Pool E
USA 4 drew Spain 4
Goals: ESP - Maria Romagosa PC 2m; PC 16m; Gloria Comera FG 46m; Soledad Contardi FG, 53m; USA - Katelyn Falgowski PC 9m; Lauren Crandall PC 55m, PC 67m; Katie Grant FG 48m
The USA battled back from a two goal deficit late in the second half to force a draw with Spain and prolong the drama in determining Pool E's two semifinalist.
Either team could have captured one of the pool's two semifinal berths with a win, but the draw did little in solving the puzzel at the top of the Pool E standings. Spain, USA, The Netherlands and Australia all entered the day with hopes of earning a spot in the semifinals.
Spain jumped out to the early lead when Maria Romagosa smoked a penalty corner rocket into the USA cage for a 1-0 advantage. The USA anwered shortly after with a penalty corner tip in by Katelyn Falgowski.
Spain took a 2-1 half time lead on another Romagosa penalty corner bullet and extended the lead in the second half on Gloria Comera's field goal.
The USA cut into the lead two minutes later on Katie Grant's field goal in the 48th minute before Spain again took a two goal advantage with Gloria Comerma's hit high into the USA net for a 4-2 Spain lead.
Coming back to win or draw in three previous Junior World Cup contests, the USA furiously attacked once again and were rewarded with Lauren Crandall's penalty corner at the 55th minute before scrambling for the equalizer on another Crandall corner with three minutes remaining in the game.
Australia 4 defeated England 1
Goals: AUS - Shelly Liddelow PC 27m, Amy Korner FG 36m FG 66m, Kate Hollywood PS 69m; ENG - Alex Danson FG 69m
Australia qualified for the semi finals by outclassing England 4-1.
After USA and Spain had played out a thrilling 4-4 draw in the preceding match, Australia entered the match with the knowledge that victory would give them a semi final berth that appeared unattainable on Sunday.
While others around them stumbled on the final two days, Austalia seized their opportunity and began the match with confidence. England were also assured early and it took until midway through the half for Australia to take lead with a penalty corner goal.
With the match poised at the break, Australia pounced in the first 30 seconds of the second half with Amy Korner converting from an acute angle on the left.
England attempted to work their way back into the match but as the clash entered the final 10 minutes, Australia secure the win with Korner's second before a flurry of action just before the siren resulted in a goal to each team.
Netherlands 2 defeated Chile 0
Goals: Jolanda Plijter PC 56m, FG 65m
Jolanda Plijter scored two goals to give The Netherlands a 2-0 win over Chile and secure the Dutch a spot in the semifinals.
The Netherlands will play Korea in one semifinal while Germany will meet Australia in the other semifinal match.
The Netherlands dominated from the start of the match but were unable to convert on any of their eight first half penalty corner attempts and were left deadlocked at 0-0 at halftime.
The Dutch finally got on the scoreboard midway through the second half when Plijter scored the first of her two goals on a direct hit off a penalty corner for a 1-0 lead.
The Dutch continued to dominate possession and added another score when Plijter knocked in a goal from close range with six minutes left in the game.
Chile completes Pool E play as the six place team in the pool and will play India in the crossover matches to decide the 9th-12th place tournament finishers.
Pool F
India 2 drew Korea 2
Goals: KOR - Sarita Lakra FG 10m, Jasjeet Kaur Handra PC 44m; KOR - Young Soon Park PC 29m PC 70m
Korea produced a miracle after full time to draw with India 2-2 and remain in a strong position to make the semi finals.
Needing a victory to ensure their automatic entry into the final four, Korea looked headed for a demoralising defeat when Young Soon Park converted her second penalty corner of the match after the siren to give Korea a vital point on the Pool F table.
The result left Argentina having to defeat South Africa by six goals to overtake the Koreans and move into one of the top two spots in Pool F.
India again failed to convert a winning position into maximum points to record their fourth draw in six matches.
Korea was on the back foot from early in the match, with Sarita Lakra scoring in the 10th minute to give India a 1-0 lead. Korea struggled to find a way through the staunch India defence before Young Soon Park ripped a drag flick into the net shortly before half time to level the scores.
