2023 Women’s WFC America Qualifier Recap

On February 25-26, Team Canada Women’s Floorball played host to Team USA in a two game series to determine who would claim the final spot in the 2023 Women’s World Floorball Championship in Singapore. 

The last time these teams met was in 2019, where the USA took the series with an aggregate score of 21-3. 

This time around, things were much closer. 

On Saturday night, the players, staff, and fans gathered in Toronto Metropolitan University for game one. While both teams were feeling each other out, there was no lack of physicality in the opening game. 

It was the Americans who found the back of the net first. Halfway through the first period, Marie Haggstrom curled in from the corner and walked the ball in for a shot. 

The next goal came early in the second period. Jenna Hausman’s wrap-around attempt was successful, giving Team USA a 2-0 lead. 

Before the period came to a close, Nikki McDonald was solid in front of the net, forcing the ball past USA goalie, Kate MacBean, to put the Canadians on the board. 

Coming out of the locker room for the final 20 minutes of play, Team USA was hoping to increase their lead. They did just that, securing one last goal before the clock winded down, and the first game came to a close. 

Team USA took game one 3-1, and the teams would reunite on the court on Sunday afternoon for three more periods— 60 more minutes to influence the score. 

Ashley Norsworthy earned player of the match honours for Canada after stopping 25 of 28 shots. Opening goal scorer, Haggstrom, was named the USA’s player of the match. 

Despite the scoreboard showing 0-0, both teams were aware of the previous match, and had returned to the court with adjustments made. 

The first goal of game two came from a penalty shot opportunity. Hausman walked the ball down, challenging Norsworthy one-on-one. Silence was cut by an eruption of cheers from USA fans as Hausman fired the ball. Team USA was up 1-0. 

No goals were scored until the end of the second period when the ball crossed the front of Canada’s net, and Elsa Tanskanen was in the perfect spot to tuck it in the goal. The USA wasn’t done. After a perfect pass from Haggstrom, Suzanne Lindquist scored a one-timer and the scoreboard read 3-0. 

The Canadians had plenty of work to do in the final 20 minutes in order to comeback from the deficit. 

Unfortunately, Team USA didn’t stop shooting. Even after a Canadian goal by Meghan Jeffries, Team USA added a pair of goals in third period, and closed the game out 5-1, and claimed the final spot in the World Floorball Championships with an aggregate score of 8-2. 

Lindquist and Jeffries earned player of the match honours for their respective teams, while Haggstrom and McDonald were named tournament MVPs for their respective teams. 

Despite the loss, Team Canada women’s floorball continues to show promise, and look forward to their next opportunity to qualify for the World Floorball Championships. 

“We came together as a team and although we didn’t get the result we wanted, we made a big improvement for Canada Floorball and we want to keep moving forward,” McDonald said in a post-game interview. 

Floorball Canada would like to thank those who supported the team, including sponsors