Kiley Neushul
Sherie Smith

Women's Senior National Team Greg Mescall

Shootouts Dominate Day Two Of Holiday Cup As Italy & Team USA Earn Victories

Kiley Neushul and Team USA rallied to defeat the Netherlands on Tuesday night
Princeton, NJ - December 17 - Tuesday night at the 2019 Holiday Cup in New Jersey featured scoring, lots and lots of scoring. Both games went to shootouts with Italy coming back to edge Russia 18-16 and Team USA rallying to defeat the Netherlands 23-22. Alys Williams (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/Huntington Beach WPF) and Stephania Haralabidis (Athens, Greece/USC/NYAC) led the way in regulation with three goals each while Amanda Longan (Moorpark, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805) and Ashleigh Johnson (MIami, FL/Princeton/NYAC) split time in cage to 8 saves. Team USA has the day off on Wednesday and returns to play on Thursday against Canada at 7pm et. 

The match was back and forth early with each side trading goals leading to a 4-4 tie with 7:11 to play in the first half. From there the United States ran off three straight goals from Williams, Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL) and Haralabidis for a 7-4 lead with 5:15 to play in the half. The Netherlands rallied with three straight, capped by a Maud Megens goal for a 7-7 game with 3:20 remaining in the second quarter. The two sides were tied at 10-10 at halftime before the United States pulled ahead in the third at 12-10 following a Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/CdM Aquatics) goal. 

After Williams put Team USA up two at 14-12 the Netherlands turned the tables and quickly tied the match and grabbed a 17-15 lead with time winding down in the third period. The two sides traded scores with Bente Rogge giving the Netherlands an 18-17 lead with three minutes to go in the match. Haralabidis answered with a clutch goal with 1:32 to go in regulation. Team USA had one final possession to go for the win but couldn't connect and the action headed to a shootout. 

The first three rounds of the shootout saw both sides followed by two rounds where both sides missed including big saves from Johnson for Team USA alongside Willemsz and Koenders for the Netherlands. In the extra rounds Kiley Neushul (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/NYAC) put Team USA in front 22-21. The match looked to be secured after Johnson blocked a Megens attempt that followed by the officials reversed the call and ruled Johnson was too far out from the goal. On the next try Megens connected. That led to Gilchrist shooting and scoring on the other end. Rogge followed for the Netherlands and missed wide right, confirming the win for Team USA.

In the Italy/Russia match it was Russia that led throughout much of the contest. Italy never led in regulation and it was Rosaria Aiello's goal with 10 seconds left that forced the shootout. From there Italy was flawless, hitting on all their shots to secure the two goal victory in a shootout. 

The Holiday Cup continues on Wednesday with Italy taking on Canada and Russia meeting the Netherlands. The action starts at 5:30pm et with live stats available at TheFOSH.net. For complete Holiday Cup schedule, click here.  Live streaming resumes on Thursday at 5:30pm et. Watch on Eleven Sports Network (Century Link: 646) , http://FTFNext.com or Download the app ( http://bit.ly/2JoEgJE )
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Players Mentioned

Rachel Fattal

Rachel Fattal

Attacker
5' 8"
Professional
Stephania Haralabidis

Stephania Haralabidis

Attacker
5' 11"
Professional
Ashleigh Johnson

Ashleigh Johnson

Goalkeeper
6' 1"
Professional
Amanda Longan

Amanda Longan

Goalkeeper
6' 1"
Junior
Maddie Woepse

Maddie Woepse

Attacker
5' 11"
Sophomore
Kiley Neushul

Kiley Neushul

Attacker
5' 8"
Professional
Alys Williams

Alys Williams

Defender
5' 11"
Professional

Players Mentioned

Rachel Fattal

Rachel Fattal

5' 8"
Professional
Attacker
Stephania Haralabidis

Stephania Haralabidis

5' 11"
Professional
Attacker
Ashleigh Johnson

Ashleigh Johnson

6' 1"
Professional
Goalkeeper
Amanda Longan

Amanda Longan

6' 1"
Junior
Goalkeeper
Maddie Woepse

Maddie Woepse

5' 11"
Sophomore
Attacker
Kiley Neushul

Kiley Neushul

5' 8"
Professional
Attacker
Alys Williams

Alys Williams

5' 11"
Professional
Defender