De Bruijn’s Exit Opens Door for U.S. Women

The U.S. advanced to the championship game of the Holiday Cup women’s water polo tournament with a 12-4 victory Saturday over the Netherlands at the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Center.

The U.S. will play Canada in the final today at 7:45 p.m. The Canadians defeated the U.S., 5-4, in an opening-round game Wednesday.

The turning point against the Netherlands came late in the first half, when Danielle de Bruijn, the tournament’s leading scorer at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was disqualified after earning her third exclusion foul of the game.

De Bruijn’s exit came with the score tied, 4-4, and two minutes remaining in the first half. She had scored three goals for the Netherlands when she was whistled for her third foul.

Within a minute of the ejection, U.S. captain Heather Moody scored twice, and Kathy “Gubba” Sheehy scored with 13 seconds remaining in the half to give the U.S. a 7-4 halftime lead.

Margie Dingeldein and Amber Stachowski scored goals in the third quarter to give the U.S. a 9-4 lead.