The Netherlands shocked the US 9-8 in the gold medal match in women’s water polo. Danielle de Bruijn scored seven goals, including the game-winner with 26 seconds remaining.
The Americans came to Beijing ranked No. 1 in the world and looked like they might get the gold medal that eluded them in Sydney (silver) and Athens (bronze).
But they could not stop de Bruijn. She scored the first two goals of the game — the Dutch led 4-0 before the US could blink — and added two more right after halftime to give her country a 7-5 lead.
PHOTO: AP
She also scored the last two, both on power plays.
The Americans had several chances to tie it up in the waning seconds, but Elsie Windes missed an outside shot and teammate Brenda Villa could not put home the rebound.
Earlier goalkeeper Emma Knox blocked Rita Dravucz’s final penalty shot in a shootout to give Australia a 12-11 victory over Hungary in the bronze medal match.
Dravucz could have sent the game into another set of penalty shots, but Knox lunged right and blocked her shot over the net.
Dravucz sat on the edge of the pool with tears rolling down her cheeks as she was consoled by teammates.
Australian coach Greg McFadden jumped into the pool and celebrated with his players.
It was the second women’s water polo medal for Australia in three Olympic Games. The team won gold in 2000 in Sydney.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to