June 26, 2005

The USA defense held the Australian national team to their lowest goal-scoring output thanks in large part to vice captain Jess Wilk's nine saves, but the Aussies managed to tie the Americans 7-7 in Day 4 at the IFWLA World Cup, held at the United States Naval Academy. Twice the Americans held a two-goal lead, but the Aussies came back both times to notch the equalizer.

The Americans got off to a quick start as Cherie Greer won the opening draw and took it right to the cage, scoring 11 seconds into the game giving the Yanks a 1-0 lead. Kelly Amonte-Hiller won the next draw to herself and the Americans worked the ball to Dani Gallagher, whose shot was saved, giving possession to the Aussies. At the other end of the field, an Australian shot went wide but they managed to keep possession. Sommar, however, caused a turnover and Greer scooped up the ground ball.

Greer passed the ball back to Wilk, who cleared the ball to Amonte-Hiller, who advanced the ball into the attacking zone. The Americans lost the ball but a violation of the goal circle by the Aussies gave Gallagher the ball on the goal line extended. Gallagher passed the ball up to Greer, who drove in from the top and scored her second goal of the game at 2:51.

The Aussies won the draw control and took the ball around the cage, where Jen Adams fed Sascha Newmarch, who bounced a shot into the cage at 3:41. Again the Aussies won the draw, and Adams again fed a cutter as Stacey Morlang scored 21 seconds later to tie the game. Kate Kaiser won the draw for the Americans but the Stars and Stripes lost the ball before the Aussies turned it right back over and Wilk was able to corral the loose ball in the goal circle. On the clear, the Americans lost the ball again but Kaiser caused a turnover and scooped up the ground ball to give the Stars and Stripes possession again. The Americans lost the ball again and the Australians advanced the ball into their offensive zone where they were awarded a free position shot. Wilk was up to the task, saving the shot but the Aussies retained possession with a ground ball. A second shot was saved by Wilk, and the Americans took the ball upfield were a charging call went against the Stars and Stripes, giving the Australians possession again.

At the other end of the field, Wilk caused a turnover and the Americans attempted a clear, but the Australians got the ball back and drew a foul. Sarah Forbes converted the free position shot, putting the Aussies up 3-2 at 11:57.

Amonte-Hiller won the draw to herself and got the ball to Quinn Carney, who in turn fed it wide to Sarah Nelson. Nelson led Amonte-Hiller with a pass, who dumped the ball into the arc to a waiting Kara Cooke. Cooke fired the ball into the net at 12:29, just 33 seconds after the Aussies took the lead, to tie the game.

Carney won the ensuing draw control and the Americans got off a quick shot from Crista Samaras that was saved, but the Canadians threw the ball out of bounds and Kaiser got control. The Americans subsequently turned the ball over, but Jo Connelly caused a turnover and Wilk was there for the ground ball. At the other end of the field the Americans shot but again the Aussies made the save, giving them possession. At their offensive end, Morlang shot but Wilk made the save. On the clear, the Americans lost the ball but the Aussies turned it right back over and Carney picked up the loose ball. Again the Americans lost the ball and got off a shot, but Wilk made the save and Carney came up with the ground ball.

At the other end of the field, Gallagher drove to the cage and fired a shot over her head with her back to the goal, scoring at 22:33 to give the Americans back the lead. The Aussies won the draw control and were awarded a free position, but the shot went wide and they set up again behind the cage. On an attempted feed from behind, Amonte-Hiller knocked down the pass and picked up the loose ball. The Americans worked the ball upfield and got off a shot but it was saved, giving the Aussies possession.

At the other end of the field, again the Aussies got off a shot but Wilk made the save again, keeping the USA with a 4-3 lead that they took into halftime.

The Aussies won the opening draw of the second half and got off a shot that was wide, but Amonte-Hiller corralled the ground ball. At the other end of the field, an American shot was saved and the Aussies marched the ball back to their offensive zone where Forbes was awarded a free position shot. Her attempt was saved by Wilk, who also got the ground ball behind the cage. The American clear was broken at the restraining line, and the Aussies were given a free position shot that Adams converted at 33:26 to tie the game. They won the ensuing draw, but the Sonia Judd shot was saved. The Aussies retained possession, but Connelly caused a turnover and the Americans took the ball upfield where a Cooke shot ricocheted off the pipe. Gallagher gathered the ground ball and the Americans set their offense.

Carney attacked the cage and drew a double team. She fed the ball to Gallagher, who dumped the ball into a wide-open Lauren Aumiller in the arc. Aumiller converted the pass and put the Americans back on top 5-4 at 36:41.

Sommar won the draw, but the Americans lost the ball and the Aussies tied the game again at 40:09 as Kate McHarg took the ball in from the top. The Aussies won the draw, but they threw it out of bounds and Amonte-Hiller was there to get the ground ball. An American shot was saved but Sarah Nelson was there to retain possession for the Yanks.

The Americans settled their attack, and on a drive to the cage, Samaras was fouled and given a free position shot. She fed the ball to Gallagher, who scored at 45:00 to take the lead again at 6-5. Nelson won the draw control, but the Americans lost the ball and the Aussies advanced the ball into their offensive zone where Wilk made a pair of saves on two Aussie shots to keep the one-goal lead. The teams traded turnovers, with Amonte-Hiller causing a turnover on an attempted feed to the arc and Wilk snaring the ground ball.

The Stars and Stripes took the ball upfield where they settled their attack with Gallagher setting up behind the cage. She passed the ball to Aumiller, who in turn fed a cutting Samaras. Samaras quicksticked the ball into the cage at 53:36, giving the USA a 7-5 lead. Amonte Hiller won the draw to herself, and the Americans attempted to run out the clock, but the Aussies scored a pair of goals in the final 1:41 to tie the game. First they rolled the crease at 58:19 to pull within one, and then won the draw control and scored with 17 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 7-7.

The Americans end pool play with a 3-0-1 goal differential. They wait for the result of the Australia-Wales game on Monday (June 27) to determine standing and schedule for the remainder of the IFWLA World Cup.