![\"Australian](\"\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/media\/AussieGoalie.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBy Eric Velazquez
\nPhotos by Michael Collins<\/p>\n
Sydney, Australia\u2014Australia became the first Golden Girls of water polo Saturday night at the Sydney International Aquatic Center, defeating the U.S., 4-3, in the most anticipated game in this week\u2019s inaugural women\u2019s Olympic water polo tournament.
\nYvette Higgins fired the shot heard \u2018round the world on Saturday, burying a shot from seven meters out to shatter the 3-3 impasse with 0.2 seconds left in the game. The goal sent the record crowd of 17,000-plus into an uproar, with chants of \u201cAussie, Aussie, Aussie-Oy, Oy, Oy\u201d and Waltzing Matilda barely audible under the madness.
\nIn a game that will forever be remembered for generations to come, the score was knotted three times, including once in the final minute of the game.
\nThe U.S. led 2-1 at the half on goals from young guns Ericka Lorenz and Brenda Villa. With 6:18 to play in the third, the Aussie contingent tied the game at 2-2, courtesy of Bronwyn Mayer, who had sneaked into set on a 6-on-5 play.
\nThe score remained deadlocked at 2-2 for most of the fourth quarter, but Australia\u2019s Naomi Castle connected on an extra-man situation with 1:50 left to give Australia the lead. With 26.4 seconds left on the clock, USA veteran Maureen O\u2019Toole managed to draw an ejection on Taryn Woods, prompting coach Guy Baker to call a timeout.<\/p>\n
The x\u2019s and o\u2019s session payed dividends, with Villa scoring her second goal of the day\u2014a rocket from the left side of the pool that went bar-in with 13.1 seconds left. Australia pushed the ball up on its next possession, with the U.S. pressuring hard up top.
\nIt looked as if the game was destined for overtime, but with 1.3 seconds on the clock, U.S. captain Julie Swail was called for an ejection, stopping the
\nclock. The ensuing free pass ended up in the hands of 22-year-old Yvette Higgins who caught and shot from the point about seven meters out. The ball, which was fired high left, was tipped by Coralie Simmons and goalkeeper Bernice Orwig before finding its home in the cage with 0.2 seconds left. Robin Beauregard\u2019s last-ditch attempt to tie the game missed the mark,
\ngiving Australia the sport\u2019s first ever gold medal. The U.S. women, whose only defeat in preliminary play came at the hands of their hosts, took the silver.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a little disappointing not to get the gold,\u201d said Beauregard. \u201cThe game was close and it could have gone either way, but it\u2019s still great to win a medal.\u201d
\nThere was no ill will between the teams, as shown by reactions in a joint post-game press conference.
\nBaker, who has called Australia the gold medal favorite all summer long, reiterated his great respect for Australian coach Istvan Gorgenyi and his team.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s a great coach,\u201d said Baker. \u201cAnd he\u2019s built a strong team here. I completely admire their composure with 13 seconds left. They were great to get that shot off.\u201d
\nGorgenyi complimented the U.S. on what will be one of the most memorable games in water polo history.
\n\u201cTwo great teams played each other tonight,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople won\u2019t forget about this game for a long time. It was a big tactical battle, which is why
\nit was so low scoring. Guy Baker is the most beautiful coach, and the fairest, that I\u2019ve ever met.\u201d
\nThe enormous crowd support and media turnout sent a jolt through the wide world of women\u2019s water polo, a sport that has waited 100 years to join its male counterpart on the Olympic roster of games. \u201cI think the game was incredible,\u201d said O\u2019Toole, 39, who officially retired at the end of the game. \u201cThe crowd was great. It was really fun and it shows just where women\u2019s water polo is now and how far it\u2019s come in 10 years time.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other games:
\nRussia 4, Netherlands 3: Russia pulled off what seemed the inevitable on Saturday night, upsetting reigning World Cup Champion Holland in the bronze medal game, 4-3.<\/p>\n
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![\"Australian](\"\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/media\/AussieNo9.jpg\")
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![\"Action](\"\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/media\/PoloAction.jpg\")
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![\"Womens](\"\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/media\/PoloScoreBoard.jpg\")
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![\"Womens](\"\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/media\/USscores.jpg\")
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![\"USA](\"\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/media\/WomenPoloSilver.jpg\")
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By Eric Velazquez Photos by Michael Collins Sydney, Australia\u2014Australia became the first Golden Girls of water polo Saturday night at the Sydney International Aquatic Center, defeating the U.S., 4-3, in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[7720,105,7718,2121,2125,1261,160,185,2110,5790,480,3462,1756,7719,2112,2124,7721,7647,5692,124,1335,2113,147,7700,62,276,6619],"class_list":["post-1822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zzzzzzzzz","tag-aussie-oy-oy","tag-australia","tag-beautiful-coach","tag-bernice-orwig","tag-brenda-villa","tag-bronwyn-mayer","tag-captain","tag-coach","tag-coralie-simmons","tag-ericka-lorenz","tag-goalkeeper","tag-great-coach","tag-guy-baker","tag-istvan-gorgenyi","tag-julie-swail","tag-maureen-otoole","tag-media-turnout","tag-michael-collins-sydney","tag-naomi-castle","tag-netherlands","tag-polo","tag-robin-beauregard","tag-russia","tag-sydney-international-aquatic-center","tag-united-states","tag-world-cup","tag-yvette-higgins"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n