England v. University of Florida

Going into to today’s match against University of Florida, we knew we were facing tough competition and needed to improve upon our performance from yesterday. Our focuses were intensity and discipline. 

During the first five minutes of the match, Florida came out firing and put away three quick goals.  We tried to swing the momentum our way, but we were unable to capitalize on the opportunities we had in the attacking end. Throughout the rest of the first half, Florida’s speed and skill left us trailing behind 11-1 at halftime, with the goal scored by Rachel Kirchheimer. One notable highlight was the performance of our goalies, saving every free position in the half.

With belief reinstilled from the half time talk, we took the field determined to prove ourselves. One of our main aims was to increase our draw control percentage from the first half, which we succeeded in doing by gaining over 60 per cent of the draws.  Improved discipline in the defence enabled us to hold the attack out for longer and made Florida work for every goal they scored. In the attacking end, we created more shots but unfortunately we were only to convert one, a drive from the top by Hannah Barnsley. 

The final score was 17-2, reflecting the progress we need to make as a team. This game has shown us the level of intensity and skill that will be required to compete on the world stage. The much improved second half shows that we are capable of stronger performances that we hope to build towards throughout the rest of the week. Bring on USA!

Goals

Rachel Kirchheimer 1
Hannah Barnsley 1