Nicole Castrale reflects on day two at the Solheim Cup

Nicole Castrale believes we could be in for a close finish at the 14th Solheim Cup after Team USA mounted a spirited fightback on the second afternoon in Germany.

Europe carved out an 8-4 lead after the Saturday morning foursomes, but the visitors reduced the deficit by one in the top fourballs match and they are up in two of the three contests which will be completed early on Sunday morning.

Nicole's Day 2 verdict

The Europeans just completely outplayed the Americans in the foursomes, but Team USA are rallying in the fourballs and there is so much riding on the three matches yet to be completed.

On the last hole of the day, Alison Lee made a key birdie that meant Brittany Lincicome did not have to putt, which would have given Charley Hull the line. That was a huge putt for a two by Alison, and then Charley missed her putt.

In a way, Charley was due to miss one because she has been making everything when it mattered. It was fortunate for the Americans that she missed one when they really needed it.

But the comeback from Charley and Suzann Pettersen in the morning was just unbelievable. Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer were playing well, but you can't account for your opponents making birdie at the last four holes, especially in that format.

It wasn't like they lost their match, it was more a case of Hull and Pettersen winning it with that late flurry of birdies. Something happened to Suzann on that back nine this morning, she flipped a switch and was suddenly firing on all cylinders.

We saw a very different USA team in the afternoon. They were finding a lot more fairways, hitting approaches closer to the pins and they were getting their putts to the hole. They had missed a lot of putts on the low side due to lack of pace, but they were holing them with authority in the fourballs and they will have to continue to do that on Sunday.

Star of the day

For the Americans, Gerina Piller came up big. Right from the start she made a huge putt on 16 which helped her and Brittany Lang get a half, and then she helped Stacy Lewis turn things around.

For the Europeans, it's tough to look beyond Melissa Reid and Charley Hull. They have been fantastic for the team and they are two players who have played well consistently throughout the Solheim Cup.

Any big surprises?

For me, it's not that much of a surprise that Michelle Wie has played only twice, as she really hasn't been playing well. She's hardly played over the last two months due to injuries. Michelle had a couple of good rounds at the Evian last week, but she is really not putting well.

With her length and strength, Juli Inkster really needed Michelle Wie in good form and it just hasn't happened for her this week.

Perhaps the biggest shock for me is Angela Stanford losing her last nine Solheim Cup matches. She's such a great player, but for whatever reason she is really struggling in match play.

Shot of the day

It's got to be Charley Hull's tee shot at the 15th in the morning foursomes. It was such a critical shot and she came so close to holing it. It was a fantastic shot and it really re-energised the Europeans.

Moment of the day

Apart from Charley's shot at 15, the first match of the afternoon fourballs was crucial for the Americans, and they desperately needed something from Lexi and Cristie. They stepped up and got the win, and with the other matches still in the balance, we could be all tied up heading into the singles.