2000 Holiday Cup – Day One Results – July 4, 2000
u.s. water polo national aquatic center
USA…..12
Canada…9
Team USA kept a capacity-plus crowd on edge Tuesday night in their game against Canada. Coach Guy Baker and company trailed, 8-7, late in the game but outscored Canada 5-1 in the fourth quarter to pull off the 12-9 win.
Three-goal nights by Brenda Villa and Coralie Simmons didn’t hurt, either.
The U.S. tied the game on a penalty shot by Simmons with 5:11 to play in the game. It took Team USA all of 1:02 to go ahead, courtesy of a goal by Gubba Sheehy, her only score of the day. Sheehy’s game-winner was proceeded by goals from Heather Moody, Villa, and another by Simmons to give the U.S. the 12-9 victory.
Goalkeeper Bernice Orwig had seven saves for the U.S., including a pair of crucial stops in the game’s final minutes.
Kazakhstan….7
Netherlands..12
World champion Netherlands opened up action in this year’s Holiday Cup with a 12-7 win over Kazakhstan. Six different players got into the scoring column for the Netherlands, including Karen Kuipers, who scored three.
Kazakhstan fell behind, 1-0, within the game’s first two minutes, and was not able to catch Netherlands for the duration. Netherlands capitalized on six of its eight 6-on-5 opportunities for the game.
Australia…13
Russia……10
Eight different players scored for Russia, but Australia’s duo of Simone Hankin and Bridgette Gusterson combined for seven goals as the Aussies went on to get the better of a high-scoring affair, 13-10.
Russia scored on six of its twelve power plays, but were unable to recover from an early deficit. Russia’s Elena Smourova scored three goals, while Australia’s Gusterson and Hankin had four and three, respectively.