8 matches of the 2nd Round of the 37th Empress's Cup were held on 15 November. Now 16 teams remain in the 3rd Round.

Pick-up Match 1

Angeviolet Hiroshima (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Hiroshima)　2-1 (2-0, 0-1)　Hinomoto Gakuen High School (Kansai/Hyogo)

Hinomoto Gakuen High School (Kansai/Hyogo), who beat Tokuyama University (Chugoku/Yamaguchi) after extra time in the 1st Round, faced Angeviolet Hiroshima (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Hiroshima) this time. Both teams actively launched attacks against each other. In the 20th minute, Angeviolet’s MIZUNO Yuri fired a volley to the left corner of the opponent’s goal by picking up the mistaken-cleared ball in front of the goal. Angeviolet Hiroshima scored the opener.

In the 22nd minute, Angeviolet’s SAITO Hitomi got the ball from the right corner kick and made a shot which was firstly blocked by the opponent’s goalkeeper, but she pushed it back to the goal to make the team’s 2nd goal. Hinomoto Gakuen, on the other hand, tried to catch up by aggressively aiming at the good space, but they finished the 1st half without scoring a goal.

Hinomoto Gakuen started offence with thick-attack formation with more offence players in the 2nd half. In the 75th minute, they broke through from right wing with good combination and HIRATSUKA Maki who was at the centre scored finally. Hinomoto Gakuen kept attacking to get additional goals, but Angeviolet, with more experience, defended their goal throughout the rest of the match and it finished 2-1. Hinomoto Gakuen, the champion of high school teams, just missed the victory and left the competition.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

AS Elfen Saitama (Nadeshiko League First Division/Saitama)　2-0 (1-0, 1-0)　FC Kibi International University Charme (Nadeshiko League Second Division/ Okayama)

AS Elfen Saitama (Nadeshiko League First Division/Saitama) and FC Kibi International University Charme (Nadeshiko League Second Division/ Okayama) clashed their fighting spirit; AS Saitama pledged to make good results in this competition after their bitter experience that they were relegated to the Second Division, whereas Kibi International University aimed at being a top 8 team which they successfully did last year by beating Urawa Reds Ladies. Mid-field was the most heated-up area to take the control of the match.

In the 21st minute, AS Saitama’s HAGIWARA Aimi raised a cross to the front of the goal and SUGIHARA Haruna rushed in to head it. That found the net successfully. After this opener, AS Saitama got the momentum and moved the match with advantage, but Kibi International University didn’t allow any additional goal with their consistent defence.

In the 2nd half, AS Saitama built up their offence based on the team’s captain AZAMI Rie whereas Kibi International University also tried to find scoring chances substituting their front player.

Kibi International University decided to cast its defender MIYAJI Asuka in the front line to challenge with powerful attack. However, they couldn’t equalise regardless of their aggressive attacks. Meanwhile, AS Saitama could dropped the ball to the spot just behind Kibi International University’s defenders and Sarah GREGORIUS got their 2nd goal.

The match ended 2-0. Kibi International University could not move on to the 3rd Round like the other 2 university teams: Waseda University (Kanto/Tokyo) and Daito Bunka University (Kanto/Tokyo).

Match details (Japanese version only)

Other Matches

Iga Football Club Kunoichi (Nadeshiko League First Division/Mie)　3-0 (1-0, 2-0)　Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences (Kansai/Osaka) 
Ehime FC Ladies (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Ehime)　2-3 (2-2, 0-1)　Daito Bunka University (Kanto/Saitama)
Urawa Reds Ladies Youth (Nadeshiko League First Division/Saitama) 5-0 (4-0, 1-0)　Yokohama FC Seagulls (Kanto/Kanagawa)
AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies (Nadeshiko League Second Division/Nagano)　6-1 (0-0, 6-1)　Shizuoka Sangyo University Iwata Bonita (Tokai/Shizuoka)
Okayama Yunogo Belle (Nadeshiko League First Division/Okayama)　3-1 (1-1, 2-0)　Yamato Sylphid (Kanto/Kanagawa)
INAC Kobe (Nadeshiko League First Division/Hyogo)　4-0 (1-0, 3-0)　Bunnys Kyoto SC (Kansai/Kyoto)

Coach and Players' Comments

OKUMURA Masayuki, Coach (Angeviolet Hiroshima)
Since we could score 2 goals in the 1st half, I was expecting the rest of the match to be slightly easier, but they were consistent in skill and level and it was very difficult throughout the match. As a team of the Nadeshiko League team, we did have a strong passion to beat them, but in fact the pitch condition was slippery and we couldn’t play as we wanted today.

The next match will be in Hiroshima. We will do our best to get a good result to go through to the 3rd Round; we want to go going beyond last year’s result.

TANABE Tomoe, Coach (Hinomoto Gakuen High School)
It is our recent bad habit that we can get fully ready only after conceding the first goal, but we could get a goal back in the 2nd half and I think this is a good lesson for us for the future. It was also good that some players who were selected as starting players for the first time had a good experience to grow up in this competition.

Since we aimed at the 3rd Round, we wanted to play one more match to be honest. We found our conscious toward making shots was not enough in this opportunity, so we will brush up our mentality and tactics moving the ball around well for the future.

AZAMI Rie (AS Elfen Saitama)
When we were keeping the ball, we were too impatient and attacked too quickly at times. We could have moved the ball round toward the goal, taking more time. In this season, we were relegated to the Nadeshiko League Second Division and it was difficult to switch our mind well, but we still want to win and for that reason we practiced well counting each play.

Okayama Yunogo Belle, the next opponent, is the one we know through previous matches in the league, so we will defend well and take chances to get the victory.

OTA Shinji, Coach (FC Kibi International University Charme)
We know that the opponent would keep the ball so we aimed to get the chance to score from our aggressive defence. The players who have overcome the difficult matches this season, challenged very well and we could see what we can do by this match experience.

It was very fruitful match. However, we wanted to go through this round, since student teams have got to the quarter finals previously. For the All Japan University Women’s Football Tournament, we aim at the top of university teams after 2 years, making most of what we learned this time.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

The 37th Empress's Cup

Sat.7 November 2015 - Sun. 27 December 2015
More information