SWITZERLAND

WWC Day 4 Wrap: Switzerland surpasses Argentina on Grovom’s OT Winner

WWC Day 4 Wrap: Switzerland surpasses Argentina on Grovom’s OT Winner

Sat 2.7.2022 | Matt DaSilva | fuel
World Lax 2022 International Switzerland

Switzerland’s Kristy Grovom (21) celebrates with team-mates after scoring the decisive goal in the 8-7 win over Argentina in extra time.

TOWSON, Md. — Although San Diego born and NCAA trained, Swiss Kristy Grovom barely qualifies as an American wrestler. No, it’s as Swiss as chocolate and cheese.

Grovom scored four goals, including the winner in overtime as Switzerland beat Argentina 8-7 in a World Lacrosse Women’s Championship Pool E game on Saturday. The Swiss (1-1) are second in the pool with their opponents on Sunday, the Haudeonsaunee Nation.

As the daughter of a former minor league baseball player and a Swiss-born flight attendant, Grovom learned to appreciate the benefits of sports and travel at an early age. She moved to the East Coast to play collegiate lacrosse at Washington College on the East Coast of Maryland. In 65 career games, the 5-foot-11 forward scored 116 goals and ripped off 117 draw controls.

“I thought my lacrosse career was over. Then I found Zurich Lacrosse,” said Grovom. “It was there that I developed an even greater passion for lacrosse and developed better racquet skills for European lacrosse. I was allowed to try myself for the national team and the girls are just great. I just fell in love with the team and what Swiss Lacrosse stands for. I’m Swiss too. I love Switzerland.”

During his studies, Grovom traveled to Bermuda, Belize, Guatemala and Tanzania as a venture director at Nourish International. But she always made time to visit her grandparents in Switzerland every summer and now she lives in Zurich. She has been learning German for the past nine months in order to find her way around better in her new home.

“I grew up in California and played lacrosse in Maryland, and yes, I decided to take it across the Atlantic and continue the lacrosse journey,” Grovom said.

But there is more to achieve in Towson. With their second World Cup appearance, Switzerland hopes to improve their 19th place in the world rankings.

The Swiss fought back with an early 4-1 deficit against Argentina – one of four teams who made their World Cup debut here.

Grovom scored twice in the fourth quarter, giving Switzerland a one-goal lead with each goal. She converted a Stefi Burger feed in front to lead the Swiss 7-6 at 1:17.

But Argentina created several open position chances at the last minute and Mechi O’Neil (four goals) buried an 11-yard with 17 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Burger won the draw to start overtime. Anouk Andres (three goals, one assist) found a pass from a free position to Grovom, who curled around the goal and beat goalkeeper Alex de Jesus for the decisive goal.

Grovom’s teammates pushed them to celebrate on the field.

“Our cheer is ‘samma,’ which means together,” Grovom said. “I think that embodies what Swiss Lacrosse is.”

ISRAEL DEFEATS PUERTO RICO

With tons of NCAA talent on the field, Israel pulled away late from Puerto Rico to remain undefeated in the pool game.

Trailing 6-2, Israel scored seven of the next eight goals to take the lead in the third quarter.

Puerto Rico recovered late and scored two goals in 82 seconds to draw to 12-11. But Israel ended the game with 1:26 left through Julia Rowand’s goal.

Lindsey McKone (Northwestern) made the decisive lead from an open position with 12 seconds to go. McKone finished the game with four goals, three assists and six draws. Dani Jacobstein (Stanford) also scored four goals for Israel.

Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw (Duquesne) led Puerto Rico to defeat with four goals and three assists. Bri Carrasquillo (Yale) contributed three goals and three draws.

REMARKABLE

  • Japan started Day 4 with a 19-1 win over China to become the first team to go 3-0. Japan has the fewest goals allowed in a one-goal game with the USA, and Japan now has the third lowest goals compared to the tournament average. Kokora Nakazawa led Japan’s offense with five goals and two assists, while Chisa Kobayashi added three assists. Overall, Japan ranks second in the field at 9.3 assists per game.

