The USA Women made quick work of Venezuela, winning 17-1, en route to clinching a spot in the semifinals of the FINA Intercontinental Tournament. Kami Craig (Santa Barbara, CA/USC/SBWPF) scored four goals to lead an offensive effort that saw every field player score. Betsey Armstrong (Ann Arbor, MI/Michigan/NYAC) went the distance in net allowing just one goal. In other action Canada defeated Brazil 10-6, China edged Japan 9-8, and Australia doubled up Kazakhstan 12-6. This sets up a final four of Australia, Canada, China, and Team USA. Team USA will meet China in the semifinal round at 7:30pm on Saturday evening. Full tournament information, including live streaming details, is available by clicking here.
USA came out firing early, with five different USA players scoring one goal a piece. Armstrong defended the net beautifully helping hold Venezuela scoreless through the first quarter. As the second quarter commenced USA scored two straight goals. One of those goals came from Jillian Kraus (Santa Ana, CA/UCLA/SOCAL) who scored off a penalty shot after drawing the penalty. Yineldy Araujo of Venezuela scored the first goal of the night for her team, which brought the score to 7-1. USA would close the half with a late second quarter goal by Kaleigh Giichrist (Newport Beach, CA/USC/Trojan), increasing the lead 8-1 at the half. The leading scores at the half for Team USA: Craig (2), Gilchrist (2), and Kraus (2). The leading scorer for Venezuela wass Araujo (1). As the third quarter commenced USA’s Craig scored her third goal of the evening and Alys Williams (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/HBWPC) fired a dart to score her first goal of the game, bringing the USA lead 10-1. Team USA closed the quarter with Colleen O’Donnell (Palos Verdes, CA/USC/LAWPC) scoring her first goal of the evening as the shot clock expired. The fourth quarter began with Craig scoring her fourth goal of the game. The USA did not let up at all as the match wound down. They remained aggressive and continued to increase the lead. They would go on to score five more goals in that quarter ultimately winning in dominate fashion over Venezuela 17-1.
Team USA Scorers
Madeline Rosenthal- 1 goal
Marisa Young- 1 goal
Colleen O’Donnell- 2 goals
KK Clark- 1 goal
Priscilla Orozco- 1 goal
Maddie Musselman- 1 goal
Makenzie Fischer- 2 goals
Jillian Kraus- 2 goals
Kaleigh Gilchrist- 2 goals
Alys Wlliams- 1 goal
Kami Criag- 4 goals
Team Venezuela Scorers
Yineldy Araujo- 1 goal
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