The Aussie Stingers beat Canada 7-6 to claim the Bronze medal after not making the final yesterday when their win in a penalty shootout against Russia was not enough for them to earn a place in the final.
Canada upset Australia in the rounds and that came back to haunt them against Russia.

Canada opened this scoring and held the lead for the 1st quarter as Australia wasted too many of its scoring opportunities.

Australia finally got on the board with a ‘Taniele Gofers extra in the 2nd before Canada responded with their own extra man. Mia Santoromito evened up the game at 2-2 with a booming bounce shot from the right wing after a good cross pass from Amy Hetzel.

The 3rd quarter started with a quick ball to Gemma Beadsworth at centre forward who converted with a sharp shot to put Australia ahead for the 1st time. Canada then hit back straight away with a deflection shot before a Bronwen Knox penalty put Australia ahead again. Canada equalised again with a goal from extra before a Suzie Fraser goal in extra gave the lead back to Australia. Canada however responded with another extra to have the scores locked up at 5-5 heading into the last quarter.

A Bronwen Knox counter attack early in the 4th put the score back out to 1 but Canada fought back with another extra man goal to level it again. Missed opportunities by both teams saw the score remained locked until Australia’s player of the tournament Gemma Beadsworth scored a lob in extra with 2.20 remaining.
Canada called a timeout with 14 seconds left and fortunately Australia’s defence held and the Bronze Medal was Australia’s.

Coach McFadden said “While it was not pretty the team stuck together and got the result we were after. Missed opportunities really put pressure on us and with selections hanging over player’s heads this only added to the pressure”.
“Our defence was solid for most of the game and we should have built a good base for our counter attack around this.”
“There is still lot’s of improvement to come from everyone and hopefully once we settle on our Olympic team players will relax and play to their potential”.
Best players – G. Beadsworth, A. McCormack, & M. Santoromito
Goal scorers
Aust 7 – G.Beadsworth 2, B. Knox 2, M. Santoromito 1, S. Fraser 1, T. Gofers 1
Defeated Canada 6
A McCormack 12 saves
AUS Extra      4 from 10    Penalties     1 from 1
CAN Extra        4 from 9    Penalties     0 from 0
Didn’t play E. Knox, K. Gynther, J. Santoromito 

Other results    5th place        China 7 defeated Spain 5
Gold medal       Russia 7 defeated USA 6
 
Goalkeeper of the tournament     Betsy Armstrong USA
Player of the tournament                 Sofia Konukh     Russia

Stingers beat Russia but will only play for bronze
Santa Cruz del Tenerife, Spain (June 15).—
Australia will play Canada for the FINA World League Super Finals bronze despite beating Russia 14-13 here last night.

The win was achieved in a penalty shootout thus giving a vital point to Russia and giving the Aussie Stingers only two points for a penalty-shootout victory instead of the maximum three points in regular time. Three points would have tied for points with Russia and sent the Stingers through on the result between the two.

Head Coach'ds Report

Australia came from behind to beat Russia in a penalty shootout tody but unfortunately it was not enough to get them into the Gold Medal match against the USA tomorrow and will play for the Bronze medal against Canada.

Australia took the lead early in the 1st quarter and looked quite strong through a B. Knox counter attack goal but that didn’t last for too long and way too many mistakes in defence gave the Russians far too many opportunities and they held the lead 3-2 at the end of the 1st quarter.

The 2nd quarter was by far Australia’s worse and it was a fall back to the game against Canada in which Australia lost 2 days earlier. Australia could only manage 3 shots in this quarter as they lacked aggression and were very timid. The surprising thing was the lack of intensity in defence which allowed the Russians 10 shots on goals but fortunately Emma Knox was up to the challenge and kept Australia in the game at 6-4.

he 3rd quarter did not see any great improvement but somehow Australia managed to remain in the game and level the quarter 3-3.

Finally Australia decided to play with some passion and purpose in defence and got the score within one with 3 minutes remaining at 9-8. After missing some opportunities through lack of aggression Nikita Cuffe finally nailed the equaliser on counter attack at 1.16 in the quarter. Australia called a timeout with 43 seconds left and a move that was well executed was once again let down with a terrible pass that allowed Russia to regain possession.
Russia then called a time out and looked happy to play for the draw knowing that they would go through to the final because of Australia’s loss to Canada.

