Greece Wins Historic World League Crown

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Greece Wins Historic World League Crown

Δημοσίευσηαπό Lambros10 » Δευτ Αύγ 22, 2005 12:37 pm

Greece Wins Historic World League Crown

Today - Eftychia Karagianni carried Greece to the II FINA Women’s World League Super Final crown when she scored five goals in the 13-10 victory over Russia here tonight. Olympic silver medallist Greece went one placing higher on the podium, gaining its first title in any form of FINA competition. For Russia it could also have achieved that rare feat.

Greece rode the wave of success with a 4-0 third quarter in a high-scoring game, pitting two fine teams together. Unlike the bronze-medal match where goalkeepers played a huge part in the game, in the final it was the shooters.

The two women who have dominated the shooting in this year’s edition of the league — Elena Smurova (RUS) and Antigoni Roumpesi (GRE) could not be separated, scoring 31 goals each. Smurova had a chance to take the title out alone in the final minute but the shot went wide. Roumpesi scored three in the final to equal the honour.

While Karagianni was racking up the goals for Greece, Russian captain Sofia Konukh played her way to the Most Valuable Player award of the Super Finals with three goals and some fancy play around the pool. Her enthusiasm and determination proved a vital factor in keeping the team in with a chance.

But on the night it was Greece with a five-goal burst from the second to the third quarters, that sealed Russia’s fate.
A packed house was hushed as the last barrage of Russian shots failed to find their mark. Even a late hat-trick by Maria Yaina was not enough to deny Greece’s place in history.

Head coach Kyriakos Iosifidis was ecstatic with the victory: “This is the second best result for Greece,” saying the Olympic silver medal in Athens last year still rated No 1. ”It is our first victory in a FINA event and I am very, very pleased for the girls.”

Australia won the bronze medal with a 6-4 margin over world champion Hungary in a game where Aussie goalkeeper Alicia McCormack was the deciding factor. She must have gone close to being named Goalkeeper of the Super Finals but that award went to Canada’s Rachel Riddell. She proved her worth by restricting the United States of America to just a 6-3 victory in the fifth-place play-off.

In the play-off for seventh, the Netherlands beat Olympic champion Italy 11-6 with Mieke van der Sloot scoring four for the Dutch and Jessica Masi four for the Italians.

Final Standings

1. Greece
2. Russia
3. Australia
4. Hungary
5. USA
6. Canada
7. Netherlands
8. Italy

MVP: Sofia Konukh (Russia)
Best Goalie: Rachel Riddel (Canada)
Top Goal Scorers: Joint winners - Elena Smurova (RUS) and Antigoni Roumpesi (GRE) with 31.


source: FINA Press Releases
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