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Cerritos
College assistant women’s water polo coach Brenda
Villa scored an amazing goal (her third of the game)
with less than a minute left in the fourth period to
give the United States women’s water polo team a 9-8
victor over Australia on Tuesday in the semi-finals of
the Olympics at Yingdong Natatorium in China. The win by
the Americans sends them to the gold medal match against
the Netherlands, which will be played August 21 at 3:20
a.m. PST.
With about a
minute to go and the game tied at 8-8, the Americans
were on the attack. Villa got the ball at about 15-feet
out. She went for the left side of the cage and skipped
the ball past the Australian goalkeeper for the eventual
game-winning goal.
"I saw an opening and I took it," Villa said later.
"I knew that was probably the best look we would get."
The Aussies had
one last chance to tie the game, but their final shot
was deflected, sending the Americans to the goal medal
game.
The win over Australia avenged
the team’s loss in the gold medal match at the 2000
Sydney Olympics, which was the first of three Olympics
for Villa, who has spent the last three years as an
assistant coach with the Falcon women’s water polo team
under Sergio Macias. In 2000, Villa was on the
team that won the silver medal, while in 2004, they
captured the bronze medal in the Athens Olympics.
Her playing career started with Villa being a
four-time 1st Team All-American playing on
the Bell Gardens High boys water polo team, Villa also
spent three seasons on the Stanford University water
polo team and played internationally from 1996-2003,
competing all over the world. In March
of 2007, Villa led the USA Women's National Water Polo
Team in Melbourne Australia at the 2007 FINA World Water
Polo Championships. Villa scored a total of 11 goals
throughout the whole tournament helping Team USA achieve
first place naming them the 2007 FINA World Champions.
She also helped lead the team to the 2007 Pan Am
Games that qualified them for the Beijing Olympics in
2008.
As an attacker in international competition, Villa
was one of most experienced members of the Team USA
squad, as she helped lead them to 1st Place
in the Holiday Cup, Pan American Games and FINA World
Championships in 2003. Villa led the team with 10 goals
at the 2003 Pan American Games, including two in the
gold medal win over Canada, which qualified them for the
Athens Olympics. Additionally, she was named to the
Media All-World Team at the 2002 World Cup and was a
member of the 2002 Sydney Olympic team that won a silver
medal.
While at Stanford, she was named the MPSF Player of the Year in 2003
and was a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award after
winning the award the year prior. In her three seasons
with the Cardinal, she finished with 172 goals and was a
finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman
of the Year in 2002 after leading her team with 60 goals
on their way to the NCAA championship. In her freshman
season, she led the team with 69 goals as the team lost
in the NCAA championship game. That season, Villa was
also honored as the NCAA Division I Water Polo Player of
the Year and was the MPSF Co-Player of the Year as a
freshman. |
