Team Canada shows resilience in Olympic Qualifier opening tilt
In a notable clash at the FIH Olympic Qualifier tournament, Team Canada faced Great Britain, marking a unique moment as Canadian coaches Danny Kerry and Kate Richardson Walsh confronted their former team. Great Britain came into the tournament ranked 7th in the FIH rankings.
The opening several minutes saw Canada dictating play, venturing into British territory and creating opportunities, yet they fell short of converting any into a truly decisive chance on goal. The first half unfolded as a back-and-forth affair, with Great Britain assuming control in the Canadian half. The second quarter witnessed the first breakthrough, with Tess Howard of Great Britain delivering a powerful penalty stroke past Canadian keeper Rowan Harris. The momentum continued in the third quarter when Anna Toman extended the lead, unleashing a penalty corner shot that deflected its way through the D, into the net.
Despite facing over 10 quality chances and enduring 11 penalty corner attempts, Harris showcased exceptional goalkeeping in the Canadian net, conceding only two goals. A standout moment came in the fourth quarter when Harris executed a diving save, triggering a Canadian rush in transition that led to a penalty corner opportunity in the opposite direction. Ultimately, Canada fell short on offense, mustering just the one PC and only several circle entries. Team captain Natalie Sourisseau said in her post game interview that the team played a really quality game against a top side, and can feel proud moving forward to the next match.
“I’m really proud with how the team showed up today. Great Britain is an incredible team, multiple Olympic medallists. I think we showed up and surprised ourselves with what we can do. Yes there’s lots we can work on and learnings we can bring forward, but we can feel happy with what we put out there today.”
In the final moments, Canada, up a player, pressed forward, but their efforts failed to materialize into a significant scoring opportunity. The match concluded with a 2-0 victory for Great Britain. Despite the loss, Canada showed their strength in defense.
Harris, from Ottawa, said the team came into this match feeling prepared, having played three practice matches in Spain prior to the tournament starting. She was proud of the team’s effort overall and said there’s lots to work on for the coming matches.
“We came out hard and it will set the tone for the rest of the tournament and build off that first half, and move onto the next match,” Harris said. “The first step is to get a good recovery for the quick turnaround. The coaches will have the game plan, we’ll do our homework. We know what we’re good at, and we’re going to carry that going forward. We did well to shut down some of their corners and made them go to other options. We did well when we were dynamic and when we were brave. We can do this and it feels good when you do.”
As the FIH Olympic Qualifier tournament progresses, this match will stand out as a strong start for Canada, unfortunately not resulting in three points, but instead building confidence defensively and looking towards the next test. Canada will reset the batteries and get ready to take on Malaysia tomorrow morning, same time!
DANI HUSAR CAP MILESTONE
Congratulations to Dani Husar who played in her first senior international cap in today’s game against Great Britain. Photo.Vicente Fernandez.
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