JWC – The Champions
Two weeks of competition. Seven games for the finalists. High temperatures. Hot, dry, humid, rain and cold. We’ve had it all here in Boston.
It has finally come to an end, and we now know who the 2009 Women’s Junior World Champions are in Hockey.
Holland out-gun Argentina with 3 goals to 0 in the gold medal match. The Argentina captain, Victoria Zuloaga and her forward team-mate Martina Cavallero both represented Gryphon in this match.
It may not have been up to standards of some other matches. Who can top winning with one minute to go in golden goals to win a place in the final? Only a similar feat in the final itself could be as amazing.
The Bronze was won by Korea over England (2 – 1) and Australia beat Germany (5 -2) for 5th place.
Gryphon would like to have a massive shout out to the girls in our family that played in this tournament. We are proud of you for making the team and the commitment to see such a grueling task through.
JWC – The Gryphon Girls – Photos in Motion
A small montage video of some of the Gryphon Girls in action at the Junior World Cup. We thought you may enjoy.
Some players include: Martina Cavallero, Victoria Zuloaga, Emily Hurtz, Jade Warrender, Heather Langham, Bianca Greenshields, Kate Jenner, Jill Dwyer, Pia Grambusch, Celine Wilde, Bridget Blackwood, Stacey Michelson, Katie Glynn, Julia Cass and Celia Evans.
JWC 2009 – Day 7 – The Equation
A small recap at this point of the tournament if I may.
We are now in the last pool games for each team fighting for the top two of each. In each pool, out of six teams, four have a chance to make, especially after last night’s draw with China and Germany. It’s effectively a quarter finals scenario.
Gryphon girls in the pressure action: ARGENTINA: V.Zuloaga, M.Cavallero | AUSTRALIA: J.Dwyer, E.Hurtz, J.Warrender, H.Langham, B.Greenshields, K.Jenner | GERMANY: P.Grambusch, C.Wilde
Pool E: Teams with a chance (in order of current standings): England (10, +4), Australia (9, +3), Korea (7, +4), India (6, 0).
The USA and Chile are out of contention.
England are undefeated and carry only one draw to be the highest team on the entire event for points. Today they play Australia who have only lost one game.
The other game is Korea v India. It’s a very interesting proposition.
There are endless outcomes here (ok not endless, but lots). I’ll go through the most probable, but after writing this I am sure it’ll all be wrong 
India v Korea play first. If Korea win, they move to 10 points and at least a +5 goal difference. This will place them on top of the ladder. I this case England and Australia can draw and England and Korea will progress (Korea on GD over Australia). If England lose to Australia, the Aussie go to 12 points and clear top of the ladder and Korea will also progress. In any case, if Korea win, it’s a must win for either Aus or England.
If India and Korea draw. Korea moves to 8 points, allowing both Australia and England to progress no matter their result. That said they will both want to win to avoid possibly playing Holland (who are looking to get going). So for the Aussies and England they will be want a draw from the first game.
If India wins, they go to 9 points. The same as Australia. They’d need a strong positive GD from the Korea game and Australia to lose by as many to progress over the Aussies. It’s going to be crazy nervous out there today!
Pool F: Holland (9, +7), Germany (8, +3), China (7, +7), Argentina (6, +6)
Now this is close. I mean really close. Any of the four teams has every chance to jump to the top two. Even though NZ have played brilliantly all tournament the last couple of games have dropped them off. A real shame as they have been a very good side. South Africa is the other team out of contention.
Tomorrow: Germany play Holland, then China play Argentina.
A win or draw for Holland is enough secure a place in the top two.
If the Dutch win they move to 12 points, and Germany stay on 8 with the lowest GD. On this, either winners from China or Argentina would push them to second place. China with a draw would jump Germany of GD, so the Argentina need the win.
If the Dutch and Germans draw Holland moves to 10, and Germany to 9 and hold GD. In this case we need a winner from the China/Arg game. A draw is not enough, but a winner would jump to second from either side.
If Germany win, Holland stay on 9, and Germany go 11 making the Germans safe. In this scenario, China can afford a draw to jump Holland on GD (as holland would have dropped for the loss). Obviously a win for China assures them top two with 10 points. Don’t forget Argentina here, if they beat China they’d go to 9 points and increase their GD and again jump Holland.
