Greece Holds Off Hungary, Wins in Shootout
Greece was able to withstand a ferocious Hungarian comeback and win in a shootout in the first quarterfinal, 14-13. Greece, which took an early 4-0 lead and was ahead 10-4 early in the third quarter managed only three goals in the second half, but stopped a Hungarian man-advantage opportunity late in the game to preserve an 11-11 tie in regulation. Greek goalkeeper Maria Tsouri turned away three of the five Hungarian shooters during the shootout, and only Kyriaki Liosi missed for the Greeks to clinch a berth in the semifinals. Greece set the tone early and opened up a 4-0 lead with accurate outside shooting, leading Hungarian coach Matyas Petrovics to replace starting goalie Orsolya Kaso with reserve goaltender Aniko Gyongyossy. Following two quick Greek goals to start the second period, a Hungarian rally closed the deficit to 6-4, but the Greeks responded with four straight man-advantage scores to extend their lead to 10-4. Late in the third quarter, the Hungarian shooters heated up, scoring five straight goals, including three in a row from Gabriella Szucs. Hungary tied the game at 11 apiece with an extra-man goal by Ildiko Toth, sending the game into the fourth shootout of the tournament and the first of the knockout round.
GRE 14 (4,4,2,1,3) K. Liosi 3, C. Tsoukala 2, A. Asimaki 2, A. Gerolymou 2, S. Antonakou 2, A. Avramidou 1, A. Roumpesi 1.
HUN 13 (1,3,3,4,2) G. Szucs 5, R. Dravucz 2, R. Keszthelyi 2, D. Kisteleki 1, I. Toth 1, B. Bujka 1, P. Jancso 1.
Saves
GRE- M. Tsouri 7
HUN- A. Gyongyossy 7, O. Kaso 2.
"We lost the game in the first two periods."
-Matyas Petrovics, Head Coach, Hungary
"We came back because we changed the defense, and because we believed that we could. And we shot some goals."
-Matyas Petrovics, Head Coach, Hungary
"After the big difference in points we became too nervous and we
didn't do well on offense. We lost our concentration."
- Greorgios Morfests, Head Coach, Greece
"We had good offense in the first three periods, but the games now
really depend on when there is a man up or man down."
- Greorgios Morfests, Head Coach, Greece
"We're waiting now to see who we play, I think it will be the winner
of the USA game. Whoever wins that game is the best team right now in
may opinion."
- Greorgios Morfests, Head Coach, Greece
Australia Downs the Netherlands, Moves on to Semifinal Round
Behind three goals from Glencora Ralph, Australia took down the Dutch team, 10-7, to guarantee themselves a place in the top four of the tournament in the second game of the quarterfinal round. The Aussies jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Bronwyn Knox and Nicola Zagame and never looked back. Yasemin Smit added an extra-man goal late in the first quarter for the Netherlands to cut the deficit to 3-2, but Australia, utilizing the second quarter to showcase their defense, kept the Netherlands off the board for the rest of the half. Australian goalie Victoria Brown stopped two Dutch counterattacks, including a one-on-zero lob attempt that she jumped high out of the water to stop. A 4-2 advantage in the third quarter sealed the victory for the Aussies, and earned them a chance to play the Russia-China winner.
AUS 10 (3,1,4,2) G. Ralph 3, N. Zagame 2, G. Beadsworth 1, J. Moran 1, B. Knox 1, R. Webster 1, Z. Arancini 1.
NED 7 (2,0,2,3) Y. Smit 3, I. Van Belkum 2, M. Cabout 1, N. Stomphorst 1.
Saves
AUS- V. Brown 10
NED- I. Van Der Meijden 4
"I think the Australians at this moment are a strong team; we are weak in comparison with the Australians. It is important against Australia to score goals when you have opportunities, but I think today Australia showed respect to my team."
- Mauro Maugeri, Head Coach, The Netherlands
"It's a relief to win. I think the quarterfinals are one of the most important times to win."
