2012 London Olympics: Goalie Merrill Moses Stands Tall in U.S. Men’s Water Polo Win Over Montenegro
We have all heard the old adage, “defense wins championships,” and for the U.S. Men’s Olympic Water Polo team it is a motto in which they intend to live if they are going to capture the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics. It doesn’t hurt that they have arguably the worlds best goalie, Merrill Moses, defending the net.
Moses and Team U.S.A. were stellar in the 8-7 win over Montenegro. Peter Varellas scored three goals and Moses made 11 saves, several of them spectacular, for the U.S.
Since taking silver at the Beijing Games, the U.S. team has not won a medal at a major competition. This time around they are prepared to stop at nothing to win the gold.
The game was close throughout and wasn’t decided until the final minute of play. Tony Azevedo scored a goal with just 57 seconds to give team U.S. the lead for good. Not before some late game drama left the game in doubt.
With the clock winding down in the fourth quarter, Azevedo fired a perfectly placed shot from far outside of the five-meter mark to give Team U.S.A a seemingly insurmountable 8-6 lead. But, just 11 seconds later Montenegro’s Vladimir Gojkovic answered back with a goal of his own to cut the deficit to one.
On the following possession American Ryan Bailey turned the ball over on a foul, giving Montenegro an opportunity to spoil Moses and Team U.S.A’s outstanding day.
However, the American defense was relentless, as they had been all game, pressuring Montenegro until the final seconds ticked harmlessly off the clock without giving up another shot on goal.
Despite playing a solid game all-around , Team U.S.A. would not have won this game without the effort of Moses. He had the Montenegro shooters guessing the entire game and when they did have a bead on net, Moses stood tall. Literally. The America goalie used his incredible lower-body strength to elevate nearly his entire body out of the water. Moses even appeared to stop a shot with his knee at one point.
It was an excellent start to the Olympic games for Team U.S.A. After winning the silver medal in 2008 they vowed to seek out redemption in 2012. The team moved one step closer on Sunday.
Team U.S.A.’s next opponent is Romania on Tuesday.
Follow me on Twitter! @StevePalumboNHL
Email me at [email protected]
