US Team Handball Women's National Team

After a strong performance during the December preparation tour in Sweden, the US Team Handball Women's National Team (WNT) had high expectations coming into the North American Qualification on January 4, 2007. Despite these expectations, the WNT fell short in the competition, losing to Canada in the first two games of the series.

"Even though we were ready for the fight, we were not as sharp as we have been," said head coach Christian Latulippe, "We were definitely a little tight and lacking precision in our shots, while Canada played with very little mistakes. Their goalie Audrey Touchette also had two solid performances in goal, and that made a clear difference."

The North American Qualification (NAQ) was the first step for the WNT in their quest to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The NAQ pitted the United States against Canada in a "best out of three" tournament to fill the North American slot at the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team that places first in the Pan-American Games this July will win an Olympic qualification.

Game 1 of the series took place at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York, where the WNT had been practicing in the ten days leading up to the tournament.

"We missed an opportunity to take the lead in the beginning of the game," reflected Latulippe. "While we were unable to score at times, they never missed- there's no question this game came down to shooting."

Canada took an early lead of 4-1, but the WNT was able to fight back and equalize the score to 9-9 around 23 minutes into the first half. Canada then took the lead again with the USA unable to score another goal before halftime.

"We had several opportunities," remarked Latulippe, "in the last seven minutes of the half we took a lot of shots, but couldn't put the ball in. Our lack of precision led to fast breaks for Canada, giving right-wing Amber Smart a chance to score repeatedly."

The second half proved more difficult for the ladies of the WNT, who continued to have trouble putting the ball in against the highly skilled Canadian goalie. As the half went on, the margin between the two teams widened, and only in the last few minutes of the game was the USA able to close the gap to six, losing 28-22.

Two days later, on January 6, the WNT traveled to Montreal, Canada to play the second game of the series, a game they would have to win to keep their chances alive.

"Canada had a turnover early on that gave us an excellent opportunity to start the game with a goal, but instead of scoring, we turned the ball over and some of our momentum was lost," said Latulippe.

Indeed, the WNT was unable to score for the first ten minutes of the game, despite taking several shots on goal. Canadian goalie Audrey Touchette was on fire as she saved 18 out of 22 shots, leaving the US severely wounded at half-time with a score of 12-4.

"They killed us in the first thirty-minutes," sighed Latulippe as he recalled the ugly first half. "It is very difficult to win a game when you are that far behind, and offensively people where struggling with their shots. It was definitely one of the worst halves we've ever played as a team."

Despite the bad start, the WNT played a close second half against the Canadian team (12-13), showing a commitment to effort, even in spite of difficult odds. In the end the US lost 16-25, giving the qualification to Canada in two matches.

While the US played a good game defensively, the difference in saving percentage between Canada and the WNT was the game-winning difference: Canada's goalies saved 65% while the WNT goalies saved close to 20%.

The USA will have a second opportunity to qualify for the Pan-American Games at a wild-card tournament in Mexico sometime in March. The winner of this tournament, which includes the Chile (4 th place team from South America), Mexico (4 th place team from Central America) and El Salvador (5 th place from Central America), will take the eighth and final spot for the Pan-Am Games in Brazil.

"We were certainly disappointed and shocked by the results of the NAQ," remarked Latulippe. "Still, we have a second chance, and our challenge now is to get back to work, find solutions, and develop our skills. The players have come back from this with a commitment to work harder and be more accountable for their actions on the court. We need to learn these lessons as a team, and move forward together."