Aussies lose to U.S. men

Tony Azevedo ran his Olympic scoring total up to 12 goals with a hat

trick against Australia on Friday at the Olympic Aquatic Centre Main

Pool.

At stake was a chance to play for seventh place at the 2004 Athens

Summer Olympic Games, and Azevedo’s team-high three goals helped push

Team USA to a 6-5 win over Australia and into that seventh-place

match.

The rest of the U.S. men’s scoring came from first-time Olympian

Jesse Smith, who scored a pair, including Team USA’s sixth goal, and

three-time Olympian Wolf Wigo. That offensive output was bolstered by

12 saves from U.S. goalie Brandon Brooks. UC Irvine product Genai

Kerr also played in goal.

The U.S. men will play either Italy or Croatia on Sunday morning

for seventh place.

The last time Team USA faced the Aussies was during FINA World

League play, and Australia edged out the U.S. men in a penalty

shootout. This time, the United States made sure to get the job done

in regulation, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and never trailing despite

the Aussies late comeback attempt.

Brooks and Australian goalie James Stanton both notched saves

against the 6-on-5 to open the game, but Brooks’ second save of the

game sent Team USA off on the counterattack, and Smith finished off

the attack with a score to take a 1-0 USA lead at 3:58 in the first

quarter.

The USA’s last-second specialist Azevedo struck at the close of

the period, skipping in a 6-on-5 strike to close out the first

quarter at 2-0.

Brooks’ fifth save of the game sparked another U.S. counterattack,

and Azevedo earned an exclusion on the way down to get Team USA

another power play. Former UCI standout Ryan Bailey’s shot slammed

off the crossbar, however, leaving it at 2-0. He later put up a solid

field block against an Aussie shot attempt to help smother one

Australian possession.

“Usually at the Olympics I am under some psychological pressure at

this time to win a medal,” U.S. coach Ratko Rudic said. “Now I’m

under the pressure of having the team finish strong in the

tournament, so this is a new situation for me. I’m learning

something, too.”