FOUND SHAWN JOHNSON AT OPRAH- SUCH A SWEET HEART-
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
TEAM USA
SILVER MEDALIST!!!!!
We came away with a silver medal after going down to the netherlands 4-0 in first three minutes of game..we fought back but the netherlands beat us 9-8..our hats off to them..
I just wanted to thank all of you who have posted, sent emails and watched us live from your computers..we have never felt as much love and support as we have this time around..You have truly made Beijing and the memories of Beijing a little sweeter with your warm thoughts..Thank you.....GO USA!!!!
WE ENDED WITH 110 MEDALS THE MOST BY ANY COUNTRY...WE ARE THE BEST!!!!!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Happy Birthday to you Patty!!!
We beat the Australia 9-8, today in our semifinal game..what a game it was..I cant really remember much but what I do remember is going up by 3 to end the 3th quarter and after we missed a 5meter we fell a part for a little bit and gave up our 3 goal lead..But then we cracked down on defense and made some 5on6 saves and scored a crucial 6on5 with a minute left in the game..then we did what we do best and played some great defense the last possesion to the game...We will face the Netherlands on thursday..the beat Hungary 8-7...cant wait...
Scoring:USA: 9 (2,2,4,1) B. Villa 3, B. Hayes 2, K. Craig 1, A. Gregorka 1, J. Steffens 1, N. Golda 1AUS: 8 (2,2,1,3) K. Gynther 3, R. Rippon 2, G. Beadsworth 1, B. Knox 1, M. Santoromito 1
Saves - USA - B. Armstrong 8 AUS - A. McCormack 156x5 - USA 4/7 - AUS 2/8
Scoring:USA: 9 (2,2,4,1) B. Villa 3, B. Hayes 2, K. Craig 1, A. Gregorka 1, J. Steffens 1, N. Golda 1AUS: 8 (2,2,1,3) K. Gynther 3, R. Rippon 2, G. Beadsworth 1, B. Knox 1, M. Santoromito 1
Saves - USA - B. Armstrong 8 AUS - A. McCormack 156x5 - USA 4/7 - AUS 2/8
Friday, August 15, 2008
USA VS Russia
We beat the Russians 12-7...
After day 2 of competition we found out that the Russians were eliminated from advancing with their loss to China and our tie with Italy..We didnt know what Russian team we would find on Day 3 of competition..What we did know is that regardless of how the Russians were going to treat their game, we needed to come out and make a statement..We needed to win to still give us a shot at advancing first in our bracket..However, with the tie we also needed to wait and see the end result of the Italy/China game..I tip my hat off to the Chinese they are playing really well and taking advantage of every opportunity they get..They lost to the Italian 10-9...which helped us win our bracket..We needed China to win, tie or not lose by more than one goal and not have a higer score than our game...to determine the tie breaker between Italy and US...I guess you could say luck was in our favor and all those things happened last night..So now we wait and train to play against the winner of the quarterfinal between Australia/china...
Scorers:
USA: 12 (5,3,2,2) N. Golda 3, B. Villa 2, A. Gregorka 2, B. Hayes 1, P. Cardenas 1, J. Steffens 1, E. Windes 1, M. van Norman 1RUS: 7 (0,2,4,1) O. Turova 2, S. Konukh 2, E. Prokofyeva 1, E. Pantyulina 1, E. Soboleva 1Saves - USA - B. Armstrong 10, J. Hipp 1 - RUS - V. Vorontsova 16x5 - USA - 4/6 (2/2 penalties) RUS - 2/6
After day 2 of competition we found out that the Russians were eliminated from advancing with their loss to China and our tie with Italy..We didnt know what Russian team we would find on Day 3 of competition..What we did know is that regardless of how the Russians were going to treat their game, we needed to come out and make a statement..We needed to win to still give us a shot at advancing first in our bracket..However, with the tie we also needed to wait and see the end result of the Italy/China game..I tip my hat off to the Chinese they are playing really well and taking advantage of every opportunity they get..They lost to the Italian 10-9...which helped us win our bracket..We needed China to win, tie or not lose by more than one goal and not have a higer score than our game...to determine the tie breaker between Italy and US...I guess you could say luck was in our favor and all those things happened last night..So now we wait and train to play against the winner of the quarterfinal between Australia/china...
Scorers:
USA: 12 (5,3,2,2) N. Golda 3, B. Villa 2, A. Gregorka 2, B. Hayes 1, P. Cardenas 1, J. Steffens 1, E. Windes 1, M. van Norman 1RUS: 7 (0,2,4,1) O. Turova 2, S. Konukh 2, E. Prokofyeva 1, E. Pantyulina 1, E. Soboleva 1Saves - USA - B. Armstrong 10, J. Hipp 1 - RUS - V. Vorontsova 16x5 - USA - 4/6 (2/2 penalties) RUS - 2/6
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
USA vs ITALY
Ends in a tie 9-9...
The Italians go up on us 2-0 but that did not stop us from taking shots and going right after them..We were very unfortunate with our shooting in the first quarter hitting lots of post but we were shooting with confidence...
