LOS ALAMITOS, California, December 11. IN its eighth year of existence, the International Holiday Cup Tournament ended today in the sixth consecutive victory for Team USA. <\/p>\n
After a see-saw first half that saw Russia take a 5-4 lead into the mid-way break, Team USA broke loose with 11 goals in the second half and cruised to victory, 15-8. The rally started with a 4-0 run in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Brenda Villa and Heather Petri found the net before Lauren Wenger fired in back-to-back goals to put the United States ahead 8-5. Russia's Nadezda Glyzina scored a pair of player-advantage goals to get her team back to 8-7, but Brittany Hayes and Kami Craig brought the quarter to an end with the USA leading 10-7. Wenger put the game out of reach with her fourth and fifth goals, and Natalie Golda and Alison Gregorka got into the act pushing the lead to 14-7. Glyzina netted her third of the match with 1:53 to go and Elise Windes capped off the fireworks with a goal with 40 seconds left. <\/p>\n
"The second half was the best we played all week," said USA Head Coach Guy Baker. "We just named our 2007 World Championship roster and this tournament gave us an idea of what we need to improve on before Worlds. Tonight's scores were more lopsided than anticipated, and I know Worlds will be much closer."<\/p>\n
In a battle of Commonwealth rivals, Australia outlasted Canada 10-9 to claim third place at the 2006 Holiday Cup. The teams were even in the first quarter, playing to a 2-2 tie. After falling behind in the first minute of the second frame Canada grabbed the momentum with a 3-0 run featuring goals by Katrina Monton, Christine Robinson and Marina Radu. Australia's Suzie Fraser struck first in the third quarter, but Tara Campbell and Emily Csikos gave Canada its biggest lead of the game, 7-4, at 5:31. Jane Moran scored for Australia on the next possession, sparking a 5-0 run over the next three and a half minutes, giving the Aussies a lead they would not relinquish. Canada had a chance to tie with a player-advantage in the final seconds, but failed to get a shot off. <\/p>\n
The Netherlands head out of town tonight with a win after defeating Italy 11-9 in the fifth-place match of the 2006 Holiday Cup. Holland gained control of the contest with a 5-2 second quarter, turning a 2-1 quarter deficit into a 6-4 halftime lead. The teams traded goals in the second half as the Netherlands answered every surge by the Italians. <\/p>\n
Tournament awards went to Russia's Sofia Konukh (Most Valuable Player), Team USA's Betsey Armstrong (Most Valuable Goalkeeper) and Netherland's Rianne Guichelaar (Top Scorer).<\/p>\n
FINAL PLACINGS
\n1. United States
\n2. Russia
\n3. Australia
\n4. Canada
\n5. Netherlands
\n6. Italy <\/p>\n
1st\/2nd Place Game – USA 15, RUSSIA 8
\nBox Score
\nUSA 2 – 2 – 6 – 5 — 15
\nRUSSIA 2 – 3 – 2 – 1 — 8 <\/p>\n
Individual Scoring
\nUSA – Wenger 4, Villa 3, Craig 2, Petri 1, Golda 1, Cardenas 1, Windes 1, Gregorka 1, Hayes 1
\nRUSSIA – Glyzina 3, Konukh 2, Pantyulina 1, Smurova 1, Zubkova 1 <\/p>\n
Goal Saves
\nUSA – Armstrong 5, Hipp 3
\nRUSSIA – Baranova 4 <\/p>\n
6×5: USA: 2\/5, RUS: 3\/6
\nPenalties: USA: 1\/1, RUS: 2\/2 <\/p>\n
Referees : Mr. Johnson (AUS), Mr. Gomez (ITA) <\/p>\n
2nd\/3rd Place Game- AUSTRALIA 10, CANADA 9
\nBox Score
\nAUSTRALIA 2 – 1 – 6 – 1 — 10
\nCANADA 2 – 3 – 3 – 1 — 9 <\/p>\n
Individual Scoring
\nAUSTRALIA – Beadsworth 2, Gynther 2, Cuffe 1, Hadley 1, Fraser 1, Santoromito 1, Moran 1, Hetzel 1
\nCANADA – Perreault 2, Alogbo 1, Monton 1, Radu 1, Robinson 1, T. Campbell 1, Braden 1, Csikos 1 <\/p>\n
Goal Saves
\nAUSTRALIA – Brown 11
\nCANADA – Lamarre 9, Riddell 1 <\/p>\n
6×5 : AUS: 2\/5, CAN: 2\/8
\nPenalties : AUS: 1\/1, CAN; 0\/0 <\/p>\n
Referees : Mr. Sadekov (RUS), Mr. Rotsart (USA) <\/p>\n
5th\/6th Place Game – ITALY 9, NETHERLANDS 11
\nBox Scores
\nITALY 2 – 2 – 4 – 1 — 9
\nNETHERLANDS 1 – 5 – 4 – 1 — 11 <\/p>\n
Individual Scoring
\nITALY – Miceli 3, Bosurgi 3, Biancardi 2, Bosello 1
\nNETHERLANDS – Van Belkum 2, Koot 2, Van Den Ham 2, Klein 2, Guichelaar 2, Cabout 1 <\/p>\n
Goal Saves
\nITALY – Brancati 7
\nNETHERLANDS – Ars 3, Heinis 3 <\/p>\n
6×5 : ITA: 2\/2, NED: 4\/9
\nPenalties : ITA: 0\/0, NED: 1\/1 <\/p>\n
Referees: Mr. Valouche (CAN), Mr. Koganov (AZE)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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