Courtesy Colorado College Athletics

GWANGJU, South Korea – July 8, 2015 – Captain Sarah Schweiss struck for the only goal of the contest during the 11th minute and Team USA hung on for a 1-0 victory over Ireland in a classification game on Wednesday at the World University Games.

Schweiss gathered a long pass from Lexi Long and chipped it over goalkeeper Niamh Reid Burke, who had come off her line in an attempt to play the ball.

Ireland had an opportunity to level the score with a little more than 10 minutes to go in the first half, but USA goalkeeper Rowan Frederiksen denied Claire O’Riordan’s attempt to finish a two-on-one. 

Frederiksen, who recorded four saves while posting her second clean sheet of the tournament, made a huge save on Ciara Grant four minutes into the second half and came off her line to cut off a dangerous cross five minutes later.

Frederiksen sealed the victory when she stopped Julie Ann Russell’s shot in the second minute of stoppage time.

“Games at this event aren’t easy,” head coach Geoff Bennett said. “You can see everyone’s pride for their country by how hard they fight and battle. This was a tough Irish team that made life hard for us for 90 minutes. We scored a good goal, played well and persevered.”

Ireland finished with an 8-7 edge in total shots and a 55-45 advantage in possession time. Each team took one corner kick.

Team USA, which evened its record at 2-2-0, faces Poland in its next game on Friday, July 10, at 11 a.m. local time, Thursday, July 9, at 8 p.m. MT.

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