Who would have thought? The Swiss finish in fifth and last place in the group stage, losing all four games, scoring 17 goals and scoring themselves only once. Only thanks to the special mode – all five teams from Swiss Group A had made their way to the knockout stages before the tournament – Colin Muller’s team could still make it to the quarter-finals. And indeed makes history against Russia, reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2012. And that after a complete horror start.
Andrea Brandly lost by goal for the first time after just 78 seconds. The Zurich resident abandons Ricochet and is then abandoned by his companions. Nine minutes later, Brandley, who had to pass two of the three shots, was replaced by Saskia Maurer. The Russians hit a majority, then everything seems to be under control.
Compensation 136 seconds before expiration
Colin Mueller’s team has long been an extremely harmless aggressor. The injured Alina Muller (ankle), who can barely make it into the stands, is missing everywhere. And then Lara Stalder waived in front of the lone Russian goal 13 minutes before the end. The Swiss women did not score a single goal for 220 minutes. Evelina Raselli attacked ten minutes before the end after strong preparation work by Noemi Reiner. Now Swiss women have woken up.
Two and a half minutes before the end, the Russians also imposed a penalty. Without a goalkeeper and with six field players, our hockey girls press on the equalizer. And soon! With 136 seconds to go, Phoebe Stanz really made it 2-2. Renewal!
The decision will be taken in the 66th minute. Laura Zimmerman uses a pass from Cinja Lehmann and propels Switzerland into the semi-finals. There, on Monday, Switzerland meets Canada or Germany.
World Cup semi-final entry: Here’s How Hockey Women Celebrate Crime Victory(00:19)
