The Blue Girls are currently in Gibraltar competing in the Friendship Tournament and saw off American side LA Salsa 6-0 in their opening group match on Monday.
Alongside Kaagman’s brace, Georgia Brougham struck twice, Hannah Cain opened her Toffees account and Claudia Walker netted her first goal since recovering from a serious hamstring injury.
The 22-yer-old, who signed for the Blue Girls in June, was an ever-present threat in the 45 minutes she played against the Americans and was rewarded for her hard work with a pair of fine goals.
Though she only played the first half, there were certainly positive signs that the former Ajax player’s combination play with fellow midfielders Angharad James and Simone Magill could be fruitful for the Toffees for the upcoming season.
“I am looking forward to playing with Simone and Haz more this season,” she told evertonfc.com. “We link well together, it is natural and we don’t force it. I really enjoy playing with them, as I do the rest of the team.
“We started the game really well. We were combining well through the midfield and the attack to create chances and managed to score three in the first half which was really pleasing.”
After signing from Ajax earlier this summer, Kaagman has been pleased to see similarities between the recently crowned Eredivisie champions and her new side, especially the desire to play through the midfield.
There are, however, notable changes of course. But when asked to contribute more defensively here at Everton, Kaagman is only too happy to oblige.
Looking past Wednesday’s game against Atletico Madrid (7pm kick-off, GMT), Kaagman stressed the importance of the competition to build the correct frame of mind going into the new WSL1 season.
“At Everton I have to defend a bit more than I did at Ajax,” she added. “There we had the ball a lot. At Everton we are trying to play real football with short, quick passes in the midfield then get crosses in. That is what we did at Ajax too so I like it.
“I want to show the fans here good football, to give the attackers work to do by playing the ball through. It is not all about goals because I am a midfielder and I have to do more than score, but I feel I am at my best when I have the ball.
“It is really important to have the right mindset going into these pre-season games because this was our first win, and that has given us a boost.
“The team atmosphere is always going up and we have tough games coming up. But it is good to have those tough games, because we start the WSL season against Birmingham and Chelsea and those games will be really difficult.”