- Greg McFadden, Head Coach, Australia
"We're excited. We came to play for the medals and we're looking forward to a better performance."
-Greg McFadden, Head Coach, Australia
Russia Topples group A China
The Russian team, the fourth team in group B, upset China, 10-6, to earn a berth in the semifinal round on Thursday. Leading 5-4 at the half, Russia scored goals on consecutive possessions to build a 7-4 lead, and iced the game with a lob shot on the man-advantage with three minutes remaining by Evgenia Soboleva that guaranteed them a spot in the top four. After a Chinese penalty shot converted by Huanhuan Ma on her team's first possession of the game, Russia built a 4-1 lead, only to see China close to the gap to one as the half drew to a close. Russia benefited from balanced scoring, as three players recorded two tallies, while Huanhuan Ma added three goals for China in a losing effort.
RUS 10 (3,2,3,2) S. Konukh 2, N. Rhyzova-Alenicheva 2, E. Soboleva 2, A. Timofeva 1, E. Tankeeva 1, O. Belyaeva 1, E. Ivanova 1.
CHN 6 (1,3,1,1) H. Ma 3, Ya. Sun 1, A. Gao 1, D. Song 1.
Saves
RUS- M. Kovtunovskaya 8
CHN- J. Yang 12
"We won and I really liked the way we played the game. We did a good job on defense and that is why we won."
-Alexandr Kabanov, Head Coach, Russia
"Today we're feeling good. Tomorrow we'll think about the next game."
-Alexandr Kabanov, Head Coach, Russia
"It was a very difficult game, very emotional, and for many players this is not preferred. Today, Russia was a clear winner."
-Juan Jane Giralt, Head Coach, China
USA Overcomes Canada, Earns Semifinal Berth
Team USA came back from an early deficit to beat Canada, 7-4, setting themselves up for a semifinal match-up with Greece tomorrow evening. The Americans held Canada to one goal after the first period and closed the game on a 7-1 run en route to ensuring themselves a top-four finish. With the game tied at four goals apiece early in the third quarter, Lauren Wenger sent a laser cross-cage to give her team a slim advantage, and added an insurance goal by pushing in Lauren Silver's rebound early in the fourth quarter. Villa skipped one past the Canadian keeper with just two minutes remaining to ice the win for Team USA.
Canada built an early lead with three extra-man goals in the first quarter, but the United States answered with a pair of goals by Kami Craig, the second of which was a powerful move in two meters. Tanya Gandy tied the game later in the period with an extra-man goal, and Brenda Villa gave Team USA its first lead of the game with a sniper shot from the outside on her squad's first possession of the second half. Canada answered back, however, as Emily Csikos converted a penalty shot to knot the game at four.
Team USA benefited from balanced scoring in the win, as Lauren Wenger, Brenda Villa and Kami Craig each netted three goals. Csikos led Canada with two goals in the loss.
USA 7 (0,3,2,2) L. Wenger 2, B. Villa 2, K. Craig 2, T. Gandy 1.
CAN 4 (3,0,1,0) E. Csikos 2, J. Bekhazi 1, T. Campbell 1.
Saves
USA- B. Armstrong 7
CAN- R. Ridell 6
"I wouldn't say it was a pretty game, but we talked about trying to win in all styles and we feel like we can win in all styles and I think we showed that today."
-Adam Krikorian, Head Coach, USA
"This wasn't pretty but it was an absolutely great win for us."
-Adam Krikorian, Head Coach, USA
"our defense after a nervous start was lights out, and our 5-on-6 especially was incredible."
-Adam Krikorian, Head Coach, USA
"[Our first group's] experience, intelligence and defense proved to be the difference in the game today."
-Adam Krikorian, Head Coach, USA
"I thought we played well six-on-six but we played poor six-on-five. Our special teams killed us."
-Patrick Oaten, Head Coach, Canada
"If you can't score six-on-five you can never win the game."
-Patrick Oaten, Head Coach, Canada