SANTIAGO, Chile – In their first match of the 2023 FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup, the No. 5 U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team opened up pool play with a battle against No. 15 Japan. Off two back-to-back goals from Charly Bruder (Malvern, Pa.) in the second quarter, the Junior Eagles secured a 2-1 victory.
“One of the greatest challenges that we have in front of us is not being together since having a full training block in June and playing together in July at Senior Nexus.” said U-21 USWNT Head Coach Tracey Paul. “It’s a big challenge getting them back focused on who we are and what we do, independent from what they do within their college programs. We saw today they have done a great job letting go of the college season, getting back into being Junior Eagles, and embodying our core values.”
“Looking forward, they will need to use what they did well today as a platform of confidence and extract the lessons from this game because there’s definitely work that needs to be done before we face England tomorrow.”
Japan held possession for a majority of the first few minutes, until USA finally pushed through and earned a penalty corner at the five minute mark. Bruder stepped up to take the hit, but Japan’s goalkeeper made a nice stop on the straight shot. After that brief moment, Japan was back on the offensive, this time earning their own penalty corner with 6:30 remaining in the first frame. The straight shot was deflected wide to give USA a reprieve. Japan tested the USA defense for much of the remainder of the quarter, earning their second corner with just two minutes left. Ai Hiramitsu converted with a hard straight shot from the top of the circle, giving Japan a 1-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
USA turned up in the second frame, finally pushing up onto the Japan defense. Bruder received the ball in the circle and expertly executed a reverse hit into the cage at the 20-minute mark, tying the score at 1-1. Just a minute later, Bruder was fouled carrying outside the circle to earn USA their second penalty corner. Jans Croon (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) tried a sweep from the top that was deflected out by Japan.
Not even a minute after USA’s first goal, Bruder took a shot that hit the post and bounced into the cage off a deflection. That goal at the 21-minute mark gave USA their 2-1 lead, which they would look to defend for the remainder of the match.
Trying to get back, Japan pushed up to earn a penalty corner at 23 minutes. This time, the USA defensive line stood strong to clear it out wide. Japan was quick to earn another penalty corner, which deflected off the USA defense. After sustained attack from Japan, an intercept in the backfield from Katie Dixon (Cary, N.C.) finally allowed USA to get up and over the 50-yard line. Now more a back and forth match, Mia Abello (Houston, Texas) drove up the righthand side of the field, but Japan eventually earned the sixteen yard hit. An exciting first half of play ended with USA leading, 2-1.
Both teams settled in in the second half, with spectators seeing some more back and forth play for the first several minutes. Japan finally earned a penalty corner five minutes into the third quarter, then immediately earned another – each with no result. The third frame was mostly quiet, with most play taking place in the middle of the field. A promising aerial up the field from Croon reached Abby Tamer (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) who found Ryleigh Heck (Ocean City, N.J.), who tried to get some offense going for USA. Much like the rest of the quarter, neither team was able to create much offensive opportunity, with the score staying 2-1 in the Junior Eagles’ favor heading into the final frame.
Japan was alert and ready with pressure in the fourth, looking to equalize. A big step up and interception from Josie Hollamon (Delmar, Del.) broke up Japan’s offensive pressure. Hollamon sent the ball up to Olivia Bent-Cole (Philadelphia, Pa.), who earned a USA penalty corner with ten minutes remaining. USA captain Lauren Wadas (Annville, Pa.) took the shot, but was blocked twice by Japan’s defense. Working hard to get the ball back, Wadas earned USA another penalty corner just two minutes later. The shot from the top by Tamer was blocked, while another nice shot from Tamer just moments later was also blocked.
Tensions rose slightly as Japan kept looking to find the equalizer, pushing hard into USA’s circle. With a stellar steal in the backfield at 56 minutes, Bent-Cole sent the ball up the field, which escaped the stick of Bruder and ended up over the endline. A few clutch saves from goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz (Houston, Texas) kept Japan out of the cage for the remainder of the match. USA ended the match with a 2-1 win over Japan.
Next up, the Junior Eagles will continue pool play tomorrow with a match against No. 4 England at 4:30 p.m. ET. This match and all others will be live streamed on Watch.Hockey.
For all information about #JWC2023, check out the event page.
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by NCAA