In the second quarter we finally got one in the goal with a little commerce connection..We draw an exclusion at center and I passed the ball to patty and she buried in the goal.. The Italians scored again and that put that back ahead 3-1..We were still going after them trying to get into an offensive flow..Hayes put away another power play to give us our second goal..But the Italians would regain their two goal lead but we were not done before the half was over. Leave it to our youngest to power one into the goal from the center position from a great entry pass from Hayes..Hayes would then score her second goal of the night with a perfect lob that was out of reach of the Italian goalkeeper...We went into half with tied 4-4..
The Italians scored first coming out of the half time break..But that lead would be short lived as Villa (me) scored on a power play...Minutes went by and Jessica Steffens scores a natural goal that was a beautiful perfect corner that went bar in..This would be the first time US takes the lead..With the third quarter coming to an end the Italians would even up the score once again..
Coming out of the gates for the final quarter saw a lot of back and forth action both teams pushing the counter attack and transition to get something started, the US was finally able to convert on a counter attack, Villa scores a goal that trickles in very slowly...We will take it (they don't all have to be pretty)...The US would keep the lead and extend the lead with from Stanford alum Alison Gregorka, another beautiful natural goal..Our two goal lead would be cut to one by an outside shot and with a minute left in the game the Italians drew an exclusion and called a timeout..they converted the 60n5 and the game was tied with :22 seconds left in the game..We called a time out, ran a play and got an entry pass into the center position, Craig tried to get a shot off but the italian defender clamped down and the game ended in a tie...
***** In the last match of the game we saw China defeat Russia 13-11..which means that the russians do not have a chance of advancing to the quarterfinal rounds..We must beat Russia friday and await the outcome of the China/Italy game which is played later that day to determine which position we will end up in our bracket...
scorers:
USA - 9 (0,4,2,3) B. Hayes 2, B. Villa 2, H. Petri 1, P. Cardenas 1, J. Steffens 1, A. Gregorka 1, K. Craig 1ITA - 9 (2,2,2,3) M. Miceli 2, T. di Mario 2, E. Casanova 1, S. Bosurgi 1, E. Valkai 1, M. Zanchi 1, C. Ragusa
Armstrong 10 saves
The Italians go up on us 2-0 but that did not stop us from taking shots and going right after them..We were very unfortunate with our shooting in the first quarter hitting lots of post but we were shooting with confidence...
In the second quarter we finally got one in the goal with a little commerce connection..We draw an exclusion at center and I passed the ball to patty and she buried in the goal.. The Italians scored again and that put that back ahead 3-1..We were still going after them trying to get into an offensive flow..Hayes put away another power play to give us our second goal..But the Italians would regain their two goal lead but we were not done before the half was over. Leave it to our youngest to power one into the goal from the center position from a great entry pass from Hayes..Hayes would then score her second goal of the night with a perfect lob that was out of reach of the Italian goalkeeper...We went into half with tied 4-4..
The Italians scored first coming out of the half time break..But that lead would be short lived as Villa (me) scored on a power play...Minutes went by and Jessica Steffens scores a natural goal that was a beautiful perfect corner that went bar in..This would be the first time US takes the lead..With the third quarter coming to an end the Italians would even up the score once again..
Coming out of the gates for the final quarter saw a lot of back and forth action both teams pushing the counter attack and transition to get something started, the US was finally able to convert on a counter attack, Villa scores a goal that trickles in very slowly...We will take it (they don't all have to be pretty)...The US would keep the lead and extend the lead with from Stanford alum Alison Gregorka, another beautiful natural goal..Our two goal lead would be cut to one by an outside shot and with a minute left in the game the Italians drew an exclusion and called a timeout..they converted the 60n5 and the game was tied with :22 seconds left in the game..We called a time out, ran a play and got an entry pass into the center position, Craig tried to get a shot off but the italian defender clamped down and the game ended in a tie...
***** In the last match of the game we saw China defeat Russia 13-11..which means that the russians do not have a chance of advancing to the quarterfinal rounds..We must beat Russia friday and await the outcome of the China/Italy game which is played later that day to determine which position we will end up in our bracket...
scorers:
USA - 9 (0,4,2,3) B. Hayes 2, B. Villa 2, H. Petri 1, P. Cardenas 1, J. Steffens 1, A. Gregorka 1, K. Craig 1ITA - 9 (2,2,2,3) M. Miceli 2, T. di Mario 2, E. Casanova 1, S. Bosurgi 1, E. Valkai 1, M. Zanchi 1, C. Ragusa
Armstrong 10 saves
Monday, August 11, 2008
Olympic Debut: American beat Chinese
OH Yeah!!! Hard fought game but we got the win..WE beat the Chinese 12-11...It was definitely a nail bitter for those in the stands..I think most of us in the water were more calm and knew that we would get it done...We played pretty good 5on6 defense and great 6on5 offense...Betsey blocked a 5 meter and Natalie scored 4 goals..It was a very weird game..But most Olympic openers are with both team going 100 miles an hour and the referees always given some sort of instruction like call lots of kick outs to keep the game clean...