So after all that. In a nutshell we have four more games of importance. Each game’s winner will “likely” progress to the semis. That’s how tight it is.
Today will see tears from some of the girls and staff. Some will be joy and some will be pain. I wish all the girls the best of chances today.
JWC 2009 – Day 6
The field has now split with only those in the one pool playing on each day for the medal contention.
Today saw one team’s hopes crushed early on. Chile was beaten by India 3 – 1, effectively (after Australia beat them last night) giving them no hope of making the semi-finals. The looks on the faces of the girls told more stories than one can imagine. So much to get to Boston for each girl here, it’s heart-breaking to watch.
The other four teams in the same pool were next and each result could determine much with one more game after today to go.
Australia played the undefeated Korea, who the night before beat the USA. It can be argued that Korea (past two time winner of the JWC) are favourites to go through, and on form they keep getting the results. On the other side, the Jillaroos haven’t been as consistent as they’d like to be. A loss for the Aussies would put a serious dent in their finals chances. Straight from the outset the Aussie girls showed that this game, they were here to play. Their intensity was up. Their skills looked sharp. They kept their heads up and hit targets. Korea also were playing great hockey and working a game based on speed and counter attack. The game to unfold would be the best here in Boston to date.
On the sidelines, a Korean man had a guitar, plugged into and amplifier and another man holding/talking into a microphone. For the first half there was constant music and rhythm to inspire his team. Sadly for him the Aussie’s broke the atmosphere and scored a field goal in the 7th minute. The Korean guitar kept playing and urging his team. On attack they looked incredibly dangerous, but Gryphon full back, Heather Langham, made crucially timed tackles one on one to stop the shots on goal. Before the end of the first half the Aussie’s hit again to be 2 goals to 0 up, something unprecedented against the Korean’s this tournament.
The second half looked to show the same intensity and great hockey. This time, even with a player on the pine with a yellow being stuck in their face, the Korean’s scored from one of their dangerous attacks. The intensity climbed. Within in a few minutes, Gryphon Girl, Kate Jenner struck cleanly from a PC and took the Aussie lead out to two goals again. Not satisfied, the Aussies went forward again and again Kate Jenner crisply put another goal away. It was too much for the Koreans, and even after scoring again, the Australian’s kept attacking and never giving up their drive. The final score, Australia 4, Korea 2.
A vocal, yet small crowd was at hand to witness the USA look to stay in the finals race and play England (who have not yet lost a game). The game lived up to the intensity it required. With every whistle bow, every strike and hit, the crowd roared, whoooed and cheered. It was hard to tell which team had a bigger supporter base. The first goal was scored by the English igniting the electric atmosphere. Barely a few minutes had passed to let the aura dissipate and the USA scored to equalise. The half time score was 1 all. As with the first half , England scored first but with less than a minute gone the USA replied again. The intensity kept its climb upward, and a few more minutes later England scored once more to stand 3 – 2. The USA obviously knew the stakes and made the bold move to bring in the kicking full-back to offer more attack. It was a win or nothing approach. Until, well, like we all know in Murphy’s Law, England was awarded a PC. The USA needed to sub their GK back on and she made an incredible save. The USA turned back to offense, but pushed too hard and had their second yellow for the half awarded making it easy for England to take the win 3 – 2.
For this pool, effectively out of the six teams, the host nation is out of contention for the finals as well as Chile. The other four are all in contention and play off Tuesday. Aus v England, in a game where the winner would progress to semis, but a losing case is unique to each team and dictated by the result of India v Korea. It will go down to the wire.
Tomorrow we play the same scenario as today, but for the other side of the pool system.
JWC 2009 – Day 5
Right, so where were we after day 4?
Four teams have left the race for the medals and crown of World Champion (Jnr) – slightly bigger than a junior sized burger. The teams out are: Spain, France, Belarus and Lithuania. Day 4 is a new day where all teams play again as the previously four pools are changed to three. The teams not playing for medals are in their own pool and get to splash around there for a while.
Two new pools have opened up, and these are the Olympic sized pools, pretty big. The remaining twelves teams fighting for the medals are in effect split in half with each team to play the other three teams in their new pool once each. At the end of this process all points are counted up and we get pool placings (top two of each go the semis).