Korea was desperate for a match-leading goal in the second half but India again gained the ascendency before a frantic end to the encounter.
Just when it looked as though Korea had squandered a slew of good chances, they were awarded a penalty corner just 15 seconds before full time. Park stepped up and produced another unstoppable flick to save her team.
Argentina 2 defeated South Africa 1
Goals: ARG - Pilar Mejico PS 42m, Ines Garmendia FG 45m; RSA - Danielle Forword FG 5m
Needing a six-goal win to qualify for the semi finals, Argentina was unable to execute effectively and had to settle for a 2-1 win against South Africa.
After Korea had given them a slim chance by drawing with India in the preceding match, Argentina entered the match knowing that anything less than a six-goal margin of victory would send them tumbling out of the semi finals for the first time since 1989.
Argentina were further set on the back foot when Danielle Forword put South Africa early in the match, requiring the Pan American champions to score seven goals in 64 minutes to knock Korea from one of the top two positions.
Numerous chances came and went in the first 35 minutes but good goalkeeping by South Africa’s Alana Richardson and Argentina’s near misses combined to make the task almost impossible after half time.
Argentina had more than enough chances to score the required goals, but didn’t have the finishing prowess to threaten the six-goal margin, despite a flurry in the first 10 minutes of the second half to give them the lead.
However the burst was short-lived and the match was played out with Argentina recording a 2-1 victory.
Leading the Pool coming into the second phase of the tournament, Argentina faltered in their next two matches forcing them into an unrealistic positions whereby the needed to score almost as many goals in one match than they had produced in the tournament.
Both teams will now contest the playoffs for positions 5-8 on Friday against the third and fourth-placed teams from Pool E.
Germany 3 defeated Scotland 0
Goals: GER - Eileen Hoffman PC 16m FG 62m, Julia Muller PC 58m
Eileen Hoffman scored two goals as Germany powered into the tournament semifinal round with a 4-0 win over Scotland.
The win puts Germany on top of the Pool F standings and sets up a date with the No. 2 team from Pool E in Friday’s semifinals. With the loss, Scotland drops to the 5th-8th classification playoff.
After an early assault on Scotland keeper Catherine Rae, Germany finally broke through when Hoffman tapped in a penalty corner goal on the right post in the 16th minute.
The scrappy Scotalnd defense settled in however and kept Germany scoreless through the remainder of the first half.
Germany added two scores late in the second half on a penalty corner goal by Julia Muller and another close-range goal by Hoffman to seal the win.
The Germany win also cleared the way for Korea to advance to the semifinals as the second place team from Pool F.
Pool GBelarus 3 defeated Zimbabwe 0
BEL - Sviatlana Bahushevich FG 4m FG 45m, Alena Alshevskaya FG 57m
Sviatlana Bahushevich scored two goals to lead Belarus to a 3-0 win over Zimbabwe as the pool matchups for Saturday's 13th-16th classification matches begin to take shape.
Bahushevich opened the scoring early with a field goal in the fourth minute, but Zimbabwe - still seeking its first goal of the tournament - shut down Belarus for the remainder of the half.
Bahushevich added a field goal early in the second half to put her team up 2-0 before Alena Alshevskaya concluded the scoring with a field goal in the 57th minute.
Belarus must await the outcome of Wednesday's Canada/China contest to determine its classification game matchup.
The loss relegated Zimbabwe to the fourth place position in Pool G and will play the pool's third place team - Canada - in the 15th/16th place game on Saturday.
China 1 drew Canada 1
Goals: CHI - Luan Haiyan PC, 49m; CAN - Karen Mann PC 56m
China captured the top spot in Pool G with a 1-1 draw with Canada and sends China to the 13th/14th place game against Belarus.
Canada drops to the third spot in the pool and will meet Zimbabwe in the 15th/16th game.
After a scoreless first half, China's Luan Haiyan put her team on top with a penalty corner goal in the 48th minute.
Needing a win for a chance to climb up in the tournament standings, Canada pulled even in the 56th minute on Karen Mann's penalty corner goal.
Canada placed 13th at the 2001 Junior World Cup while China made a return to the event for the first time since placing 8th in 1997.
