Finland grabs all three points from Switzerland

Finland's U19 team took all three points in their opening game against Switzerland this afternoon. Finland beat their opponent with 6-1 (3-1, 1-0, 2-0) and was also able to win the penalty shootout with defender Silja Eskelinen scoring the winner.

Finland took control from the start but it took them ten minutes to open the scoring. Mari Alila passed the ball to Henna Uljua who took the shot from a tight angle. Two minutes later Jonna Karonen dropped the ball to defender Matilda Nikander whose shot sat in the top right corner beating goalie Lara Heini.
Switzerland's only goal for tonight was a beauty, too. Patrizia Leone got the ball from Ramona Ludwig and took off releasing a hard shot that ended up on the top of the net right under the crossbar.
Juulia Lintula gave Finland a new two-goal lead scoring off Nea Vähäkoski's cross pass at 18.31.

Finland was able to keep the game in control in the two latter periods, too, winning most of the one-on-ones and being able to pass the ball better than their opponent. Noona Björkman scored Finland's fourth goal in the second period and the last two were left until the end of the third. Juliette Kemppi got number five after Juulia Peura's succesful forechecking and Noona Björkman's volley after a rebound from Laura Manninen's shot at the last minute sealed the final result.

The penalty shootout was still undecided after three pairs with Salla Suomela having scored for Finland and Ramona Ludwig for Switzerland. In the fourth pair, Silja Eskelinen shot the ball in by the right post whereas Ramona Ludwig's shot sailed over the net.

Match summary

Photos