The Chinese jumped on us to get an early lead 2-0..After we didn't convert on our first 6on5..They had some "hot" shooters who kept hitting the corner in our zone..We tighten up our defense a little bit and were able to get our counter and offense going...At half we were up 8-7..We held a two goal lead for just a bit in the third and couldn't hold on to it..In the fourth quarter we went down by a goal early and then we cracked down on our defense...They would remain scoreless the rest of the quarter and we scored a natural from the center position and we scored our last 6on5 to put us up by 1..
Some may be doubting us at this point..But we beat a good team that may fly under the radar...One down....Next up Italy on Wednesday Aug 13......this is the fun part...Go TEAM USA!
scorers:
Hayes 2, Villa 1, Wenger 1, Golda 4, VanNorman 1, Craig 3
Armstrong 7 saves,
USA 4/6- 6on5 , 4/9- 5on6
China 1/2 penalties
The Chinese jumped on us to get an early lead 2-0..After we didn't convert on our first 6on5..They had some "hot" shooters who kept hitting the corner in our zone..We tighten up our defense a little bit and were able to get our counter and offense going...At half we were up 8-7..We held a two goal lead for just a bit in the third and couldn't hold on to it..In the fourth quarter we went down by a goal early and then we cracked down on our defense...They would remain scoreless the rest of the quarter and we scored a natural from the center position and we scored our last 6on5 to put us up by 1..
Some may be doubting us at this point..But we beat a good team that may fly under the radar...One down....Next up Italy on Wednesday Aug 13......this is the fun part...Go TEAM USA!
scorers:
Hayes 2, Villa 1, Wenger 1, Golda 4, VanNorman 1, Craig 3
Armstrong 7 saves,
USA 4/6- 6on5 , 4/9- 5on6
China 1/2 penalties
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Getting Ready to play!!!
Tonight I will watch some olympic magic in our apartment from the 24 hour feed we get here in the village..I will be inspired by other athletes competing and doing well..Last night, three fencers swept the women sabre competition..It is so sweet to see your flag being raised and having not only one flag but three american flags being raised..oh yeah!!!!! The men just beat the Chinese 8-4...we got next!!!!
Go Team USA!!!!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Opening Ceremonies!!!
Great Job China!!!!
Last night was incredible and a great way to get the games started..As a special treat to the American athletes we were taken to a special venue in order to hear for ourselves a good luck from our President...He was so excited to be there and wished us all good luck and gave a direct order of winning gold medals...we took that to heart...If you look at the link below you can see our team picture with the President....
http://www.nbcolympics.com/photos/galleryid=184069.html
Ralph Lauren dressed us up really well but the china humidity made it very difficult to stay dry and beautiful..By the end of the night, I was soaked through my wonderful attire but still trying to look good and represent our country in a good way...I finally got my picture with Laker super star Kobe and he was very nice and gracious..I was also able to show off my Italian skills with him and have a conversation with him in Italian...That was awesome....
The lighting of the torch was unbelievable...a Chinese gymnast was walking on air to light the torch..hope you all caught that on TV..someone just emailed me teammate Petie and said they say us on TV....I will try to post pictures later...
Today we scrimmaged the Australians..we are back to work and getting ready for our showdown with China on 08/11...LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!
Last night was incredible and a great way to get the games started..As a special treat to the American athletes we were taken to a special venue in order to hear for ourselves a good luck from our President...He was so excited to be there and wished us all good luck and gave a direct order of winning gold medals...we took that to heart...If you look at the link below you can see our team picture with the President....
http://www.nbcolympics.com/photos/galleryid=184069.html
Ralph Lauren dressed us up really well but the china humidity made it very difficult to stay dry and beautiful..By the end of the night, I was soaked through my wonderful attire but still trying to look good and represent our country in a good way...I finally got my picture with Laker super star Kobe and he was very nice and gracious..I was also able to show off my Italian skills with him and have a conversation with him in Italian...That was awesome....
The lighting of the torch was unbelievable...a Chinese gymnast was walking on air to light the torch..hope you all caught that on TV..someone just emailed me teammate Petie and said they say us on TV....I will try to post pictures later...
Today we scrimmaged the Australians..we are back to work and getting ready for our showdown with China on 08/11...LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Olympic Village Life!!
I meant to add some pictures to give you some sort of idea of the make up of the village but there are so many rules and restrictions on what we can blog about so I decided to just tell you some of my adventures and maybe put up some pictures at a later time...
When we arrived at the Olympic Village a couple days ago we arrived in style sporting some new gear provided by Nike, that day we were known as the team in black..Coincidently, the USOC staff here in the village also was wearing black as their color of the day so we were on top of it..We were assigned our apartments when we arrived so the first thing we did, or I did was scope it out and see which rooms were best...Betsey and I were fortunate enough to get a room with a bathroom, kind of like a master suite...nice, huh...There are three rooms per aparment and a common area..China did a good job with the apartments..After settling in and decorating our apartments with some patriotic decorations we headed to the dining hall because we were starving...After our dining hall extravaganza (the food has been great, no complaints) we ventured around the village, acted like tourist by taking a million pictures..At one of our picture moments, the Village daily photographer thought we were a lively bunch so she took pictures of us and we were in the paper the other day..Im sure most of the teams are jealous that us the American water polo team was in the Village Daily,looking fly with our gear on.. That day we ran into so high profiled athletes like Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol, Im not going to lie we did go up to them and asked them to take pictures with our team..Im sure they are now afraid of the that water polo team dressed in black..but they were very pleasant and put up with are many request of individual photos....So after our first afternoon in the village, we called it a night and were lucky enough to sleep in and enjoy our day off the next day...
