Day 3: USA v. Vasteras

This morning began with a very nice breakfast in the hotel. After eating, the team packed up all of their things and headed across the street to move into the "cottages" where they would be staying for the rest of the trip.

The cottages where the WNT is staying in Vasteras

The cottages are very nice, with two bedrooms each, a small kitchen (with a stovetop and fridge), and a shower/bathroom. After dropping all the things off in the cottage, the team headed down a small path to the gym where they would be holding training sessions for the rest of the week.

The kitchen
The bedroom

Once again, the Division 1 Club Vasteras joined the WNT for the training session, along with two of the guest coaches- Claes Hellgren and Thomas Brond. The team broke-up into groups by position, and each group got to work with a coach on various aspects of their game. At the end of practice, USA and Vasteras split-up into teams and played some short scrimmages to get prepared for the game later that day.

After training the laides headed back to the cabins to shower and get ready for lunch. Everyone ate at the bistro next to the cottages and then had a brief team meeting before getting an hour or so to rest.

At 2:30 the WNT headed over to the gym to begin preparing for the game against Vasteras. The gym is very nice- with a great floor and lots of seats for fans. They even have special stands for the stick-um!

The game started at 4pm and the USA got off to a rough start against the experienced team, who ended up beating the WNT 26-13. There were many opportunities to score, but the USA had a hard time putting the ball in, with the goalie answering the bad shots with a fast-break for the other team. The speed of the game was fast, and the players were big and strong.

Hopefully over the next several days, the WNT will raise their game and take care of their mistakes. At this level, even small mistakes can lead to a big advantage for the other team. It was definitely a learning experience, and a good reminder of what aspects of the game we need to take care of if we want to win.

USA 13, Vasteras 26