  • Hong Kong, China After a day off on Friday, the team returned to action with a dominant 15-2 win over Austria, improving to 2-0 and taking the lead in Group D. Hong Kong have conceded just three goals in two games to tie the claim to raise the defense with the best goals in Towen. Hong Kong won the battle for tie control 18-3, led by six by Charlotte Hartley. Wing Yi Lam drove the offense with four goals and two assists, while Mya Wang and Steffi Sze each scored three goals.

  • That Netherlands clinched their first tournament win by beating Norway 7-4 to move up to 1-1. Goalkeeper Amarins Brandsma played 45 minutes and made five saves from seven shots in a hard-fought game. Sarah Sweerts de Landas Wyborgh led the offense for the Netherlands with three goals from three shots. Norway goalkeeper Kine Ødegård made six saves in the defeat.

  • Mexico came back from falling behind in the fourth quarter and defeated Italy 8-5. Mexico went undefeated with a 2-0 record and jumped into second place in Pool F. The top two teams from pools B through F earn a spot in the championship round to determine the top 16 finishers, while only one team ranked third from those pools earns a spot in the championship class. Goalkeeper Isabella McCullough played a crucial role in her 30 minutes, making eight saves from nine shots on target. Her 82 percent save rate ranks second among all goalies in Towson. The Mexican offensive was led by Daniela Eppler Lobato with three goals and Isabela Szejk with two goals and an assist. Stephanie Colson scored four of Italy’s five goals and remains in Towson with 14 top scorers.

  • Latvia clinched his first tournament win with a 9-5 win over Jamaica that was marked by a 22-12 ball advantage. Four players scored two goals each in an even performance: Ieva Zeiļuka, Estere Urbančika, Laura Liepiņa and Laura Baltmane. Latvia are now level on points with Wales in Pool C and will face Wales in their final pool play game on Monday.

  • Sweden clinched his first tournament victory with a 9-4 decision over Colombia. Goalkeeper Amanda Eriksson helped contain the Colombian offensive with seven saves from eleven shots. Eight different players scored for Sweden as they defeated Colombia 31-13. Sweden collected 28 ground balls, their second most in a game so far.

  • England went undefeated with an 18-7 win over Scotland, played 9-27 in the fourth quarter due to inclement weather. England beat Scotland 26-9 in a dominant two-way game. They finished the night with a top-10 scoring offense (15.0) and scoring defense (5.5). Olivia Hompe scored five goals, and Torz Anderson and Megan Whittle each added a hat-trick.

  • New Zealand drove to a 10-1 win over Spain to go 3-0 up. The game was abandoned at 10:30 a.m. in the fourth quarter due to bad weather. Eight players scored for New Zealand, led by Nikki Fordyce with two goals and two assists. New Zealand’s defense limited Spain to just eight shots that night, becoming the third team in the tournament to hold off an opponent by just one goal. New Zealand now have the third best defense in Towson.

SATURDAY GAUGE

Australia vs. United States – 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
England 18, Scotland 7
Hong Kong 15, Austria 2
Israel 14, Puerto Rico 11
Japan 19, China 1
Latvia 9, Jamaica 5
Mexico 8, Italy 5
Netherlands 7, Norway 4
New Zealand 10, Spain 1
Sweden 9, Colombia 4
Switzerland 8, Argentina 7 (OT)

SUNDAY SCHEDULE
ALL TIMES EASTER
ALL GAMES ESPN+

Norway vs Puerto Rico – 10 a.m
Hong Kong vs Ireland – 11am
Czech Republic vs Mexico – 1pm
Argentina vs. China – 2 p.m
Austria vs Spain – 3pm
Colombia vs. Italy – 4pm
Scotland vs Australia – 5pm
Netherlands vs Korea – 6pm
Switzerland vs Haudenosaunee – 7pm
England vs Canada – 8pm

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