USA Freedom Versus Canadian Eagles – Womens Footy

It was an historic day in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the first Womens International between the USA and Canada took place.

The USA Freedom were the first to take the field splendid in their new uniforms emblazoned with Americas most famous woman, the Statue of Liberty. Soon after the Canadians joined them on the field to a huge applause from the parochial crowd.

The first couple of minutes can only be described as desperate football. It was a scramble for the ball across the US half-forward line. The US eventually drew first blood in International women’s footy with a rushed behind courtesy of the Canadian backline. The game continued with a pack of players surrounding the ball, with neither team being able to use the paddocks of open space. The USA scored the second behind of the match with a rushed kick, and then a quick third point when the ball hits the post.

The USA scored the first goal of the match with excellent ball movement from the center of the ground – a couple of quick handpasses to create space and one long kick to get it into the forward line. Judith Stein finished off the hard work with the goal.

The second goal came quickly from an excellent snap across the body by Diana Pizzari. From my vantage point it looked like it went out on the full (just a little bit of a parallax error) but it in fact got the two handed motion from the goal umpire. The third goal for the USA was scored again by Judith Stein and that took us to half with the Freedom 3-3: 21 to the Canadian Eagles scoreless. The USA looked much better running in space and was able to make better use of their longer kicking skills.

USA Coach Krazka was a very happy man at the half. He told the ladies how he loved the way the players supported each other , he was very specific about praising the way the handball was being used and thrilled with the back-line defense. For me #15 – Erin Welsh was the pick of the USA players.

In the second half the USA ran away with the match. The forth goal came after 5 minutes of the second half. Followed by another quick goal after the ball was kicked off the ground in the goal square. For the next seven minutes the play was in the USA forward line but they were not able to capitalize.

With seven minutes left in the game Kathryn Hogg, carrying a knee injury, took the field. This is a fitting reward for all the hard work that Kathryn has put in off the filed to bring the women’s game to this point in its history.

The game came to a close with the USA convincing winners 49 to Canada 0. The intensity of the USA ladies was the key difference in the game. The game was played in great spirits and sportsmanship. It was a credit to all those involved.

Best for the US were: Tina Arend, Nicki Peoples, Erin Welsh, Judith Stein and Diana Pizzari.

I talked to a very proud USA Coach, Wayne Krazka, after the game “I am blown away by this win. We had excellent handball running and the support for each other on the field was fantastic”

And now we turn to Sunday. Saturday’s game played over two 20 minute halves was only the warm up for the big event. Today the ladies will play a full match over four 15 minute quarters.

The US was once again dominate. They were able to move to ball out of the packs with more effectives than the Canadians and then use the open space. In front of goals the Freedom took every opportunity that was given with some excellent long kicks that bounced through for six points, and some wonderful snaps under pressure.

One of the most exciting parts of the match was when the Canadians moved to ball into their forward line in the third quarter. They were looking to break the drought but the US defense stood firm. The score at three quarter time saw the Canadians still scoreless. The third quarter score was 65 to 0

Both teams played hard at the ball and their work rate was excellent – especially among the Canadian center players who had to cover a lot of space in a losing effort. The score does not reflect the competitiveness of the Canadians around the packs and the tackles that both side put on each other.  The Canadians spirit against the odds was fantastic and they never let up – even in the last minutes of the final quarter.

The final score saw the USA winning 97 to 0.

A lot if tired ladies walked of the field after two long days of footy. As a wise man once said “Footy was the winner”. The future of International Womens footy has begun – a new era in the development of the game in North America. The US were victorious on this occasion but the Canadians with a lot of women in their teens will be a force in the years ahead.

Founding members of the Freedom:
Kathryn Hogg - Minnesota Freeze
Judith Stein - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Jennifer Sarbacker - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Dewi Mitchell - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Nikki Peoples - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Denise Lafaver - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Christina Murdock - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Stephanie Powell - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Cathy Reinhardt - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Nicole Martiny - Milwaukee Lady Bombers
Suzy Thomas - Milwaukee Lady Bombers
Michelle Buchicchio - Milwaukee Lady Bombers
Ellie Frey Milwaukee - Lady Bombers
Diana Pizzari - New York
Erin Welsh - Arizona Lady Hawks
Geri Jellison - Arizona Lady Hawks
Tina Arend - Arizona Lady Hawks
Audra Woodward - Arizona Lady Hawks
Dionne Jones - Florida Fusion
Ali Van Horn - Florida Fusion
Unable to play due to injuries
Denielle David - Milwaukee Lady Bombers
Pernille Christensen - Atlanta Lady Kookaburras
Karla Mascerena - Pack Arizona Lady Hawks
Coaching Staff
Wayne Kraska Head Coach
Dan Sarbacker Assistant Coach
David Pack Assistant Coach

- Paul O'Keeffe
(961)