The rest day consisted of finding the post office to get some post cards and stamps and making a pit stop at the venue store to buy some cool beijing momentos...After running around the previous day we took it easy and were getting ready for the next day which meant back to business as usual with two practices awaiting us..
Since then we have been training and having an occasional tourist moment only when the dream team walked into the dining hall last night..Lebron, Kidd, Boozer, Anthony and Wade were very gracious to the american water polo team that travels in a pack and asks for various photos...
Today we were able to practice and scrimmage in the Venue pool against Australia..We had a slow start but ended in a tie 9-9..Today gave us a reminder of what we are doing here..we are here to play good water polo and handle our business in the pool....
Go team USA!!!!
When we arrived at the Olympic Village a couple days ago we arrived in style sporting some new gear provided by Nike, that day we were known as the team in black..Coincidently, the USOC staff here in the village also was wearing black as their color of the day so we were on top of it..We were assigned our apartments when we arrived so the first thing we did, or I did was scope it out and see which rooms were best...Betsey and I were fortunate enough to get a room with a bathroom, kind of like a master suite...nice, huh...There are three rooms per aparment and a common area..China did a good job with the apartments..After settling in and decorating our apartments with some patriotic decorations we headed to the dining hall because we were starving...After our dining hall extravaganza (the food has been great, no complaints) we ventured around the village, acted like tourist by taking a million pictures..At one of our picture moments, the Village daily photographer thought we were a lively bunch so she took pictures of us and we were in the paper the other day..Im sure most of the teams are jealous that us the American water polo team was in the Village Daily,looking fly with our gear on.. That day we ran into so high profiled athletes like Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol, Im not going to lie we did go up to them and asked them to take pictures with our team..Im sure they are now afraid of the that water polo team dressed in black..but they were very pleasant and put up with are many request of individual photos....So after our first afternoon in the village, we called it a night and were lucky enough to sleep in and enjoy our day off the next day...
The rest day consisted of finding the post office to get some post cards and stamps and making a pit stop at the venue store to buy some cool beijing momentos...After running around the previous day we took it easy and were getting ready for the next day which meant back to business as usual with two practices awaiting us..
Since then we have been training and having an occasional tourist moment only when the dream team walked into the dining hall last night..Lebron, Kidd, Boozer, Anthony and Wade were very gracious to the american water polo team that travels in a pack and asks for various photos...
Today we were able to practice and scrimmage in the Venue pool against Australia..We had a slow start but ended in a tie 9-9..Today gave us a reminder of what we are doing here..we are here to play good water polo and handle our business in the pool....
Go team USA!!!!
Sorry!!
I have not been doing a good job on keeping you, my readers, informed on the activities of the village life..I promise to post later today some of the adventures we have been on since arriving here in the Olympic Village..Ill leave you with this thought, the chinese are doing an exceptional job...cant wait to get this show on the road...
Sunday, August 3, 2008
OLYMPIC VILLAGE!!
Today we head to the olympic village, we will call that home till aug 25..I hope the beds are comfortable. We are so excited to get there...I decided we should look like a team, not such any team, but a very dominant looking team..we will post pictures later of our team outfit as we head into the olympic village where over 10,000 athletes will be housed and fed till closing ceremonies....
I will tell you all about the village later today or tomorrow..
On another note, we played the netherlands in two "official games" and dominated the first one, the second one saw, a less dominant game by us but still a good game..Im not sure what the final score ended from the second game but we definitely won the first game..Today is a gloomy day in China but we are hoping we can see some rays of light as we head to the village later...
oh and if you dont read my teammates Petie's blog...you should..post a comment and she will send you a postcard from the olympic village....go here.
go team USA!!!
I will tell you all about the village later today or tomorrow..
On another note, we played the netherlands in two "official games" and dominated the first one, the second one saw, a less dominant game by us but still a good game..Im not sure what the final score ended from the second game but we definitely won the first game..Today is a gloomy day in China but we are hoping we can see some rays of light as we head to the village later...
oh and if you dont read my teammates Petie's blog...you should..post a comment and she will send you a postcard from the olympic village....go here.
go team USA!!!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Nike and Ralph Lauren
We departed on sunday morning for san jose state university where olympic processing was going on..For those of you that dont know what olympic processing is, let me give you the short version, this is were all olympic athletes get all their cool gear..For 2008, the USOC has two new apparel sponsors, Ralph Lauren for opening and closing ceremonies and Nike for press conference,podium and lounge wear...The gear is awesome Nike and Ralph Lauren did a great job.