Emma Knox saved the 1st Russian penalty, while Nikita Cuffe, Sarah Mills, Gemma Beadsworth, Mia Santoromito and Jenna Santoromito all stepped up to the mark and converted their penalties for a 14-13 win.

Coach McFadden said “While the score line indicated that it was a tight exciting match, unfortunately for me it was very disappointing. I thought the girls had turned the corner, but I was wrong. Some players words speak louder than their actions and that is all they deliver, just words.”
“Most of our senior players did not step up today and we had to rely on a 20 year old in Gemma Beadsworth to keep us in the game.”
“Their is a high possibility of  a few selection shocks come next week when the Olympic team is announced”.
 “ If you can take anything out of today’s win is that imagine what the score could have been if we played to our potential”.
“The beauty about sport is that occasionally you get another chance to redeem yourself and tomorrow is that day against Canada”
Best players – G. Beadsworth, E. Knox, and N. Cuffe & J. Santoromito in patches.
M. Santoromito and S. Mills in defence.
Goal scorers
Aust 14 – N. Cuffe 4, , G.Beadsworth 3, J. Santoromito 2, M. Santoromito 1, M. Rippon 1, S. Fraser 1, S. Mills 1, B.Knox 1
Defeated
Russia 13
E. Knox 12 saves
AUS Extra      4 from 11    Penalties     5 from 5
USA Extra        3 from 6    Penalties     5 from 7
Didn’t play A. McCormack, K. Gynther, P.O’Neill

Other results   
Canada 9 defeated China 6
USA 11 defeated Spain 9

Aussie Stingers lose to Canad and beat Spain
Santa Cruz del Tenerife, Spain (June 14).—
The Aussie Stingers suffered a humiliating 7-6 loss to Canada on day three of the FINA World League Super Finals women's and rebounced with a resurgent 11-7 victory over Spain here last night.

Head coach Grege McFadden was unhappy with the team's performance against Canada, saying the only player worthy of mention as goalkeeper Emma Knox who made a multitude of saves, including thwarting three penalty goals. He was delighted with the return to form against Spain but it leaves the team with daunting prospect of having to beat Russia tomorrow to finish second in the round robin and play runaway favourite the USA in the final.

Australia v Spain report:

Australia bounced back against Spain today after yesterdays poor performance in which they lost to Canada.
The pressure for positions in the Olympic team and playing in front of a Spanish home crowd did not seem to bother the Australian’s and they always looked in control of the situation leading at every change.
They opened the scoring through a Bronwen Knox extra man shot, but unfortunately the Spanish struck straight back through an Australian mix up in defence allowing L. Lopez drive and then took the lead for the only time in the game after a A. Pardo extra.

This time Australia hit straight back with a G. Beadsworth CF goal and this was backed up with their very next attack with a R. Rippon drive from a good cross pass from her sister M. Rippon. An identical goal was scored their next attack through P. O’Neill but this time R. Rippon was the deliverer of the cross pass. Unfortunately L. Lopez scored a perimeter goal straight after to take the score to 4-3 at the end of the quarter.

The 2nd quarter started with good defence from both teams before Spain scored on extra through O. Mesgguar with 4.44 remaining to make the score 4-4. Australia then broke the dead lock with a great G. Beadsworth driving CF goal and then a S. Fraser perimeter shot opened up a 6-4 lead. Spain responded with a lucky M. Garcia CF goal after Australia had stolen the ball but unfortunately gave it straight back with 53 seconds left. However a S. Fraser goal straight away from the left wing regained the 2 goal buffer and Australia went to the main break 7-5.

Australia started strongly and S. Fraser completed a hat trick on extra on their 1st attack. Defence then dominated until 3.19 left in the 3rd before Spain scored an extra through A. Pardo but Australia responded immediately with a B. Knox extra to take a 9-6 lead and hold it until the end of the quarter.

Defence once again dominated until a M. Rippon earned penalty was converted by B. Knox for her third of the match but Spain hit straight back to keep them in the game with an A. Pardo perimeter shot.
Australia then put the match out of Spain’s hand with 1.45 remaining through and S. Fraser extra to take her tally to 4 for the match.

