USA Men Take Pan Ams Gold; Punch Ticket To 2012 Olympic Games
10/29/2011 12:00:00 AM
Guadalajara, Mexico - October 29 - The USA Water Polo Men's National Team won the Pan American Games Gold Medal and a berth to the 2012 Olympic Games with a 7-3 defeat of Canada at the Scotiabank Aquatics Center. A tight first quarter gave way to a commanding effort by Team USA that saw their defense flummox Canada at every turn allowing just three scores, the last of which came with less than a minute remaining in the contest. Captain Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, Calif./Stanford/NYAC) playing in his first game of the tournament after battling a muscle strain, delivered with a game high three goals. Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, Calif./Pepperdine/NYAC) posted eight saves in anchoring the defense that recorded seven field blocks and forced the Canadians into 0/8 shooting on power plays.
Each team got off to a slow start as it was scoreless up until the 3:04 mark when Peter Hudnut (Encino, Calif./Stanford/NYAC) broke the ice on a power play score to go up 1-0. Canada answered on the next possession to even the game at 1-1. With 1:33 left in the period Team USA got on the right side of a two goal swing when Moses shut down a 2-on-1 break by Canada which led to Azevedo delivering a lob shot score for a 2-1 lead. Three minutes into the second period Canada again tied the match at 2-2, but that would be as close as they would get. Azevedo cashed in another lob with :46 left in the quarter and then Jesse Smith (Coronado, Calif./Pepperdine/NYAC) closed out the half with deep goal with less than a second on the clock to take a 4-2 advantage.
The momentum carried into the second half as the defense kept Canada at bay for the entire third quarter while the USA offense closed the period with a bang as Azevedo buried a shot from distance for a 5-2 lead. Team USA closed things up in the fourth period with a Tim Hutten (Seal Beach, Calif./UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) power play goal and a Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, Calif./UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) outside shot to go up 7-2. The United States went 2/3 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty while Canada was 0/8 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties.
Notes: The Gold Medal represents Team USA's fifth straight Pan American Games title. Azevedo was selected as Team USA's flag bearer for the Pan American Games closing ceremony taking place Sunday evening.
Scoring - Scoresheet
USA 7 (2, 2, 1, 2) T. Azevedo 3, P. Hudnut 1, J. Powers 1, J. Smith 1, T. Hutten 1
CAN 3 (1, 1, 0, 1)
Saves - USA - M. Moses - 8
6x5 - USA - 2/3 - CAN 0/8
Penalties - USA 0/0 - CAN 1/1
Flash Quotes
"We knew that it was going to be a long game, Canada is a great opponent, we've played them numerous time we knew we just had to stick to our game plan. In the end it prevailed, our game plan, and I knew that I had to keep us close no matter in the goal and my team helped me with field blocks and everything just kind of clicked together." Merrill Moses, USA Goalkeeper
"We always say defense wins championships, defense wins medals and the bottom line is we keep our opponents to five or less goals, that's our goal, we're gonna win. We kept them to three." Merrill Moses USA Goalkeeper
"Yes its a relief,definitely since we were the favorite to do this, a lot of pressure, but we prepared very hard, our coaches prepared us mentally and physically. I think the part of us that expected and prepared for it is why we are going to the Olympics." Merrill Moses, USA Goalkeeper
"It's a tough game, Canada played very well, the biggest thing for us was just sticking to our game plan and frustrating them on defense. That's the style of play we want to play and Merrill did a great job in the cage, we had a lot of field blocks from the perimeter and that was key." Terry Schroeder, USA Head Coach
"They were frustrated on their shooting, half the balls they shot didn't even make it to the cage, that's what you want to see when your defense is playing well." Terry Schroeder, USA Head Coach
"It's a good win for us, it's hard to come in as the favored team with all that pressure on you, our guys did a nice job just staying with the game plan, they just stayed in the game and kept playing hard defense." Terry Schroeder, USA Head Coach
(On qualifying now ) "To qualify here allows us to focus on training and go forward with the plan we've put together and not to have worry about that tournament in April. It's really late and you don't even know if you are going to go to the Olympics or not, so it's very difficult." Terry Schroeder, USA Head Coach
(On Azevedo's return) "It was really the first time we've had to play without him in a big tournament and learn to play without him and I think it was a positive for the team to have some guys step up and find some leadership roles in the water but obviously he came back tonight and we appreciated his presence alot, he did a great job." Terry Schroeder, USA Head Coach
Mens' National Team