Just wait till you see us marching out into the "Birdnest Stadium" on 08-08-08....
Just wait till you see us marching out into the "Birdnest Stadium" on 08-08-08....
Sunday, July 20, 2008
three-timers.....
Petie and I strolling and enjoying the moment at Blast off to Beijing..This being our third event put on by the Stanford Club prior to our departure to every Olympics....We have seen our sport grow and we can only hope and dream that it continues to grow...Stay tuned..Team USA departs so cal sunday and will be enroute to China....
Petie it has been an incredible journey "living the dream!!!!,"
lots of hugs roomie...yes, im getting more emotional in my old age....
Go TEAM USA!!!!
Petie it has been an incredible journey "living the dream!!!!,"
lots of hugs roomie...yes, im getting more emotional in my old age....
Go TEAM USA!!!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
July 13 Dodger Game
We were invited on the field of Dodger stadium...It was awesome..I was also very fortunate to throw the first pitch...Im happy to say that I made it to home plate..Nat was my catcher and she had to save my pitch a bit..but it was definitely a fast ball....
Saturday, July 12, 2008
USA vs AUS
We just finished a four game series with Australia...We won the series 4-1..Ending the series at my alma mater Stanford University..
In the third olympic send off, put on by the Stanford Club team..We played in a sold out crowd which set a record for the biggest crowd for a women's water polo event...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Stanford Water polo club team for putting on this event on and making us feel like superstars..This event was a great way to end this 4 game series. The crowd and atmosphere was a good tune up and warm up for what is to come in Beijing. The game played at Stanford will be televised on MSNBC tomorrow, sunday july 13 @ 9am.....watch the last game played on american soil for the USA olympic water polo team...
game 1 @ Los Alamitos 13-12 W
game 2 @ La Jolla 12-11 L
game 3 @ Coronado 12-6 W
game 4 @ Stanford 7-5 W
In the third olympic send off, put on by the Stanford Club team..We played in a sold out crowd which set a record for the biggest crowd for a women's water polo event...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Stanford Water polo club team for putting on this event on and making us feel like superstars..This event was a great way to end this 4 game series. The crowd and atmosphere was a good tune up and warm up for what is to come in Beijing. The game played at Stanford will be televised on MSNBC tomorrow, sunday july 13 @ 9am.....watch the last game played on american soil for the USA olympic water polo team...
game 1 @ Los Alamitos 13-12 W
game 2 @ La Jolla 12-11 L
game 3 @ Coronado 12-6 W
game 4 @ Stanford 7-5 W
Monday, June 30, 2008
OLYMPIC TEAM ANNOUCED TODAY!!!
USA Olympic Team announced today at the LAAC....
Brenda Villa, Heather Petri, Natalie Golda..
Betsey Armstrong, Jaime Hipp, Lauren Wenger, Moriah VanNorman, Alison Gregorka, Elsie Windes, Patty Cardenas, Jessica Steffens, Brittany Hayes, Kami Craig...
Today at the press conference there were a few questions asked after the team was announced about how young are team is...The average age of our team is 24.6..according to Guy this team's age average is older than the past two olympic teams..On paper our team may seem young because we will have 10 first time olympian but let's not forget that this team knows what it feels like to be in the "big moment" we played australia in australia for the gold medal at world championships and won.. ..
Above are the name of the 13 girls that will represent the USA on their quest to the podium...
Go team USA!!!!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Thetis Cup- Crete, Greece
Game 1 Italy vs USA L 10-9
Game 2 Germany vs USA W 13-5
Game 3 Greece vs USA w 11-10
Details to follow...
Game 2 Germany vs USA W 13-5
Game 3 Greece vs USA w 11-10
Details to follow...
Commerce makes it into the New York Times!!!
Please Read this great article on the city of commerce and water polo...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/sports/olympics/18polo.html?ref=sports
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Game 6 Final USA vs Rus
USA 7 Russia 8...... more details to come later...Russia scores with about :20 seconds left in game to win first world league title...
Scoring:
USA: 7 (2,0,3,2) H. Petri 2, B. Villa 2, N. Golda 1, E. Windes 1, A. Gregorka 1
RUS: 8 (3,2,1,2)
6x5 -- USA - 4-8 - RUS 3-7
Saves: USA - B. Armstrong 10
Scoring:
USA: 7 (2,0,3,2) H. Petri 2, B. Villa 2, N. Golda 1, E. Windes 1, A. Gregorka 1
RUS: 8 (3,2,1,2)
6x5 -- USA - 4-8 - RUS 3-7
Saves: USA - B. Armstrong 10
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Game 5 USA vs Spain
USA 11 Spain 9
Although our 5on6 defense was not very good today, our offense came to play tonight and we were able to hold off the spanish for a win. The game before us saw Russia and Australia go into a shootout.. Russia lost the shootout but still advance to the final game with the point they received from the shootout. Tomorrow should be a very fun,physical and competitive game..Just they way we like it...
