COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Current Terrapins Linnea Gonzales and Carrie Hanks played with the U.S. Under-21 Team in a five-game series with Great Britain's Under-21 Team over the last week. The U.S. ended the series at 3-1-1 and outscoring Great Britain, 14-9, in the series at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Lancaster, Pa.
"I think we really played as a unit in our fifth and final game of the series, which is something we had been focusing on and working towards throughout the series," said Hanks, a junior defender for the Terrapins. "It was a great week for the squad because we had more time than during a normal training camp to make changes and see what works well for us. It was great to get to play against international competition; this Great Britain team had good speed and passing that we had to work to counter in each of the games."
The U.S. was edged, 2-1, in the first game on Jan. 6, then bounced back to win the next two, 4-0 and 3-1 on Jan. 7 and 9. The match on Sunday ended in a 3-3 draw. The Americans took the final match, 4-3, on Tuesday. Gonzales picked up an assist in the final match.
"It was a great experience playing against Great Britain because we were able to play against an international team," said sophomore forward Gonzales. "We had to learn to adapt to the way they played as a team."
For more on the series, click here.
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