The Jamaica vs Slovakia game was a true clash of playing styles. On one hand you have Team Jamaica who has made a name for themselves with their high velocity play, ankle-breaking dodges and quick shots. On the other hand you have Team Slovakia who has a bulky squad that uses their size for contact-driven dodges and slow clears.
At the start of the game Jamaica caught Slovakia off guard burying a beautiful bounce shot over the goalies shoulder. In response, Slovakia clearly understood their size advantage and bullied their way in front the cage to tie the game at ones.
Unfortunately for the Slovaks, that goal would be their last of the first half. While the team from Slovakia was trying to catch up the Jamaicans sprinted around their defensemen with crafty dodges around the crease finding open players across the box for shots on goal. This fast paced play helped their team rack up a 7-2 score line by halftime.
During the halftime the moods on either sideline was again very different. The Slovakians huddled to brainstorm on how they could glue together the cracks in their game while the Jamaicans stayed loosed with audible chuckling clearly enjoying the moment.
To the dismay of Slovakia, Jamaica was able to continue execution on their game plan into through the 3rd quarter. However, Slovakia made an adjustment on offense spreading out their players giving their dodgers more space to draw slides and either rip a shot or dish a pass. This adjustment would not pay off for Slovakia until the 4th quarter though as Jamaica added 3 goals to their lead in the 3rd walking into the final period up 10-2.
At this point in the game Jamaica started to reach into their bench to give some starters rest and their reserves some playing time. In the same vein of adjusting their game play in the 4th quarter, Justin Pickard of Slovakia took the game into his own hands barreling through the Jamaican defense to tally two of his three goals on the evening. With his effort the Slovakian team outscored the Jamaican in the final quarter but it was a little too late.
The final on the day favored Jamaica, 12-5, putting their team in good standing to advance. They’ll play tomorrow against Greece, while Slovakia is paired with Argentina.