USA 11 (1,4,4,2) N. Golda 4, B. Villa 2, K. Craig 2, L. Wenger 1, B. Hayes 1. M. van Norman 1
ESP 9 (2,2,3,2)
6x5 -- USA - 3-6 -- ESP - 6-8
Saves: USA - J. Hipp 8
Although our 5on6 defense was not very good today, our offense came to play tonight and we were able to hold off the spanish for a win. The game before us saw Russia and Australia go into a shootout.. Russia lost the shootout but still advance to the final game with the point they received from the shootout. Tomorrow should be a very fun,physical and competitive game..Just they way we like it...
USA 11 (1,4,4,2) N. Golda 4, B. Villa 2, K. Craig 2, L. Wenger 1, B. Hayes 1. M. van Norman 1
ESP 9 (2,2,3,2)
6x5 -- USA - 3-6 -- ESP - 6-8
Saves: USA - J. Hipp 8
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Game 3 USA vs China
USA 12 CHN 8
After playing the first game of the day for the last two days here in the canary islands, we finally had a little more down time and we played the second game.. We were able to watch some of the first game which saw an upset of Australia by the Canadiens. This forshaddowed the way our game would play out, sort of..However, we did not allow the 15 kick outs called against us to deter us from our objective of getting a win, in whatever way was necessary..
We ended the first quarter with a deficit of two.. We were not able to convert on offense and they were able to score.. We started the second quarter in a calm and calculating way. We were able to get on the scoreboard by converting a 6on5 which led us to score 5 goals to their 1 in the second quarter. The game continued to be close throughout the second half but we maintained our composure played excellent 5on6 defense and were able finally to get some natural goals and give us a cushion.
USA: 12 (0,5,4,3) E. Figge 3, B.Hayes 2, A. Gregorka 2, P.Cardenas 2, L. Wenger 1, B.Villa 1, H.Petri 1
CHN: 9 (2,1,3,3)
6x5 -- USA - 5-6 -- CHN - 5-15
Saves -- USA - B. Armstrong 8, J. Hipp 4
After playing the first game of the day for the last two days here in the canary islands, we finally had a little more down time and we played the second game.. We were able to watch some of the first game which saw an upset of Australia by the Canadiens. This forshaddowed the way our game would play out, sort of..However, we did not allow the 15 kick outs called against us to deter us from our objective of getting a win, in whatever way was necessary..
We ended the first quarter with a deficit of two.. We were not able to convert on offense and they were able to score.. We started the second quarter in a calm and calculating way. We were able to get on the scoreboard by converting a 6on5 which led us to score 5 goals to their 1 in the second quarter. The game continued to be close throughout the second half but we maintained our composure played excellent 5on6 defense and were able finally to get some natural goals and give us a cushion.
USA: 12 (0,5,4,3) E. Figge 3, B.Hayes 2, A. Gregorka 2, P.Cardenas 2, L. Wenger 1, B.Villa 1, H.Petri 1
CHN: 9 (2,1,3,3)
6x5 -- USA - 5-6 -- CHN - 5-15
Saves -- USA - B. Armstrong 8, J. Hipp 4
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Game 2 USA vs Rus
USA 10 Rus 6
We were able to continue or momentum from last night's win and were able jump on Russia 3-0. We did a better job today with maintaining a lead by keeping our composure and sticking to the game plan, which is simple play great defense and counter. At the end of the second quarter we kept our 3 goal lead and ended the half with 4-1 lead.
The start of the second half saw Russia pick up their offensive attack but we met their challenge and answered back matching them goal for goal and ended the quarter with 4 goals to their 3.
We started the fourth quarter with a four goal lead and we did not look back..There was about 3 minutes of chaotic play by both teams but no one was able to convert their goals. We were able to draw first blood in the fourth quarter and that gave us the confidence and composure to keep playing without letting Russia back in the game.
Tomorrow we play China, which is our first opponent at the Olympics..
Other scores: Aus 10 China 8, Spain 7 Canada 5.
Scoring:
USA: 10 (3, 1, 4, 2) E. Windes 2, B. Hayes 2, H. Petri 1, B. Villa 1, L. Wenger 1, N. Golda 1, P. Cardenas 1, K. Craig 1
RUS: 6 (0, 1, 3, 2) N. Shepelina 2, N. Vylegzhanina 2, Y. Gaufler 1, O. Turova 1
6x5 -- USA - 2-5 -- RUS - 3-7
Saves: USA - B. Armstrong 12
We were able to continue or momentum from last night's win and were able jump on Russia 3-0. We did a better job today with maintaining a lead by keeping our composure and sticking to the game plan, which is simple play great defense and counter. At the end of the second quarter we kept our 3 goal lead and ended the half with 4-1 lead.
The start of the second half saw Russia pick up their offensive attack but we met their challenge and answered back matching them goal for goal and ended the quarter with 4 goals to their 3.
We started the fourth quarter with a four goal lead and we did not look back..There was about 3 minutes of chaotic play by both teams but no one was able to convert their goals. We were able to draw first blood in the fourth quarter and that gave us the confidence and composure to keep playing without letting Russia back in the game.
Tomorrow we play China, which is our first opponent at the Olympics..
