After a week of training at the home court of UHC Thun, the first-ever U.S.
women’s national floorball team was ready to face its first opponent Japan in
the 2003 World Championships. The U.S. had the smallest squad in the tournament with 13 players - seven who were from based in Europe and six from the States. Coached by Lasse Heikkura of Finland and Yves Schneckenburger of Switzerland, the U.S. team had high hopes of performing well at the international level given the spirit within the team.

U.S. vs. Japan
The first match took place in the evening at Sporthalle, Wünnewil. The U.S. started the match strong with a goal in the sixth minute from Johanna “Jo-Jo” Breiding, assisted by Annukka “Anu” Muuri. But Japan, which went on to win the B Division, equalized in the tenth minute. The U.S. responded quickly as the other half of the Muuri sisters -Marianne, also known as “Mappe” - deflected a pass from captain Anne “Jasu” Jumppanen to put the U.S. on top 2-1. Then in the 13th minute, Gina Rupp added to the tally, deflecting a free-hit taken by center Amelia Griffith past Japan’s goalie. Breiding scored her second goal of the match one minute later to give the U.S. a 4-1 advantage  at the end of the first period.

The U.S. was confident after such a good start; however, the small size of the squad and the intensity of play took their toll. Japan answered with three quick goals in four minutes to equalize the score. The U.S. tried to mount an attack but were unsuccessful as the period ended 6-4. Japan added two more goals to finish the match 8-4.

U.S. vs. Austria
Coming off the loss to Japan, the U.S. was set to face an experienced Austrian side which had finished eighth at the World Championships in 2001. It was a game in which the team did not lose steam inspite of being a small squad and two U.S. players would net hat-tricks.  Austria drew first blood as the first period drew to a close and added a second goal in the 21st minute.  However, the U.S. team showed its fight and determination by adding three goals in a four-minute span. The Muuri sisters combined for two as Mappe was assisted by Anu on her goal in the 23rd minute. Mappe returned the favor assisting on Anu’s 27th-minute tally. In between the Muuri goals, Jo-Jo Breiding tallied her first of the match in the 24th minute. Breiding then completed a hat-trick with goals in the 31st and 32nd minutes. Anu Muuri would get the second hat -trick for the U.S. in the third period, scoring an unassisted goal in the 42nd minute and getting a helper from goalie Sabina Backstrom in the 54th minute. The final score ended 7-4 and put the U.S. in a good position in its group.

U.S. vs. Malaysia
Coming off the win against Austria, the U.S. team was feeling happy and confident as it approached its match against Malaysia, which like the U.S. was playing in its first-ever World Championships. It had also been rumored that the Malaysian players were  mostly field hockey players who had played floorball for only a few months prior to coming to Bern. In any case, the U.S., with some of its more experienced players, had an advantage, which was reflected in the 9-1 scoreline.  By the tenth minute of the first period, the score was 4-0 with goals from Anu Muuri, assisted by  Anne Jumppanen; Jo-Jo Breiding, assisted by Anu Muuri; Anne Jumppanen who buried a rebounded shot by Amelia Griffith that hit the post; and Tiffany Winkler, assisted by Mappe Muuri. Gina Rupp rounded out the U.S. scoring in the 11th minute assisted by Griffith.Malaysia managed to bunker in during the second period as the U.S. scored one goal in the 38th minute as Winkler added her second goal of the match.  In the 46th minute, Malaysia managed to deny Sabina Backstrom a shutout, scoring it’s one goal of the match. However the combined play of the Muuri sisters and Breiding dominated the scoring for the third period. Anu Muuri scored two goals and Mappe Muuri one, all assisted by Breiding. It is always to goalscorers who grab the attention and glory; however, the quiet contributions of everyone on the team made U.S. wins possible, from the rock solid defensive play of Denise Henry, who anchored the second line, to the gritty determined play of Erica Camp and J.E. Hamer, and the “all out, leave it on the floor” play and attitudes of Lauren Thomas and Maria Cervania.

U.S. vs. Poland
At the morning breakfast, team U.S. received a congratulatory fax from U.S. Floorball President Ollie Rupp. It was a nice acknowledgment of the team’s achievements so far, and also a good luck wish that the women’s would fare better against the Polish team than the men did a year earlier at the Men’s World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

Unfortunately, the Poles seemed to have the USA’s number and managed to replicate the result of its men’s team. The U.S. started strongly with a goal in the sixth minute from Mappe Muuri, assisted by Jo-Jo Breiding. However, that was to be the USA’s only goal for the match.  Poland showed its experience and the final scored was 6-1.  If there is a bright side to this result, the one I can think of is that Poland went on the play Japan for the B-Division title. So the USA’s two group losses came to the division’s eventual one-two finishers.

Placement Game, U.S. vs. Singapore
With its two wins and one loss, the U.S. was positioned to play Singapore for the 5 and 6 place in the B Division. After a quick uniform change to white after the U.S., which had planned to play in its red jerseys only to discover that the color was too similar to Singapore’s orange ones,  The teams took the court at Mooshalle, Gümligen and played a fairly even match. Singapore’s Jill Quek, who was one of the top players in the B Division, scored the first goal of the match in the sixth minute. However, the USA’s Mappe Muuri answered six minutes later with a goal off and assist by Tiffany Winkler. Quek added another goal for Singapore in the second period as the U.S. tried to find the net again. It finally managed to in the third period with an unassisted goal from Anu Muuri and a goal from Anne Jumppanen, assisted by Anu Muuri. Jumppanen’s goal brought the U.S. to within a goal of Singapore at 4-3. U.S. coach Lasse Heikkura pulled goalie Sabina Backstrom with the hope of tying the match; however, Singapore managed to score and empty netter for the match to end 5-3.

For its first-ever appearance at a World Championship, the U.S. team did fairly well finishing sixth in the B Division and 14th overall.  Next up, Singapore 2005!