Livermore, CA - June 9 - The Team USA Women opened play in an exhibition series against Greece with a 9-8 victory tonight. Jewel Roemer notched a hat trick while Amanda Longan recorded eight saves in net. A replay of the game can be found here.
Early on in the opening quarter, Elena Xenaki scored to put Greece on the board first. Roughly six minutes of great defense followed before Ryann Neushul earned a penalty and Maddie Musselman converted to level the score at 1-1 after one.
The two sides traded goals to begin the second period, first from Eirini Ninou for Greece and then Tara Prentice for the United States. From there, Roemer took things into her own hands with back-to-back goals for Team USA. Musselman extended the lead before Maria Myriokefalitaki answered to make the score 5-3 in favor of the Americans at halftime.
In the third quarter, Eleftheria Plevritou snuck one past Longan on a penalty attempt and then Ninou tied the score with 3:31 on the clock. Team USA regained the advantage on the ensuing possessions when Jenna Flynn and Roemer stepped up to knock down a pair of penalty shots. Myriokefalitaki got her second of the contest for the Greeks before Neushul ended the quarter with a beautiful lob that pushed the United States ahead 8-6.
Plevritou cut the deficit in half to begin the final frame and minutes later Nikoleta Eleftheriadou found the back of the net from a penalty try to knot the score. With 5:42 left to play, Prentice deposited her second goal of the game and the eventual game-winner. With a one goal lead late in the game, Longan came up with a big save to preserve the win for Team USA, 9-8.
Scoring - Stats via 6-8 Sports
USA 9 (1, 4, 3, 1) J. Roemer 3, M. Musselman 2, T. Prentice 2, R. Neushul 1, J. Flynn 1
GRE 8 (1, 2, 3, 2) E. Plevritou 2, E. Ninou 2, M. Myriokefalitaki 2, N. Eleftheriadou 1, E. Xenaki 1
6-on-5: USA 0/10, GRE 0/5
Penalties: USA 3/3, GRE 3/3
Saves: USA 8 (A. Longan), GRE 6 (C. Diamantopoulou 4, I. Stamatopoulou 2)
