The Australian Stingers have won the six nations tournament in Rio after defeating the USA 13-10 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the gold medal match this morning.
In one of the closest games of the week-long tournament, the Aussie Stingers stayed true to form to keep the pressure on a tough USA outfit.
Coach Greg McFadden was pleased with the team’s performance in what was a fiercely contested game.
“The first half we played really well, a couple of silly mistakes kept the Americans in the game.
“Second half especially, the last quarter, the Americans came back hard… they got a goal ahead but we kept equalising.
“Then we scored a goal with 20 seconds to go to equalise the game and force it into a penalty shootout. The girls all stepped up, scored their penalties and magnificent,” said McFadden.
Australia positioned themselves well in the first half to hold a narrow one goal (4-3) lead at half time. By the end of the third quarter the scores were deadlocked at 5-5.
In the final quarter both teams fought hard with the USA drawing the first goal and subsequent advantage. The Aussies were determined not to let them pull away however and for every goal the USA managed, Australia stuck back with one of their own right up to the full time buzzer, which saw the scores once again locked 9-9.
The teams moved into penalty shootout with the Aussies winning the coin toss and Rowie Webster scoring first for the Stingers. The Aussies’ precision was too much for the US, with Gofers, Southern and WAIS athlete Gemma Beadsworth all successfully scoring to give the Aussies the 13-10 victory.
The strong performances by the Aussie squad throughout the tournament was also recognised at the awards ceremony afterwards where Kelsey Wakefield was awarded ‘Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ and Ashley Southern named ‘Highest Goal Scorer’.
Beadsworth was joined in the Stingers squad by fellow WAIS athletes; Glencora McGhie, Zoe Arancini and Lilian Hedges.
The six nation tournament saw the Stingers win five games and draw one, dominating over the past six days.
-WaterPoloAus