Other scores: Aus 10 China 8, Spain 7 Canada 5.
Scoring:
USA: 10 (3, 1, 4, 2) E. Windes 2, B. Hayes 2, H. Petri 1, B. Villa 1, L. Wenger 1, N. Golda 1, P. Cardenas 1, K. Craig 1
RUS: 6 (0, 1, 3, 2) N. Shepelina 2, N. Vylegzhanina 2, Y. Gaufler 1, O. Turova 1
6x5 -- USA - 2-5 -- RUS - 3-7
Saves: USA - B. Armstrong 12
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Game 1 Usa vs Aus
USA 10 - Aus 9
The australians started out very strong and very aggresive. In the first two minutes of the game the australians scored on their first two possessions and we struggled a bit. Petie opened up our scoring with a great cross cage skip shot and that got us going... The first quarter ended up 3-3.
The second quarter saw a bit of a US surge..We lead 6-4 in the middle of the second quarter but were not able to maintain ball control and we let the australian back in the end. At half time the game was tied once again..
The third quarter saw some inconsistent play from us.. We had a couple 6on5 opportunities that we did not convert. The Aussies on the other hand connected on two of their 6on5 opportunities. The third quarter ended up with the Aussies with a one goal advantage....
We come out in the fourth quarter with a mentality that we had no option..we had to win this game.. We had three natural goals in the fourth quarter and missed a couple 6 on5 opportunities but our defense and Betsey come through to secure our win..With 40 sec left in the game Australia earned an ejection and Betsey come up with a great save which meant in we could control the ball for 20 seconds we would walk away with the win..The australians received the ball back with 1.5 seconds left but that was not enough time for them..
Tomorrow we play Russia same time...
USA: 10 (3, 3, 1, 3) H. Petri 3, N. Golda 2, L. Wenger 1, B. Villa 1, P. Cardenas 1, J. Steffens 1, E. Windes 1
AUS: 9 (3, 3, 2, 3)
6x5 -- USA 3-8 -- AUS 3-6 -- Penalty - AUS 0-1
Saves: B. Armstrong - 11
OTHER SCORES: RUSSIA 15 CANADA 7, SPAIN 6 CHINA 6 ( SPAIN WINS IN SHOOT OUT)..
The australians started out very strong and very aggresive. In the first two minutes of the game the australians scored on their first two possessions and we struggled a bit. Petie opened up our scoring with a great cross cage skip shot and that got us going... The first quarter ended up 3-3.
The second quarter saw a bit of a US surge..We lead 6-4 in the middle of the second quarter but were not able to maintain ball control and we let the australian back in the end. At half time the game was tied once again..
The third quarter saw some inconsistent play from us.. We had a couple 6on5 opportunities that we did not convert. The Aussies on the other hand connected on two of their 6on5 opportunities. The third quarter ended up with the Aussies with a one goal advantage....
We come out in the fourth quarter with a mentality that we had no option..we had to win this game.. We had three natural goals in the fourth quarter and missed a couple 6 on5 opportunities but our defense and Betsey come through to secure our win..With 40 sec left in the game Australia earned an ejection and Betsey come up with a great save which meant in we could control the ball for 20 seconds we would walk away with the win..The australians received the ball back with 1.5 seconds left but that was not enough time for them..
Tomorrow we play Russia same time...
USA: 10 (3, 3, 1, 3) H. Petri 3, N. Golda 2, L. Wenger 1, B. Villa 1, P. Cardenas 1, J. Steffens 1, E. Windes 1
AUS: 9 (3, 3, 2, 3)
6x5 -- USA 3-8 -- AUS 3-6 -- Penalty - AUS 0-1
Saves: B. Armstrong - 11
OTHER SCORES: RUSSIA 15 CANADA 7, SPAIN 6 CHINA 6 ( SPAIN WINS IN SHOOT OUT)..
opening ceremonies
Here is a taste of spanish carnival..Yesterday, we had a mini opening ceremonies and the people of Tenerife wanted to give us a taste of their festivities..It was so much fun and so much energy..
Friday, June 6, 2008
World League Super Final Schedule
June 10
1600 Aus vs USA
1730 CAn vs Rus
1900 ESP vs Ch
June 11
1600 USA vs Rus
1730 Aus vs Chn
1900 Esp vs Can
June 12
1600 Can vs Aus
1730 Chn vs USA
1900 Esp vs Rus
June 13
1600 Can vs USA
1730 Chn vs Rus
1900 Esp vs Aus
June 14
1600 Chn vs Can
1730 Rus vs Aus
1900 Esp vs USa
June 15
TBD
1600 Aus vs USA
1730 CAn vs Rus
1900 ESP vs Ch
June 11
1600 USA vs Rus
1730 Aus vs Chn
1900 Esp vs Can
June 12
1600 Can vs Aus
1730 Chn vs USA
1900 Esp vs Rus
June 13
1600 Can vs USA
1730 Chn vs Rus
1900 Esp vs Aus
June 14
1600 Chn vs Can
1730 Rus vs Aus
1900 Esp vs USa
June 15
TBD
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Canary Islands and Super World League Finals
I know its been a long time since I have blogged and Im sorry..The daily grind of our training does not seem exciting enough to blog about for me. However, we are getting ready to leave on saturday morning for the Canary Islands..Can you believe that?? I hope that they are everything Im imagining them to be..It seems such an exotic destinations and such a random place for a water polo tournament.
