Team USA Water Polo Takes Unblemished Record Into Holiday Cup Final

LOS ALAMITOS, California, December 10. AS the rain clouds started slowly rolling in on day 4 of the 2006 8th International Holiday Cup in Los Alamitos, Calif., international teams from Australia, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Russia and the USA were determined to battle it out to secure their positions for the championship games set for Sunday, Dec. 10.

In today's opening game, Canada's Emily Csikos fired in the game-tying goal with two seconds left on the clock to dash Holland's hopes of gaining its first victory at the 2006 Holiday Cup. The Netherlands never trailed in the match and had leads of 2-1, 4-3 and 8-5 at the end of the first three periods. But Canada began its rally with a goal by veteran Cora Campbell at 5:57, Csikos pulled her team to within 8-7 at the 1:48 mark. Holland seemed in control as it gained possession with under 30 seconds left in the game. But coach Robin Van Galen called time out with 13 seconds left and Campbell stole the ball with four ticks remaining, setting up Csikos' opportunity.

Russia secured its spot in the Holiday Cup final by edging Italy 13-12. How close was the margin of victory? The game was decided with the ball floating across the goal line as the final buzzer sounded. Olga Fomicheva was credited with the winning goal, but it may have been as much the waves of the desperate Italian defenders which pushed the ball toward the line. Italy had raced out to a 5-1 lead after one quarter and held leads of 7-5 and 11-8 at the halftime and third quarter breaks. Russia chipped away at the deficit as Ekaterina Pantyulina scored her third and fourth goals of the game at 7:02 and 6:12. Elena Smurova got Russia even at the 4:48 mark, but Maddalena Musumeci's third tally of the game put Italy back ahead at 1:13. A six-on-five goal at 39 seconds by Smurova tied the score at 12-12, and when Italy failed to convert its final possession, the stage was set for the last second drama.

Team USA finished the round-robin phase of the 2006 Holiday Cup with a perfect 5-0 record, downing Australia 12-8 Saturday night. Australia came out of the gates quickly, jumping to a 2-0 lead two minutes into the match. Natalie Golda answered back but the teams traded goals until the quarter ended with Australia ahead 4-3. They continued to enjoy the lead throughout the second quarter, answering each United States goal for a 7-5 halftime advantage. Team USA got back into the contest starting with a Jessica Steffens goal at 6:28, then Moriah van Norman tied the score 7-7 at 5:38. Lauren Wenger jammed home a rebound on a player-advantage to put the United States ahead for the first time at 3:16. Australian captain Nikita Cuffe tied it at 8-8 with a minute to go in the third, but Patty Cardenas gave Team USA a 9-8 lead 21 seconds before the third quarter buzzer. The United States put the game away by holding Australia scoreless in the final frame. Brenda Villa converted a penalty shot and van Norman and Kami Craig scored from center for the final 12-8 score. The United States and Russia will clash in the Holiday Cup final at 5:00pm Sunday. Australia and Canada will battle for third place at 3:30pm, while Italy will play Holland for fifth place at 2:00pm.

Game # 13 – CANADA 8, NETHERLANDS 8
Box Score
CANADA 1 3 1 3 — 8
NETHERLANDS 2 3 3 0 — 8

Individual Scoring
CANADA – Csikos 3, Alogbo 1, T. Campbell 1, C Campbell 1, Braden 1, Robinson 1
NETHERLANDS – Smit 3, Van Den Ham 2, Klein 1, Guichelaar 1, Cabout 1

Goal Saves
CANADA – Riddell 11
NETHERLANDS – Ars 4, De Nooy 2

6×5 : CAN 2/7 , NED 6/12
Penalties : CAN 0/1 , NED 0/1

Referees: Mr. Johnson, Ms. Marrero

Game # 14 – RUSSIA 13, ITALY 12
Box Score
RUSSIA 1 4 3 5 — 13
ITALY 5 2 4 1 — 12

Individual Scoring
RUSSIA – Pantyulina 4, Fomicheva 3, Konukh 2, Smurova 2, Glyzina 1,Soboleva 1
ITALY – Di Mario 4, Musumeci 3, Bosurgi 2, Miceli 1, Bosello 1, Biancardi 1

Goal Saves
RUSSIA – Baranova 6
ITALY – Brancati 8

6×5 : RUS 6/14, ITA 4/9
Penalties : RUS 1/2, ITA 0/1

Referees : Mr. Valouche (CAN), Mr. Rotsart (USA)

Game # 15 – USA 12, AUSTRALIA 8
Box Scores
USA 3 2 4 3 — 12
AUSTRALIA 4 3 1 0 — 8

Individual Scoring
USA – Golda 2, Cardenas 2, Figge 2, van Norman 2, Villa 1, Wenger 1, Craig 1, Steffens 1
AUSTRALIA – Cuffe 3, Beadsworth 2, Gynther 1, Santoromito 1, Moran 1

Goal Saves
USA – Hipp 11
AUSTRALIA – Brown 7

6×5: USA: 3/9, AUS: 3/13
Penalties: USA: 2/3, AUS: 0/1
Referees : Mr. Gomez (ITA), Mr. Sadekov (RUS)

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use