RUMNEY, Wales -- A last second penalty kick by Wales resulted in the National Women’s Under-19 Team losing their second game of their U.K. tour by only one point, 15-14.
The USA again started slow and in the early exchanges it was clear that they were struggling with the aggressive, physical style of their Welsh counterparts. Just when it looked like the USA might settle into the pace of the game they were hit with a series of injuries. Jozy Gessner (Summit, Colo.) was having a very good game before having to leave the pitch with an ankle sprain and was replaced by Kerrie Hughes (North Bay, Md). Hughes herself was forced to retire when she sustained a cut on her forehead that required a couple of stitches and Nikki Harrell (Army) came on as the replacement.
At the 16 minute mark a series of short runs by the Welsh saw them break the goal line and the subsequent conversion put them into the lead 7-0. The USA was able to move the ball wide and back into the attacking half, only to have the Welsh side break out with some powerful running by their backs. As the half winded down, Laura Parker (KC Jazz)
received a blow to the head that left her a bit dazed and she was replaced by Marissa Readinger (Army). Wales mounted one last attack and again were able to cross over from short range to make the score 0-12 at the half.
The USA came out strong in the second half and within two minutes were on the scoreboard from a brilliant solo try by flyhalf Karen Hunt (Univ. of Illinois). The Welsh defense over-committed to cover the strong running inside center Lisa Henneman (Kent, Wash.) and this allowed Hunt the opportunity to dummy her way through the backline and into some space. With support starting to arrive by her side, Hunt dummied her way past two more defenders and beat the chasers to score under the posts. She calmly slotted her own conversion to make the score 12-7.
As the game progressed the USA forwards were able to take control in the set pieces and this gave the backs more opportunity to move the ball out to their speed. In the 53 minute the USA fullback, Jessica Watkins (Stanford) received a ball out wide, cut back inside, shook off a tackle by the opposing fullback and scored under the posts. Hunt again converted to make the score 14-12 with fifteen minutes left to play.
The USA looked like they would get on the board again five minutes later when wing Sadie Anderson (Fort Collins, Colo.) ran onto a kick, chipped the ball ahead and appeared to be tackled before she could pick up the ball. In the ensuing scramble the ball was knocked on and the whistle only brought a scrum for the Welsh. With the game winding down Wales were awarded a series of penalties that saw them progress down to the USA goal line but the solid USA defense was able to steal ball and clear for touch.
Deep into injury time, Wales was awarded a kickable penalty, but choose to take a quick tap and fed their forwards. The USA defense looked to have held strong but the referee deemed that there had been another infraction in front of the posts. They made the kick and the final whistle went immediately to end the game on a score of 15-14.
While this was heartbreaking loss for the young women’s team, the U-19’s will take away some valuable lessons.
“It was clear early that it would be an intensely physical game and while the players talked about making the adjustment no one seemed able to make the commitment. Captain Lisa Henneman basically told them that they had to put their money where their mouths were and after the half they had a new edge to their game,” said Head Coach Bryn Chivers.
“It was a huge game in terms of them understanding the level of commitment needed during a game to achieve their goal and we are hoping that we will see a difference in their approach to the final game of the tour,” Chivers added. “It’s hard to pick out individuals in a game where so many contributed, but I have to give special credit to Karen Hunt’s try to open the second half. It was up there with the best individual tries I have seen from a player at any age level.”
The USA U19’s have a day off in Cardiff on Friday and travel back to Aylesbury in England where they will finish their tour with a game against the Canada U19’s at noon on Sunday.
USA WNT U19 vs Wales U19’s
1. Justine Harris, Army; 2. Laura Parker, KC Jazz (Marrissa Readinger, Army); 3. Megan Thompson, Western Washington; 4. Stacey Bridges, Texas A&M; 5. Kati McCormick, UW Milwaukee; 6. Kelsey Moss, Stanford; 7. Jozy Gessner, Summit, Colo., (Kerrie Hughes, North Bay, Md.) (Nikki Harrell, Army, in for Hughes) 8. Candace Barley, Maryville, Tenn.; 9. Jenny Beaman, U of Tennessee; 10. Karen Hunt, U of Illinois; 11. Catherine Turnerdrown, Riverton, Utah; 12. Lisa Henneman, Kent, Wash. (Captain);13. Rachel Sachs, Syracuse; 14. Sadie Anderson, Fort Collins, Colo;15. Jessica Watkins, Stanford.
USA 14
Tries: Karen Hunt, Jessica Watkins
Conversions: Hunt 2
Staff
Bryn Chivers Head Coach (Sioux Falls, SD)
Lance Connolly Coach (Washington, DC)
Amy Valenta Trainer (Denver, CO)
Jeff Noe Manager (Milwaukee. WI)
