Team Namibia performs in the US

THE Namibian junior inline hockey team beat their Swiss counterparts 5-2 in their second match at the FIRS Junior Men’s World Championships in Philadelphia on Monday, after suffering a 8-2 loss to Great Britain on Sunday.

Namibia is placed in Pool A along with teams from the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland and Mexico. Pool B is composed of teams from Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, and Columbia.The tournament format was based upon round robin games within each pool, with the top four teams from each pool qualifying for cross-pool competitions in quarter- and semi-final games.In Monday’s match, Switzerland scored their first goal in the first nine minutes of the game, but shortly thereafter Namibia’s captain, Arne Rodenwoldt, was hit by a defender and had to be carried from the floor with a serious knee injury.However, Namibia regrouped and responded with a goal by Michael Falk on an assist from Rene Ruegheimer.Soon after, Dominic Denker hit in an unassisted goal, giving Namibia a 2-1 lead.But before half-time, both teams traded one more goal each, with Gunnar Vissar finding the net for Namibia’s third goal.At the conclusion of period one, Namibia held a hard-earned 3-2 lead.Period two commenced with intense efforts by Namibia to expand its slim, one-goal lead with Switzerland threatening to overtake that.The Swiss players repeatedly slapped shots against Namibian goalkeeper Oliver Thors, was excellent in goal, shutting out Switzerland’s scoring opportunities in the second period.The game’s most valuable player, Kylie Weeks, scored two goals on assists from Tyron Miles and Rene Ruegheimer.The Namibian victory over Switzerland was a great achievement for the team, but it was also a painful one as captain, Rodenwoldt, was lost for the remainder of the tournament due to the knee injury in that match.In Sunday’s match, Namibia came up against a highly regarded Great Britain side which caused havoc in NamibiaŽs defence.Namibia started well against a strong opponent, but defence had to work overtime as the Brits showered an onslaught of shots at the Namibian goal.Oliver Thors saved 21 of the 23 shots for Namibia for that period.Time and again, Namibia had to prevent rebounds after an attempted shot on goal.Only with eight minutes left on the clock for the first period, Great Britain bombarded in their first goal and then managed to add another one three minutes later.Captain, Arne Rodenwoldt, managed to bring Namibia back in range by scoring with 19 seconds left on the clock of the first period, ending a closely fought first half at 2-1 in favour of Great Britain.Great Britain continued to pressurise Namibia, hammering away at the defence and goal.The increased pressure resulted in three unanswered goals from Great Britain within the first five minutes of the second period.Namibia was finally able to respond with its second and final goal of the game when Kyle Weeks scored on Vincent van Biljon’s rebound, bringing the score to 5-2 with 15 minutes remaining in the game.Great Britain finished the game with three more goals, producing a final score of 8-2 in their favour.The first game was an excellent learning experience for the Namibians and a solid performance by the team in the first half gave the youngsters the confidence that they can play with good teams if they focus and keep their energy levels up.However, the weaker second-half performance demonstrated that they have to keep up their intensity and effort for the full duration of the game.Even a small lapse of effort can lead to quick scores by the capable opponents who are playing here in the competition.The Namibian team departed for the championships on June 24.They are supported by Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN) and clad in the Namibian tracksuits sponsored by Old Mutual.Rennies Travel assisted with a smooth check-in at the airport and also supported the team with the formalities at the Hosea Kutako International airport.The Air Namibia flight to Gatwick went smoothly and team members spent their spare hours roaming the transit area.On June 26, the team made a trip to Philadelphia and toured the Liberty Walk to look at the Liberty Bell.Pool B is composed of teams from Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, and Columbia.The tournament format was based upon round robin games within each pool, with the top four teams from each pool qualifying for cross-pool competitions in quarter- and semi-final games.In Monday’s match, Switzerland scored their first goal in the first nine minutes of the game, but shortly thereafter Namibia’s captain, Arne Rodenwoldt, was hit by a defender and had to be carried from the floor with a serious knee injury.However, Namibia regrouped and responded with a goal by Michael Falk on an assist from Rene Ruegheimer.Soon after, Dominic Denker hit in an unassisted goal, giving Namibia a 2-1 lead.But before half-time, both teams traded one more goal each, with Gunnar Vissar finding the net for Namibia’s third goal.At the conclusion of period one, Namibia held a hard-earned 3-2 lead.Period two commenced with intense efforts by Namibia to expand its slim, one-goal lead with Switzerland threatening to overtake that.The Swiss players repeatedly slapped shots against Namibian goalkeeper Oliver Thors, was excellent in goal, shutting out Switzerland’s scoring opportunities in the second period.The game’s most valuable player, Kylie Weeks, scored two goals on assists from Tyron Miles and Rene Ruegheimer.The Namibian victory over Switzerland was a great achievement for the team, but it was also a painful one as captain, Rodenwoldt, was lost for the remainder of the tournament due to the knee injury in that match.In Sunday’s match, Namibia came up against a highly regarded Great Britain side which caused havoc in NamibiaŽs defence.Namibia started well against a strong opponent, but defence had to work overtime as the Brits showered an onslaught of shots at the Namibian goal.Oliver Thors saved 21 of the 23 shots for Namibia for that period.Time and again, Namibia had to prevent rebounds after an attempted shot on goal.Only with eight minutes left on the clock for the first period, Great Britain bombarded in their first goal and then managed to add another one three minutes later.Captain, Arne Rodenwoldt, managed to bring Namibia back in range by scoring with 19 seconds left on the clock of the first period, ending a closely fought first half at 2-1 in favour of Great Britain.Great Britain continued to pressurise Namibia, hammering away at the defence and goal.The increased pressure resulted in three unanswered goals from Great Britain within the first five minutes of the second period.Namibia was finally able to respond with its second and final goal of the game when Kyle Weeks scored on Vincent van Biljon’s rebound, bringing the score to 5-2 with 15 minutes remaining in the game.Great Britain finished the game with three more goals, producing a final score of 8-2 in their favour.The first game was an excellent learning experience for the Namibians and a solid performance by the team in the first half gave the youngsters the confidence that they can play with good teams if they focus and keep their energy levels up.However, the weaker second-half performance demonstrated that they have to keep up their intensity and effort for the full duration of the game.Even a small lapse of effort can lead to quick scores by the capable opponents who are playing here in the competition.The Namibian team departed for the championships on June 24.They are supported by Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN) and clad in the Namibian tracksuits sponsored by Old Mutual.Rennies Travel assisted with a smooth check-in at the airport and also supported the team with the formalities at the Hosea Kutako International airport.The Air Namibia flight to Gatwick went smoothly and team members spent their spare hours roaming the transit area.On June 26, the team made a trip to Philadelphia and toured the Liberty Walk to look at the Liberty Bell.