However, we are all business even if its a great location. We are coming into our last big tournament that will give us a little more information about ourselves and our opponents as we prepare for Beijing. We are all very excited to play real games against real opponents. So make sure you check back june 10 as we open up the tournament against Australia. The format of the tournament is a round robin between the six teams with the best two records playing for first, etc..wish us luck and follow our path...
Go team USA!!!
However, we are all business even if its a great location. We are coming into our last big tournament that will give us a little more information about ourselves and our opponents as we prepare for Beijing. We are all very excited to play real games against real opponents. So make sure you check back june 10 as we open up the tournament against Australia. The format of the tournament is a round robin between the six teams with the best two records playing for first, etc..wish us luck and follow our path...
Go team USA!!!
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Billies
April 15, The Beverly Hilton
I was invited to attend an awards ceremony put on by the Women's Sports Foundation honoring several media outlets..They were honoring media and the positive portrayals of women. They invited several hollywood celebrities as presenters; Master P, Tony Gonzalez, Sharon Osbourne, Michele Kwan and the hit of the night was Elton John's performance at the end..
I was so excited to be invited to this amazing event...I met several cool athletes and I even walked a "mini red carpet"..all in all hollywood and the women's sports foundation know how to put on an event for a great cause..If you have money to burn and your looking for a cool foundation to donate to please consider the Women's Sports Foundation....
I was invited to attend an awards ceremony put on by the Women's Sports Foundation honoring several media outlets..They were honoring media and the positive portrayals of women. They invited several hollywood celebrities as presenters; Master P, Tony Gonzalez, Sharon Osbourne, Michele Kwan and the hit of the night was Elton John's performance at the end..
I was so excited to be invited to this amazing event...I met several cool athletes and I even walked a "mini red carpet"..all in all hollywood and the women's sports foundation know how to put on an event for a great cause..If you have money to burn and your looking for a cool foundation to donate to please consider the Women's Sports Foundation....
Saturday, March 15, 2008
adventures of the great wall
Amazing...If i had to describe the great wall of china to anyone with one word it would be AMAZING!!!!!!To think it was man made...It was hard to just walk up the already built great wall..imagine building it...Here are a few pictures of the hike up the great wall..Our tour was limited so we only climbed for about 40 minutes and then raced back down..WE were the ultimate tourist and bought t-shirts and took lots of pictures..I will put up a team picture later..If your ever in China come see part of the great wall you will not regret it...
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Who knew?? from tecalitlan, mexico to commerce CA
check out this story "http://universalsports.nbcsports.com/water+polo"
Hopefully, water polo can get more coverage for the upcoming olympics..We, team USA have supporters in different walks of life..in more than one language. Maybe the different mediums will provide more options to watch water polo in beijing via television...
Team USA played a game in commerce on january 27 and we had a full house..In attendance were Patty's parents and my mom and uncle all from the little "pueblito" of tecalitlan that has produced many water polo players...what was in that water???
Hopefully, water polo can get more coverage for the upcoming olympics..We, team USA have supporters in different walks of life..in more than one language. Maybe the different mediums will provide more options to watch water polo in beijing via television...
Team USA played a game in commerce on january 27 and we had a full house..In attendance were Patty's parents and my mom and uncle all from the little "pueblito" of tecalitlan that has produced many water polo players...what was in that water???
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Let the New year begin!!!!
We started the new year with a training trip to the land down under...Our first destination was Perth, Australia and finished the trip off in Sydney, Australia.
This training trip consisted of lots of training and 5 official games at various locations in Australia..We had a few beach workouts that provided us with new war stories to tell friends and families...During a swim session at the beach half the team was stung by jellyfish..can you believe it....luckily no one is allergic and we survived...In sydney, the australians tried to get us off our game and scheduled a game in a playing field located in a bay..Bay, you say, its true..the water was not clear and it was very salty..It was a fun bonding experience..we were out of our comfort zone but we were still able to perform..that is what our program is all about...
Unfortunately, we didnt win any of the games on the road..we tied 2 games and lost three...But dont you worry...we collected lots of information and we are so competitive that this will get us through the next month of training....
This training trip consisted of lots of training and 5 official games at various locations in Australia..We had a few beach workouts that provided us with new war stories to tell friends and families...During a swim session at the beach half the team was stung by jellyfish..can you believe it....luckily no one is allergic and we survived...In sydney, the australians tried to get us off our game and scheduled a game in a playing field located in a bay..Bay, you say, its true..the water was not clear and it was very salty..It was a fun bonding experience..we were out of our comfort zone but we were still able to perform..that is what our program is all about...
Unfortunately, we didnt win any of the games on the road..we tied 2 games and lost three...But dont you worry...we collected lots of information and we are so competitive that this will get us through the next month of training....
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