Aug. 6, 2012

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STANFORD, Calif. - Rachel Buehler and Kelley O'Hara featured in the U.S. women's soccer team's dramatic 4-3 come-from-behind win at Old Trafford to highlight Monday's Olympic action. The win puts the U.S. into Thursday's Gold Medal Final against Japan.

In Women's Soccer action...
Seconds from having to withstand a penalty-kick shootout to reach the gold-medal final, the United States got a stoppage-time header from Alex Morgan in the 123rd minute to beat Canada, 4-3, at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.

The U.S., which also featured defensive starters Rachel Buehler '07 and Kelley O'Hara '10, never led until Morgan's winner. The U.S. will play Japan, a 1-0 winner over France in the other semifinal, on Thursday at 11:45 a.m. PT. It will be a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final, won by Japan in Germany.

O'Hara, the left outside back, continued her streak of playing every minute of every match -- one of three U.S. players to do so -- even though she was forced to step off the field in overtime after a collision forced her to receive treatment. O'Hara sparked several attacks up the left flank, and Buehler, who was replaced in the second overtime shortly after landing awkwardly in another collision, was a stalwert in central defense.

Canada took the lead three times on goals by Christine Sinclair, but the U.S. answered back on two goals by Megan Rapinoe and another on Abby Wambach's penalty kick that tied the score at 3-3, forcing 30 minutes of overtime.

In Synchronized Swimming action...
Team USA's Maria Koroleva ('14) and Mary Killman have advanced to the synchronized swimming duet final at the Aquatics Centre in London's Olympic Park.

The U.S. duet, making their Olympic debut, scored 88.270 points to place 11th in the free routine on Monday, and they are in 10th place in the overall standings at 176.170. The pair tallied 44.200 points for technical merit and 44.070 for artistic impression.

The final begins Tuesday at 7 a.m. PT. The medal standings in the final are based on the combined points from the free routine in the final and the preliminary technical routine. Russia, China and Spain lead the field of 12 heading into the finals, respectively.

In Track & Field action...
Jillian Camarena-Williams competed in qualifying of the women's shot put, placing eighth in Group A and failing to qualify for the final. Camarena-Williams tossed 59-5 ½ (18.12m) and was just over a foot out of the final qualifying position. She had been one of Stanford's top hopes for a medal in track & field, having won bronze in the same event at the 2011 World Championships. At that meet, Camaren-Williams became the first American female to ever medal at the World Championships in the shot put.

In Men's Water Polo action...
The U.S. dropped its second straight match Monday, an 11-6 decision to Hungary.

Tony Azevedo, Layne Beaubien and Peter Hudnut each scored a goal for the U.S. in the loss, with Hudnut's being his first of the Olympics. Peter Varellas also saw action in the contest.

After a tight first period that ended with Hungary up 1-0, the Hungarians surged for five goals in the second frame to take a commanding 6-2 halftime lead.

Azevedo got the U.S. on the board with a five-meter penalty shot with 4:40 to go before the half, cutting the Hungarian lead to three at 4-1. But the Hungarians were on a mission and would increase their lead to 10-3 by the end of the third frame.

Beuabien and Hudnut scored the final two goals of the game in the final 3:27.

After being atop Group B after the first three games of the tournament, the two straight losses to end pool play dropped the U.S. to fourth position in the group. The U.S. faces a difficult quarterfinal test Wednesday against Group A winner Croatia. Start time for Wednesday's quarterfinal is TBD.