USA falls to Sweden, 2-1, will play for bronze at the U18 Women’s WC
ÖSTERSUND, Sweden – The USA U-18 Women’s National Team fell to Sweden, 2-1in the semifinal round of the IIHF Women’s U18 World Championship on Saturday.
Despite the loss, Team USA will play again on Sunday in the bronze medal game. Puck drop is set for 10:00 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live on NHL Network. The USA’s opponent will be decided by the other semifinal game between Canada and Finland.
“We had a bit of a slow start there,” Katie Lachapelle (Lewiston, Maine), head coach of the 2023 U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team said. “We lost a little gas there and their goaltending was great. We didn’t do a good job getting pucks deep. It’s a good group and it’s a shame we couldn’t come out on top.”
The match opened at a fast pace, when two minutes into the frame, a turnover in the USA’s defense resulted in a breakout for Sweden. Goalkeeper Annelies Bergmann (Detroit, Mich.) kept the shot away to keep the tilt scoreless.
Soon after, the USA earned their first power play opportunity of the night, where despite several chances, they couldn’t find the back of the net.
With 2:44 left in the first, Team USA jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Finley McCarthy (Whitefish, Mont.) won a battle along the boards, carried the puck behind the goal and found Lucia DiGirolamo (Woburn, Mass.) wide open in front of the net. DiGirolamo took the pass and put a backhander behind Swedish netminder Felicia Frank.