Pool 1 – Aus, USA, Korea, England, India, Chile
Pool 2 – Holland, Germany, NZ, China, South Africa, Argentina
In a nutshell today: England beats India, showing that maybe the Indian’s are not all the form they have shown so far and England are a real chance. China put the smack-down on South Africa (5 nil) in a what can only be a convincing win and a warning to the rest of the pool. The previously un-troubled Germany finished 1 all with NZ. The Junior Black Sticks continue to show strength and skill and are the real deal this year.
Australia scraped a win over Chile, although the Jillaroos had control of the offensive part of the game, they seldom had good chances on goal. The only goal came from a Penalty Stroke. In possibly one of the best matches so far, Argentina and Holland faced off. In the first half Holland had complete control, running great lines and angles in attack but not putting the where it needed to. Argentina rarely went forward, but when they did, they looked very dangerous. It was indeed Argentina that broke through first before half time. In the second it was a different game and in a matter of minutes Holland broke the game open with two quick goals, which was the final score 2 – 1 (to Holland).
The final game was USA v Korea. The hosts v the champions (and undefeated). The biggest crowd so far came for this match and it didn’t disappoint. USA went 1 – 0 up at the half and the home crowd was vocal and lifted the energy level of the game. Then after the 55th minute the Korean’s flipped a switch and slotted two goals to silence the crowd and take the win propelling them to the top of their new pool.
Where do we go from here? Each team now has two more games each to prove that they can be in the top four and therefore hit out for the final game. Tomorrow Australia play Korea in what is going to be a big test of both teams. Kick off at 16:45 local time in Boston.
Till then, stay cool (It’s pretty warm here in Boston).
JWC 2009 – Day 3
At the end of the day today, all teams have completed two of their three pool matches. This means that tomorrow is a very intense and packed day as all the remaining games are played out and we find out who is eligible to play for the medals, and who leaves the race. Today a few teams really needed a win, and two big ones were Argentina and Holland.
The First game today was Argentina vs Lithuania. Neither had a win yet, and the Lithuanians had been looking stronger than many billed them to be. This was how the first half was played. It was tight and tense with neither team taking control. It was a great PC flick from Gryphon Girl, and Argentina Captain Victoria Zuloaga to break the deadlock before half time. This kicked the Argentina team into gear for the second half, and with some desperate play from the South Americans were able to secure a convincing 4 to 0 win.
Germany continued their unbeated record, this time outplaying South Africa. Once again this was a tight game with the score being 1 – 1 for much of the first half, until Gryphon Girl, Wilde was able to pile on two field goals and push the game away from the South Africans. Gryphon Girl Kemp was able to clearly beat the keep with her feet and popped in their second but the game was done at 4 -2. Unfortunately Wilde came off with a serious ankle injury.
New Zealand played Spain in a match that could propel the Black Sticks’ Junior component to the top of the ladder, and they were not about to disappoint. What ensued in the second half was a massively dominant attack at goal by Gryphon Girl Katie Glynn to score a hat-trick and make it four goals for the tournament so far. Final score 4 to 0.
The last game had the same tones as the first although Holland were playing a team that was in equal contention for progression, China. Early on nothing went the way of China and lost a player to a Yellow card. The Dutch pounced and piled on two quick goals as the Chinese looked lost in their back line. The second half saw Holland lose a player to a Yellow card and end up playing defense for much of the time. China was able to score a goal from a PC with plenty of time to score more. Kitty Van Male from the Dutch team kept on pushing hard forward to offer an option. In the end the score was Holland 2, China 1.
The pools are very delicately balanced at the moment. Tomorrow is a full day for all teams.
JWC 2009 – Day Two
Day two of the Junior World Cup in Boston already required results to fall for certain teams. Each pool has four teams and the top three team progress for medals, while forth plays in a mini tournament. The big catch is that after the pools matches the points accrued are carried into the next round. So if a team scrapes into third over forth and have 0 points they need to catch the teams sitting at 12 or less points. It means that every game is incredibly important for every team.
