Championship Game
Yugoslavia…4
USA……….3
Fans got their money’s worth in Sunday’s UPS Cup championship game at the National Aquatic Center in Los Alamitos. The U.S. scored all three of its goals in the fourth quarter, but Yugoslavia held on for the 4-3 win.
A crucial exclusion call against the U.S. with 35 seconds remaining allowed Yugoslavia to run out the clock and secure the win.
The U.S. had their chances. A penalty shot by Wolf Wigo with just under five minutes remaining was deflected by Yugoslavian goalkeeper Aleksandar Sostar to keep the score at 3-1 (see photo above of the block). Wigo rebounded to score on the next possession to bring the U.S. to within one at 3-2. A goal by Veljko Uskokovic with 2:10 remaining topped off the Yugoslavian scoring.
Sostar collected 15 saves in goal and picked up tournament Most Oustanding Goalkeeper honors. U.S. two-meter man Chris Humbert (11 goals) was named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Offensive Player. Croatia’s Ratko Stritof was recognized as the Most Valuable Defensive Player. (see more photos at the bottom of this post)
Scoring:
Yugoslavia: Zimonic 1, Savic 1, Uskokovic 1, Vasovic 1
USA: Oeding 1, Wigo 1, Humbert 1
Saves:
Yugoslavia: Sostar 15
USA: Hackett 7
Man-Advantage:
Yugoslavia: 2 for 7
USA: 1 for 7
Third Place Game
Croatia…7
Australia.5
Croatia, who yesterday defeated first-place Yugoslavia, put Australia away, 7-5, in Sunday’s third place game. Croatia outscored Australia in three out of four quarters, the exception coming in the third where Australia held them scoreless.
Heading the Croatia offense was Igor Hinic, who scored three goals, giving him seven for the tournament. Goalkeeper Frano Vican stopped six shots on goal in the win. Croatia walks away with a record of 4-2, while Australia finishes at 2-3-1.
Fifth Place Game
Italy…..9
Team UPS..1
Team UPS goalie Merrill Moses set a tournament high with 17 saves, but more could have been said for his team’s offense in the UPS Cup fifth-place game on Sunday. UPS shot 0-for-7 on man-advantages and lost, 9-1, to Italy. The Italians got their scoring from a variety of places, with seven players finding the back of the cage in the game. The Calcaterras, Roberto and Allessandro, each had two apiece.
Italy finishes the tournament at an even .500 clip, while Team UPS goes winless in six contests.