Coach McFadden said “What a difference 24 hours makes. A lot of soul searching was done after our loss to Canada and to the girls credit they put their words into action today”.
“ But one win doesn’t mean jack unless we back it up tomorrow and take the game to the Russians”
“ Our games v’s Russia sees the 2nd & 3rd placegetters at last year’s world championships up against each other for the right to play the USA in the final on Sunday.”
“ We definitely want to be that team and that will mean that we have played in the last 4 major completion Gold Medal matches.”
 “ These games are normally very entertaining with some great goals and I hope that we are up for the challenge tomorrow.”
Best players – G. Beadsworth, S. Fraser, A. Hetzel, M. Rippon & A. McCormack
Goal scorers
Aust 11 – S. Fraser 4, B.Knox 3, G.Beadsworth 2, R. Rippon 1, P. O’Neill 1
Defeated
Spain 7 – A. Pardo 3, L. Lopez 2,  O. Mesgguar 1, M. Garcia 1
A. McCormack 7 saves
AUS Extra      4 from 8    Penalties     1 from 1
USA Extra        3 from 12    Penalties     0 from 0
Didn’t play V. Brown, K. Gynther, T. Gofers

Other results:  
Russia 10 defeated China 8
USA 6 defeated Canada 5

Canada v Australia report:
This match concluded with a 7-6 victory for Canada over Australia in the first game on Day 3 at the Acidalio Lorenzo swimming pool in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands. The Australians (defending silver medallists from 2007) scored first, but it wasn’t long before Katrina Monton tied the match for Canada at 1-1.  With a draw, Canada continued to gain force and they were able to win the match, even though they missed three penalties and a lot of opportunities. Team Australia just did not have a good day and were not able to play at the level they have demonstrated on other occasions where they have reached the podium. With this result, Canada and Australia are now drawn with three points each in the classification. Essentially, the game was close throughout, and these teams appeared to be almost evenly matched. Canada gained their edge in the first half, when they were at their strongest, and they managed to hold-out their lead until the end. The third and fourth quarters however, resulted in a 1-1 tie and a score of 2-1 for Australia, respectively, although it was not enough to overcome Canada.  Top-scorers for Canada were Joeile Bekkazi and Dominique Perreault, with two points each, while on the Australian side, Gemma Beadsworth netted three.

Best player: Emma Knox with three penalty saves. 

AUS Extra      1 from 6    Penalties     1 from 2
USA Extra        2 from 7    Penalties     0 from 3
Didn’t play V. Brown, K. Gynther, B. Knox 

Other results:
USA 12 China 9
Russia 15 Spain 9

Stingers rebound with 10-8 win over China
Santa Cruz del Tenerife, Spain (June 12).—
The Aussie Stingers bounced back from their defeat to world champion United States of America on day one of the FINA World League Super Finals to beat China 10-8 here last night.

In a game of complete contrast from the previous day Australia got over the top of China 10-8 to notch up their 1st win of the World League Finals.

It was a real swimathon as the referees blew 21 turnovers & 26 exclusions during the game, 28 of them against Australia. This was more than double compared to the USA match the previous day.

The 1st quarter started with a double exclusion against Australia in which they defended but then two offensive turnovers and another exclusion saw them under the pump very early. However after all this they were able to respond and score the 1st 2 goals through a G. Beadsworth with their 1st extra man and a m. Rippon CA.
China hit back though with a L. Ying Qiao perimeter lob and a L. Gao counter to level at 2-2 by the end of the 1st quarter.

At 5.34 China took the lead in the 2nd quarter through a Y. Yun Sun counter before two N. Cuffe goals. The first from Centre forward and the 2nd on extra saw Australia hold the lead at 4-3 by the major break.
The 3rd quarter did not see any change to the score line as the game went end to end until China levelled through a L. Ying Qiao extra which was replied to with an A. Hetzel extra. China quickly converted another 2 of their extra man opportunities through Y. He and another L. Ying Qiao, Captain M. Rippon then took matters into her own hands and scored a crucial perimeter bounce shot to level the scores at the end of the 3rd.