With that equation in mind we had four games today. France lost two in a row, this time to Chile 2 goals to 0. France the previous day lost to England who today played the defending champions in Korea. The game showed that England was a serious contender for top of the pools. They held a 2-1 lead until the 69th minute when Korea slotted the equaliser for a 2 all result. The following match displayed that India was no fluke over Australia and belted Belarus 6 goals to 0.
With the India result propelling them to the top position in the same pool as Australia and the USA, their game was more important, if that was possible. The USA with a win would go to equal top with two wins, but if Australia won, it would split the pool and place India clear top and tie USA and Australia. It was a very determined Australia that came out and played a very counter-attacking game and very quickly scored the opener. At 1 nil down, the USA team weren’t ready to concede and played a very structured attacking game and always looked dangerous. Unfortunate for them the half time score was 1 – 0. This didn’t stay long as Australia put a buffer in the score within minutes of the whistle if the second half restart. All that was able to achieve was make the US team work harder. Most of the second half was played in Australia’s defensive half and a crack opened up allowing USA to score. At 2 goals to 1, the USA kept the pressure up, and the Aussies kept soaking it up. With Gryphon Girl Heather Langham at the back (after playing in CT09) keeping the defense together with cool control the Jillaroos kept the final score 2 goals to 1 in Australia’s favour.
Two more days remain until the pool matches change and the forth team drops out of medal contention.
Jnr World Cup 2009 – Day 1
It’s been a long day. A day of upsets. So for some teams an even longer day and a long night to follow.
In a day where all 16 teams played (8 games), three out of the four favourites lost, and only three as one of games featured two top teams playing each other.
Out here in Boston, the heat started early and it was obvious by the amount of ice being carted around many of the girls were feeling it. It was in the first game at 9am where Germany played Argentina in what would prove to be the most fruitful hockey played all day in terms of quality. Germany controlled their attack well and won 2 goals to 1. A shout out to the German girls using the distinctive Tour sticks.
The second of the upsets came at the hands of the Black New Zealand team, popping off the Dutch in another quality match. Both sides showed a lot of skill and poise in a good game. It was the NZ girls that showed that they are ready to take the next step with a convincing win with 3 goals to 1. Gryphon Girl Kaite Glynn popped home the second goal to put the game out of the Dutch reach to make it at the time 2 goals to 0.
In the third upset, India played the Jillaroos (Australia). The Aussies had all of the attack throughout the game and were able to pile on two goals. Somehow the Indians had the ability to push up and score in a clinical fashion and convert their limited chances. It was too much for the Jilla’s and they were the third casualty at 3 -2. Gryphon Girls Dwyer and Hurtz played hard and intense up front but it wasn’t enough to help their team to a win on the first day.
That was day one, with two more weeks to come. So strap in let us do the work for you. Join the Twitter Channel “gryphonhockey”.
Women’s Junior World Cup Preview
Barely a week has passed since the top 6 women’s teams faced off in Sydney at the Champion’s Trophy for women. Now it’s time for the Junior Women’s World Cup (under 21s) hosted at Harvard in Boston. For some it will be the first time abroad and just that alone is entire excitement. Others, this is another chance to show themselves on the world stage and push for senior selection.
It all starts on the 3rd of August, Boston, MA, USA.
In the case of two Gryphon Girls, they have just played in the Silver Medalist Australian team at Champion’s Trophy. Heather Langham and Emily Hurtz have both just played against the best in the world and matched them, and now look to cement their skill-set in Boston.
With twenty teams playing in the World Cup, there are a lot of girls strutting their best skills on the global stage, and as you can guess, Gryphon is a big part of that. At a quick glance:
AUS: B.Greenshields, E.Hurtz, K.Jenner, H.Langham, J.Warrender | NZ: K.Glynn, E.Gunson, S.Michelsen, C.Michelsen, A.Millington, B.Blackwood, F.Morrison | SOUTH AFRICA: J.Cass, C.Evans, S.Harley, N.Kemp, C.McNalty, P.Rabey | FRANCE: F.Verrier | GERMANY: C.Wilde, P.Grambusch, R.Muller, S.Schotten
The list above is by no means the only Gryphon contingent in Boston. We at Gryphon HQ wish all the girls a great tournament and a fantastic experience. Also DC will be around the place taking photos and being your general go-to Gryphon Guy.