Team USA Holds its Own, Despite 7-4 Loss.

The U.S. Men's U19 Team held its own tonight against FC Helsingborg's U16 in a pre-World Floorball Championships friendly game. Despite a 7-4 loss, Team USA stood for more than a solid performance in the fast-paced game which served as "dress rehearsal" for the upcoming U19 WFC.

Less than four minutes into the first period, USA's Adrian Hiram gracefully placed the ball in the back of the net, after a solo performance which carried on across more than half of the court. Shortly after, FC Helsingborg tied. It did not take long until Lukas Alongi deked one of Helsingborg's defenders by doing a 360-degree spin and sweeping a pass over to Daniel Hansen, who found the back of the net. After the first period, Team USA was up 2-1.

6 min and 22 seconds into the second period, FC Helsingborg once again tied the game after a quick turnover and 10 minutes later, Helsingborg took the lead for the first time. The scoreboard showed a 3-2 lead for Helsingborg at the end of second period.

Barely a minute into the third period, FC Helsingborg scored another goal which resulted in a 4-2 lead. Two minutes later, William Eriksson fired off a sweeper shot which fortunately bounced off a Helsingborg defender and then rolled into the goal. Trailing by just one goal, USA tried to keep the pressure up in order to once again regain control of the match.

At 4:57 into the third period, defender Patrick Olsen got tangled up in an FC Helsingborg player, resulting in a free-hit in Helsingborg's favor, inside Team USA's slot. Seeming somewhat confused about the the referee's call, Team USA weren't able to react to the quick the free-hit from Helsingborg, which resulted in a "top shelf" goal.

Carl and William Eriksson, two brothers who normally play together in KAIS Mora definitely showed the audience that they are attuned to playing with each other. Just 3 minutes and 50 seconds after Helsingborg's "cheap" goal, William Eriksson found his younger brother Carl in the upper slot who easily and effortlessly scored. Helsingborg then increased their lead with 6-4 (9:31) and 7-4 (16:28)

Although carving out many great chances late in the game, the U.S players simply were unable to find those right angles and thus had to concede.

Most floorball teams are lucky to find one solid goaltender, whereas USA MU19 has found two. Max Pålsson and Sebastian Stöckli stood for some of the best achievements during tonight's game. The two goalies who played half of the match each, most certainly showed that the opponents in the upcoming WFC will have a hard time scoring on them.

Overall, it was a fine performance by USA who will face off against Hungary on Wednesday, at the 9th Men's U19 WFC in Växjö, Sweden. The game can be live-streamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-dHnDOu4eI