USA vs Canada

The US came out controlling the ball in the first quarter but only managed a couple of behinds before Lyndsay Kastanek scored the first major of the quarter.  Aimee Legault gets Canada on the board with a behind.  Inaccurate kicking by the US keeps the score close.

Q1 Scores
Freedom: 1.5.11
Canada: 0.1.1

Canada plays much better but they too are suffering from inaccurate kicking. The only major of the quarter is scored by the Freedom's Jessie Hazen after a Canadian player is called for throwing the ball 15 meters from the Freedom goal.  Canada must be feeling good about having 5 scoring shots to 1 for the quarter.  The US avoided a major disaster when Cathy Hoha kicked the ball the wrong way to the Canadian full forward.  The US was able to retain possession.  One of the Canadian behinds came on a spoil on the line by the Freedom's Beth Nollenberger.

Play has been pretty even with neither team controlling the ball for sustained periods.

Q2 Scores
Freedom: 2.5.17
Canada: 0.6.6

The Freedom open the third quarter scoring with a behind.  Jessie Hazen marks right in front of goal, plays on but the ball was touched by a Canadian defender.  After a set shot by Andrea Casillas falls short and is deflected out of the bounds, the Freedom gain possession of the boundary throw in and snap a goal.

Canada begins moving the ball through Erin Loughnane which leads to Megan Dietrich scoring Canada's first goal after a US penalty.  Kendra Heil gets Canada's 2nd major after marking a centering pass. Canada levels the score when Laura White scores the third goal in a row.  Canada finishes the scoring for the quarter with two behinds with the last one coming right before the siren. 

After a good start to the third quarter by the Freedom, Canada dominated by scoring 3.3 to the Freedom's 1.0 giving Canada an 11 to 2 edge in scoring chances in the past 2 quarters.

Q3 Scores
Freedom: 3.7.25
Canada: 3.8.27

The Freedom strike first in the 4th quarter with a goal by Eileen Geoghegan. With about 10 minutes left in the game, Lyndsay Kastanek marks deep in the pocket and kicks true.  A couple of minutes later Kastanek strikes again to give the US 3 straight goals and a 6 point lead.

Canada scores a goal with about 4 minutes left.  With 2 minutes left, Aimee Legault marks in front of the Canadian goal and kicks straight to bring Canada  within 5 points.

Final Scores
Freedom: 6.7.43
Canada: 5.8.38

Goal Kickers
Freedom: Kastanek(3), Hazen(2), Geoghegan
Northern Lights: Dietrich, Heil, Legault, White, Loughnane

Best Players: Erin Loughnane (Canada), Marie LaVictoire (USA), Lyndsey Kastanek (USA)

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courtesy of Ohio Sports Radio Network