
Our day started off early with our first game against Canada women. We knew this would be a good game and we would have to play our game well, and we did. We won with a final score of 5-3.
The second game of the day was against Australia. They came out hard and we were exchanging points for a while. We finished with winning score of 3-2.
Our third game of the day was the last of the round robin/pod play and was against The Melting Pot. We had heard rumors that they were gunning for us so we were ready for a rough game. We played hard and played our game. The final score was 6-1, and we were going into the playoffs undefeated.
Since we were seeded number one, our team had to ref two games in a row in two playing areas. This meant that the majority of our team would be in the water without playing. Not exactly rest time, but that was what the schedule was for the day. We were not thrilled, but we made it work.
We had a few game break before playoffs started. Our first playoff game was against New Zealand. This was a tough game. New Zealand came out strong scoring the first (and only goal) in the first couple of minutes of the game. There was a lot of back and forth in the pool and we were doing a good job shutting down their swings. We unfortunately were just unable to get the puck in the trough when we were in their end. This was our first loss of the tournament with a score of 0-1. This was an important game. This took us out of the final game playing for 1/2 to playing for 3/4.
We only had a one game break before our final game playing for 3rd place against Canada. We had a team meeting and revisited our strategy and our team strengths. The game started fast, both teams wanted it. It was a tough game, but Team USA was able to hold it together and we made some beautiful plays that lead to goals. It was a great close game with a final score of 3-2. We brought home third place!
After the final game we took some cold showers and went to the Luau Banquet. It was a fun week and we are sad to be going back to real life.