Australia then took the early advantage with a N. Cuffe centre forward goal from a nice R. Rippon assist and quickly backed this up with another M. Rippon bounce this time on extra. China answered with another L. Gao extra but Australia scored straight away with a M. Santoromito boomer to regain a 2 goal lead with 4.44 remaining.
China reduced this back to one t 3.46 from another Y. Yun Sun extra this time after a time out but a nicely worked and patient extra man goal by S. Fraser at 2.34 regained the 2 goal advantage and Australia controlled the match for the remaining 2 minutes.

Coach McFadden said “Today was a very frustrating game to coach with the number of turnovers and exclusions in comparison to yesterdays game, so you have to feel for the players..”
“ What was really pleasing was we hung in there and kept on fighting and our extra man defence really stood up.”
 “All of the players showed a great fighting spirit and while we made mistakes, they still kept on attacking and wanting to work in defence. This attitude got us a win in tough circumstances.”

Best players – Mel Rippon, Nikita Cuffe, A. Hetzel, & V. Brown
Goal scorers
Aust 9 –  N. Cuffe 3, M. Rippon 3, S. Fraser 1, A. Hetzel 1, G.Beadsworth 1, M. Santoromito 1
Defeated
China 8 – L. Ying Qiao 3, L. Gao 2, Y. Yun Sun 2, Y. He 1
V. Brown 7 saves
AUS Extra      5 from 10         Penalties     0 from 0  
USA Extra        5 from 13        Penalties     0 from 0
Didn’t play      B. Knox, K. Gynther, E. Knox

Other results    USA 10 defeated Russia 5
Spain 12 defeated Canada  10

Result:
FINA World League Super Finals, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, day 2:
Australia 10 (M Rippon, N Cuffe 3, G Beadsworth, S Fraser, M Santoromito, A Hetzel) China 8, USA 10 Russia 6, Spain 12 Canada 10.
Progress points: USA 6, Spain 5, Australia 3, Russia 3, China 1, Canada 0.

Stingers lose opening World League match to USA
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain (June 10).—
In another epic struggle against the USA, Australia tasted defeat for the first time in nine games against the USA tonight in Tenerife, going down 10-9. 

Playing in the FINA World League Super Finals, it was a sea sawing game with the biggest lead of the game being only 2 goals.

Australia started spectacularly through a T. Gofers bounce shot on counter and then followed this up with a M. Rippon extra. But the USA hit back straight away through a N. Golda extra and a H. Petrie perimeter shot before Australia once again took the lead with a rocket B. Knox bounce shot. A USA extra goal by J. Steffens levelled the scores at 3-3 to end the quarter.

The 2nd quarter saw the USA start strongly and a goal from E. Widnes counter opened the scoring. A fantastic G. Beadsworth goal from drive levelled before the USA hit back with 2 counter attack goals from H. Petrie and L. Wenger for a 6-4 lead.
Australia then hit back with a B. Knox extra but missed a chance to draw level when B. Armstrong saved a G. Beadsworth penalty shot. However, the next attack saw a N.Cuffe counter attack lob level the scores at 6-6 to end the scoring at the main break.

Once again the USA opened the scoring with their 1st attack through an H. Petrie extra before a B. Rippon counter attack goal levelled the scores again.
Australia then took the lead again through a S. Fraser cross cage perimeter shot at 4.50 left in the period. Both teams defence held tight for the remainder of the quarter and Australia took a 8-7 lead into the last.

Australia’s defensive intensity dropped and the USA were quick to take advantage through a N. Golda perimeter shot in the 1st attack, which were quickly followed by a B. Villa counter and a P. Cardenas perimeter with 4.17 remaining for a 10-8 lead.
Two great scoring opportunities were created through a P. O’Neill counter and a N. Cuffe centre forward but unfortunately 2 good saves were made by B. Armstrong.
N. Cuffe finally got the score back to 1 with a quick extra with 3.23 left and still plenty of time for Australia to win the match.
Australia earned an extra with 52 seconds left and after a timeout call a B. Knox shot was saved that would have levelled the score and the USA controlled possession for a 10-9 win.

Coach Greg McFadden said “Today was very frustrating as we never showed any form of consistency.

“We started fantastically then had too many lapses in defence. Certain areas of our defence that we talked about prior to the game were not carried out and when you give the USA those opportunities you are going to pay.

“We also missed some critical shots at crucial times of the game which only made it harder for ourselves.

