th minute, Rose slipped the ball to Sessa who deflected it into the net to make it 7-0. Two more came a minute later when Sessa had a good shot saved on the line but Yeager was on hand to score with the rebound. The next was when Yeager dispossessed a defender and passed to Zanolli to convert. Thirty seconds later Zanolli returned the favor giving Yeager an open goal. With a few seconds left on the clock Allyson Fuller (Philadelphia, Pa.), who had a very good game on defense, fired a long ball into the circle that Yeager deflected high into the net to give USA an 11-0 victory.

“I was pleased with how we created opportunities through the packed defense,” said Jun Kentwell, Indoor USWNT Head Coach. “I want to see more attention to detail in our corners.”

U-21 USA 3 - Croatia 2

Slovenia offered another tight defensive structure, relying of fast counter attacks to create scoring opportunities. USA moved the ball around the disciplined defensive zone trying to create an opening for their lurking forwards crossing behind the defensive wall. It took eight minutes for USA to win their first penalty corner which Zanolli ripped past the onrushing Slovenia goalkeeper Aleksandra Dervaric. USA’s second penalty corner came two minutes later, with Rose making an impossible escape move out of the descending pressure to slip the ball to Nathalie Friedman (Phoenix, Md.) who calmly deflected the ball into the net. The chess game continued and eventually Ali Campbell (Boyertown, Pa.) found Rose with a slide pass off the boards. Taking the ball on the run, Rose rounded the goalkeeper and shot high into an empty net to give USA a 3-0 lead at the 15th minute mark. As the half drew to a close, USA scored three quick goals as their opponents showed signs of tiring. Zanolli drew a crowd and slipped the ball to Wirth who couldn’t miss. Campbell fired a penalty corner into the top left corner, and Fuller threaded a bullet into the circle that Sessa did well to get a stick on and deflect high into the net for a 6-0 halftime lead.

Early in the second half Orobono stole the ball on the left board, sent a quick pass to Zanolli on the right who passed to over to Wirth on the left to finish. Three minutes later Orobono made a similar interception and passed to Zanolli. This time Zanolli rounded the Slovenia goalkeeper Dervaric at speed and scored for a narrow angle. Campbell made a strong tackle on one of Slovenia’s counter-attacks and sent a long pass up to Zanolli who deflected the ball across to Wirth who had a simple tap in to give USA the 9-0 advantage. USA kept Slovenia on their back foot and their defense continued to cope well with their opponent’s counter attacks.

In the 28th minute, Rose stepped up and fired a penalty corner over the goalkeeper’s shoulder. Zanolli converted a cross pass from Wirth, and two minutes later deflected a long pass from Campbell past the stranded goalkeeper to make it 12-0. Rose took a quick free hit on the half way line and stormed into the circle to score USA final goal. Slovenia continued to pressure eager to score and on the break Petra Dervaric lifted the ball over the sliding USA goalkeeper Skye Joegriner (Gaithersburg, Md.) only to see the shot rebound clear off the post. 

U-21 USA 7 - Slovakia 1

The U-21 USA team had a great start when Mia Leonhardt (Media, Pa.) took the ball along the base line and fed Bent-Cole to open the scoring in the second minute. A minute later Heck forced the ball over the goal line following a broken penalty corner. USA looked set for a third goal but Leonhardt’s shot was scrambled clear and from the break Slovakia started a period of sustained pressure which brought a series of fine saves from USA goalkeeper Sierra Espeland (Fredericksburg, Va.) in goal. From a penalty corner, Rayne Wright (Bethlehem, Pa.) stopped a hard shot on the line. The ensuing penalty stroke flew over Espeland’s cross bar and USA escaped again. In the fourteenth minute, Slovakia put one back from penalty corner through Sarlota Medvikova. With Smith and Wright solid on defense, Heck channeling in the midfield and the young forwards chasing and pressing, USA held on to their 2-1 lead at half time.

Slovakia came out strong in the second half but when Josephine Palde (Schwenksville, Pa.) intercepted a cross pass and shot into the far corner of the goal it gave USA some breathing room. Slovakia determined to get the goal back were caught pressing forward. A hard clearance off the boards out of defense found Leonhardt who swept a first time shot into the far corner to extend USA’s lead to 4-1. Two quick goals in the 28th minute against the run of play for Bent-Cole took the bite out of the Slovakia team, and Evelyn Murray (Virginia Beach, Va.) closed out the scoring with a late goal following a nice set up by Leonhardt to give USA a 7-1 win with their defense being the story of the game.

“This was a very competitive game and I was very pleased with how this young group coped with sustained periods of pressure from the Slovakian women, especially in the first half,” commented Kentwell.

The final day of the round-robin Croatia Cup is tomorrow continuing with both teams have two more games. The Indoor USWNT will take on Hungary at 3:00 a.m. ET and Croatia at 6:30 a.m. ET. The U-21 Indoor USWNT will match-up against U-21 Croatia at 5:20 a.m. ET and Slovenia at 8:50 a.m. ET. The remainder of the tournament will not be live streamed on USA Field Hockey's Facebook page per the request of the FIH.