San Jose, CA - August 12 - The USA Women beat Australia 11-10 in a thriller tonight from San Jose. Hometown hero Jenna Flynn scored five goals, including the game-winner, and goalkeeper Isabel Williams tallied 11 saves. The home stand now shifts south to Irvine, CA where Team USA and New Zealand will face off on August 21 at Woollett Aquatic Center at 7pm pt. The match will stream live on Overnght with live stats available from 6-8 Sports.
Flynn wasted no time in her hometown as she scored the game's first goal on a power play. Australia answered but Flynn helped the Americans regain an early lead with a penalty shot strike. Rosalie Hassett extended the advantage before an Australian penalty shot goal left the score at 3-2 after one quarter.
The visitors leveled quickly in the second but Flynn responded midway through the period with a sidearm score for a first half hat trick. Ella Woodhead extended the lead on a nice redirect goal before a late Australian goal left Team USA with a 5-4 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Jewel Roemer opened the scoring followed quickly by an Aussie goal. The Stingers scored the next two as well for three straight goals and the first lead of the contest. Ryann Neushul and Jordan Raney scored late with an Australian goal sandwiched in between for an 8-8 tie headed into the final frame.
Nearly three minutes into the fourth period, Neushul scored again for the United States. Australia answered with back-to-back goals to regain a late lead before Flynn struck again. First, she tied the game with 1:45 to play off an assist from Roemer. Then, after a nice save from Williams to keep things knotted up, the Americans called timeout to set up a 7-on-6 chance at the end of the game. After some crisp ball movement, Flynn fired a rocket into the back of the net as time expired to send the crowd into a frenzy and claim an 11-10 victory.
Team USA went 2/10 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Australia went 1/9 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties.
Scoring - Stats
USA 11 (3, 2, 3, 3) J. Flynn 5, R. Neushul 2, R. Hassett 1, J. Raney 1, J. Roemer 1, E. Woodhead 1
AUS 10 (2, 2, 4, 2) A. Williams 3, A. Andrews 2, T. Kearns 2, S. Hearn 2, C. Andrews 1
Saves - USA - I. Williams 11 - AUS - G. Palm 5, C. Durston 4
6x5 - USA - 2/10 - AUS - 1/9
Penalties - USA - 1/1 - AUS - 2/2
