USA Men Fall To Germany 9-7 To Open FINA World Championships
7/18/2011 12:00:00 AM
Shanghai, China - July 18 - Despite a furious second half rally the USA Men's National Team was unable to come all the way back and fell to Germany 9-7 to open their competition at the FINA World Championships. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) led the team on offense with two goals while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) went the whole way in net stopping 11 shots. Team USA trailed by deficits of 5-0 and 6-1 early in the match before rallying to close within one on several occasions. The USA Men are back in action on Wednesday with a match against Italy.
A slow start doomed the United States on this day as Germany rolled up a 4-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. In the second they continued to build going up 5-0 some 90 seconds into the quarter. The United States would finally break through at the 3:13 mark when Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) found the cage on a power play for a 5-1 match. Germany would come back minutes later skipping home a shot bar down to put the lead back to five goals at 6-1 with 1:46 to play. The red, white, and blue were able to end the half on a promising note when Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) banged home a shot from distance for a 6-2 Germany lead at halftime.
Down four goals the United States came out guns blazing to open the third quarter. Things got started less than a minute into the quarter when Azevedo found the left corner for a 6-3 match. Less than two minutes later Tim Hutten (Seal Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) connected from outside to make it 6-4. Team USA kept chipping away as Peter Hudnut (Encino, CA/Stanford/LAWP) hit for a power play goal to make it 6-5 on the United States was on the verge of coming all the way back. Germany quieted their rally with a score forty seconds later to push the lead back to two at 7-5 with 3:13 left in the quarter. A golden opportunity was missed when the United States failed on a penalty shot try with 2:13 remaining but the squad made amends when Azevedo tallied a power play goal with just eight seconds remaining in the period. Germany would hold just a one goal advantage at 7-6 with play moving to the fourth.
Three minutes into the period Germany delivered a crucial shot on a player advantage to take an 8-6 lead. At the 4:30 mark the United States answered when Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford/NYAC) found the cage after some solid passing for an 8-7 Germany lead. The Germans would score a backbreaking goal on the next possession hitting from deep to go back up two at 9-7. The United States would squander a six on five advantage at the 2:45 mark and was unable to complete the rally as Germany came away winners 9-7.
The United States went 4/9 on power plays while Germany was 5-10. The United States were hampered by an estimated 17 turnovers.
Scoring - Scoresheet
USA 7 (0, 2, 4, 1) T. Azevedo 2, L. Beaubien 1, A. Wright 1, P. Varellas 1, T. Hutten 1, P. Hudnut 1
GER 9 (4, 2, 1, 1)
Saves – USA – M. Moses 11
6x5 – USA – 4/9 – GER – 5/10
Penalties – USA – 0/1 – GER – 0/1
Flash Quotes
Tony Azevedo, Attacker – Team USA
“The end result was 17 turnovers for us and we started off terribly, you can’t go down 4-0 and expect to win a game. We fought back pretty strong, it shows the team has heart, but we just couldn’t finish.”
Mens' National Team