“I can’t remember the last time a game against the USA was not decided by more than 1 or 2 goals and the team that makes the least defensive errors always comes out on top.”

Best players – Nikita Cuffe & Taniele Gofers
Goal scorers
USA 10 – H. Petrie 3, N. Golda 2, B. Villa 1, l. Wenger 1, P. Cardenas 1, j. Steffens 1, E. Widnes 1
Defeated
Aust 9 – B.Knox 2, N. Cuffe 2, M. Rippon 1, R. Rippon 1, S. Fraser 1, T. Gofers 1, G.Beadsworth 1,
E. Knox 5 saves
AUS Extra      3 from 6    Penalties     0 from 1
USA Extra        3 from 8    Penalties     0 from 0

Didn’t play A. McCormack, K. Gynther, S. Mills

Other results   
Russia 15 defeated Canada 7
Spain 10 defeated China 9 Penalty shootout (6-6 full time score)

Stingers fronting USA in World League Super Finals opener
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain (June 10).—
The Aussie Stingers’ quest for Olympic gold hots up when they clash with world champion United States of America in the opening match of the FINA World League Super Finals here tomorrow.

The two best teams in the world and the finalists in this event in Montreal, Canada last year, will show their hands in the week-long event pitting the two best teams from Asia-Oceania, the Americas and Europe.

The Stingers have had a long run of success against the USA since losing that final in Montreal and hope to continue the run through this event.

Following the USA match, Australia will play China, who finished second in their zone, Canada, Spain and then Russia, who cleaned up the European zone.

The top two teams will then play the final.

The Super Finals are the last major hit-out for the Stingers before a series of matches around the globe in the run-in to the Olympic Games.

Stingers beat Spain in World League warm-up
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain (June 9).—
Australia's women defeated an under strength Spain 15-8 last night in a Friendly Test match here in Tenerife.

After a poor 1st quarter in which Australia won 5-4, they got their act together in defence and with goals from Fraser, Gofers and Mills lead 8-5 at the change of ends.

A good start to the 3rd saw them score the next 3 goals through Knox, Mills and M. Rippon to take the score to 11-5 but unfortunately poor defensive errors allowed the Spanish the final 2 goals in the last 2 minutes of the quarter.

Goals from Beadsworth, R.Rippon, Fraser and O’Neill saw Australia close out the game with a 4-1 final quarter.

Coach McFadden said “It’s very rare when you win a game by 7 goals that you are annoyed but tonight that was the case. Silly mistakes from some of our senior players was extremely disappointing”.

“How do you expect our junior players to learn when the senior players are repeated offenders of crucial errors and cannot carry out simple instructions.”

Best players – Gemma Beadsworth, Patrice O’Neill, Victoria Brown & Rebecca Rippon.

Goal scorers
Aust 15 – P.O’Neill 2, G. Beadsworth’ 2, S. Fraser 2, R. Rippon 2, , B. Knox 2, S. Mills 2, M.Rippon 1, N. Cuffe 1, T. Gofers 1 defeated Spain 8 
 
Alicia McCormack 1 save
Victoria Brown 8 saves
 
AUS Extra    5 from 8    Penalties     1 from 1
Spain Extra    2 from 9   Penalties     1 from 2
 
Didn’t play K. Gynther, E. Knox, J. Santoromito  

National Women's squad - Super Final World League
Hobart (May 29) -
The National Women's Squad for the Super Final of the FINA Women's World League to be held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, 10 - 15 June 2008 was announced today.

Melissa Rippon (Brisbane Barracudas), Victoria Brown (Brisbane Barracudas), Suzie Fraser (KFC Breakers), Amy Hetzel (KFC Breakers), Bronwen Knox (KFC Breakers), Kate Gynther (Brisbane Barracudas), Sarah Mills (KFC Breakers), Rebecca Rippon (Balmain Tigers), Patrice O’Neill (Cronulla Sharks), Mia Santoromito (Cronulla Sharks), Jenna Santoromito (Cronulla Sharks), Nikita Cuffe (Sydney Uni Lions), Taniele Gofers (Sydney Uni Lions), Alicia McCormack (Cronulla Sharks), Gemma Beadsworth (Fremantle Marlins) and Emma Knox (Fremantle Marlins).

 Click here for the draw of the Super League Finals