Yuko Sakai and Chika Sato, who played in turns in the Japanese goal, saved the shots which were not blocked by the defence. Yoshiko Sato and Keiko Nakata shot two more goals for Japan and they took the 17th place with a 6-3 victory. 

Slovakia was the team controlling the ball throughout the match as Japan concentrated more on the defence. Slovakia succeeded to score three goals in the beginning of the match and it looked like they would take the victory. As the match progressed, the Japanese defensive tactic with sharp counter attacks started to pay off. In the end of the second period Japan had already taken 4-3 lead with effective counter attacks.

In the third period Slovakia still possessed the ball, but the tight Japanese defence was able to keep the Slovakian forwards in the corners.

The Japanese captain Asami Morimoto, who scored 1+1 in the match, was pleased after the game.
– I am very happy that we won the match. Our team fought together as a team and I think that was the key to our victory.

Morimoto felt that the beginning of the tournament was difficult for her team.
– The first matches were tough for us. It was difficult for us to get used to play against tall players. However, these last two matches we played well and I am happy that we were able to improve our game.