USA Women Capture Gold Medal in Water Polo after 40 Penalty Shots

United States Wins Gold after 40 Penalty Shots

Impressive women’s Water Polo final. Canada wins silver and Brazil bronze

City: Guadalajara, Jalisco, México
Date: 2011-10-28

One of the most exciting Water Polo matches was played today at the Pan American Games Guadalajara 2011. It wasn’t a great day for Canada who lost an incredible chance to win the gold medal after failing a penalty shot 15 seconds away from the end of the allotted time.

The firs period was pretty even with both teams taking a cautionary approach. The first goals came to tie the score. The second period was dominated by Canada, setting the score at 5-2.

Canada achieved its maximum advantage of the match 7-3. Soon after, Courtney Mathewson from United States tight the score to 7-7.

Canada scored to up the board but United States closely followed and tied the match at 8-8 in the last minute.

A six minute overtime was allotted but did not do much, and the penalty lottery then started.

There were four penalty rounds in total with United States winning against Canada in what was a historical and euphoric match.

In the third place match, Brazil defeated Cuba 9-8 vindicating themselves from a defeat from Cuba at the Rio 2007 Games. Top scores were Brazil’s Marina Canetti and Catherine De Oliveira with three goals each.

Puerto Rico defeated Mexico 15-13 for the fifth place, while Argentina won over Venezuela 8-6 for the seventh spot.

Women’s Water Polo came to an end with United States taking the gold medal, Canada Silver and Brazil the bronze. With this result United States wins a ticket to the 2012 London Olympic games.

Link: United States Wins Gold after 40 Penalty Shots

*Gold Medal Team Photo Available Upon Request*

Guadalajara, Mexico - October 29 - The USA Water Polo Women's National Team won Gold at the Pan American Games and earned a berth to the 2012 Olympic Games with an epic, come from behind victory over Canada 27-26. Maggie Steffens' (Danville, Calif./Stanford/Diablo) goal on the final penalty shot coupled with a Canada miss secured victory and brought an end to a shootout that saw each team have 20 attempts. The United States and Canada were knotted at 8-8 after regulation. That was followed by the two standard overtime periods that saw neither team find the cage. The shootout followed and after each team was successful on five attempts it was on to sudden death. 15 attempts later for each side and the United States emerged victorious claiming their third straight Pan American Games championship. Full Recap


Flash Quotes

"Our team had fought so hard in that fourth quarter to make it a game and comeback. Canada had gotten a power play goal that I felt I should have had so I knew that I really needed to put it on the line for the team at that moment." Betsey Armstrong, USA Goalkeeper

"I'm really just telling myself to focus on the technique and if I see the ball as it is coming at me there is really no reason I shouldn't be able to block it." Betsey Armstrong, USA Goalkeeper

(On getting tired as shootout wears on) "No, I think it gets a little bit more tense, our shooters were incredible, they executed and I knew if they had the ability to be like that then a save would come, it was just a matter of time. I was touching a lot of them as they were going in." Betsey Armstrong, USA Goalkeeper

"It's incredible, it's difficult to play in a game like this, there is a lot of pressure, you can't think too much about it and we knew we'd put everything on the line and we know that Canada is a great team and that there is a great rivalry there, we were just really ready to get that spot." Betsey Armstrong, USA Goalkeeper

"I had a feeling Adam was going to pick me for the shootout, I didn't anticipate it was going to go so many rounds and every single time, (each side) kept scoring, it was a pretty amazing game to be a part of." Courtney Mathewson, USA Attacker

"It was crazy, we prevailed because we believe in ourselves, there is no panic even when we are down by three or four. I think we believed in each other and that was the difference. It was just an amazing game to be a part of." Courtney Mathewson, USA Attacker

"It's incredible, every tournament we go to everything we play in is amazing to me because it is my first opportunity to be part of something so big on the National Team. I want to help out anyway I can and today it worked out so it was really nice." Courtney Mathewson, USA Attacker

"I told the girls this is the greatest game I've ever been a part of, maybe the most courageous, most mentally tough group of girls during one game that I've ever seen." Adam Krikorian, USA Head Coach

"I don't think we played our best but we showed how much heart this team has, we've come along way in two and a half months, a lot longer than most people realize. Tonight we beat an incredible team, that's the best I've ever seen Canada play and I've gotta give them alot of credit, they unquestionably outplayed us in the first half and if they continue to play like that they are going to be tough to beat." Adam Krikorian, USA Head Coach

"We never would have won that game two months ago, it's been all the work we put in the last two and a half months and not just the work in the water but the work of really opening ourselves up and getting to know each other even more and really committing to each other and committing to this team more than we have before. That was key to keep us believing that things would work out in the end." Adam Krikorian, USA Head Coach

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Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo
714-500-5455
[email protected]