Posted on: Saturday, May 14, 2005
'Bows win opener at national championship
By James V. Dowd
Special to The Advertiser
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Watching the fourth-ranked University of Hawai'i water polo team trudge through thunderstorms and hail into Canham Natatorium for last night's 12-8 victory against No. 7 Loyola Marymount in the National Collegiate Water Polo Championships, it seemed that there was no way it would find a home in a pool more than 4,000 miles from home.
But after losing the opening sprint to Loyola Marymount, the Rainbow Wahine took control of the contest and never looked back.
Sophomore Amy Logan gave Hawai'i an early lead when she fooled Loyola Marymount goalie Rachel Riddell with a pump fake and scored on a shot across the net into the low right corner.
Rainbow Wahine coach Michel Roy had worked with Riddell — a 2004 Olympian — while coaching the Canadian national team, and knew that stopping low shots was her weakness.
"(Riddell) was my No. 1 worry out of LMU," Roy said. "Blocking-wise she's very good. She's got strong legs so she's good at blocking high corners. We did mention to go low, and it was the low shot that got in. So it's an advantage to know who you're playing against."
After Loyola Marymount junior Stacia Peterson scored an equalizer just 13 seconds later, the Rainbow Wahine controlled the remainder of the first period, opening up a 3-1 lead with goals from freshman Iefke Van Belkum and senior Darcy Scott-Hosaka.
In the second period, Hawai'i continued to control play, patiently working the ball around the perimeter of the Loyola Marymount defense to take a 6-3 lead into halftime.
Van Belkum believes patience was the key to her team's ability to jump to an early lead.
"We've practiced for a long time and we're just ready to play together," Van Belkum said. "We see the open spots and we know where to go and know who's open. If you just wait and pass the ball to the one that's open, it's easy."
Roy said Van Belkum and her teammates have grown increasingly comfortable with their patient offensive style, knowing that they can rely on their outside shooting to score goals.
"At first when we started to play together, it was anxiety that made us play fast and quick," Roy said. "But once we got to know each other, we just calmed down. We've got great outside shooters so we just make the goalie move and we have better opportunities. They did that very well today."
In the second half, the Rainbow Wahine came out strong, scoring five goals in the third period and putting the game out of reach.
Hawai'i freshman Monika Kruszona added an exclamation point with a rocket that bounced off of the post and in, giving her team a 9-4 lead.
"I'm not sure if you saw the goal that (Kruszona) scored, the triple dinger, but that's power," Roy said "It's called firepower and she has it."
The Rainbow Wahine will face No. 1 UCLA at 10:30 a.m. (Hawai'i time) today. UCLA knocked off Wagner, 22-2, in its opening game and have defeated Hawai'i three times this season.
