Spain and USA surf into women's 4x4 final

Overview

In the classification 1-4 semifinals, USA was too strong for Australia 3-0 after a tight first quarter that went to golden goal with the next two sets blowouts. Spain won 3-0 over Russia in a low-scoring affair where two periods were decided by one goal and the third by two.

In the classification 5-8 semifinals, Turkiye bumped off Greece 3-0 and Croatia spanked South Africa 3-0.

Match Reports

Classification 1-4 Semifinals
Match 23, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 3 AUSTRALIA 0 (4-3, 5-0, 7-1)

USA came off two easy wins over South Africa while Australia was tired after a shootout win over host Croatia. Jenna Flynn and Ryann Neushul with two, gave USA the impact it required to stamp its mark on the match. Jolie Marsden responded twice and goalkeeper Jasmine Higgs came up on attack and jammed in a five-metre shot for 3-3 a second from the buzzer. It forced golden goal and both teams had a shot but Australia gave up two fouls, leading to a bonus penalty shot, which Jenna Flynn converted for the 4-3 set. It seemed to sap the energy out of Australia and invigorated USA at the same time, racing through the second set 5-0.  It was not much better in the third for Australia as USA went 5-0 up before Pippa Pedley stemmed the flow with a five-metre shot at 1:27. Rachel Fattal scored the final goal in the last seven seconds for 7-1 and a 3-0 victory to go into Sunday’s final.

Match Heroes
Neushul was dominant again with seven goals, Jenna Flynn adding three more. Goalkeeper Lauren Steele took in 11 saves for USA. Australia’s Marsden was the only dual scorer. Higgs made eight saves in the goal.

Stats Don’t Lie
USA nailed all three extra chances and blocked four of five. USA missed two penalty attempts and Australia four from five. USA shot 33-22.

Match 24, SPAIN 3 RUSSIA 0 (3-2, 2-1, 3-1)

Spain desperately wanted to be in the gold-medal final like its men’s team. Spain made it look easy with three sets but Russia was relentless with such close margins and defences that were almost totally impregnable. Queralt Bertran and Isabel Piralkova took Spain ahead in the first set. Veronika Vakhitova replied at 1:38 and Elvina Sitdikova levelled on counter at 1:10. Ariadna Ruiz converted a penalty in the last minute for the 3-2 win. Ruiz scored another penalty goal at the top of the second set with the reply coming at 1:47 through Sitdikova on extra. Lucia Rodriguez closed the scoring on penalty at 0:57. Bertran had her penalty attempt saved at 0-19 but Spain had the set at 2-1. Ekaterina Prokofyeva converted extra at 4:20 in the third set. Alba Munoz and Carlota Penalver, on penalty, made it 2-1. Paula Camus scored at centre at 2:20 and despite many attempts, no further goals came and Spain was in the final.

Match Heroes
Ruiz with two goals and Mariona Terre with 10 saves were Spain’s best. Sitdikova scored twice for Russia.

Stats Don’t Lie
Spain scored half its goals on penalty and missed one. Russia scored two from six on extra and did not give up a foul. Spain was excellent on scoring percentage with 14 shots to 22.

Classification 5-8 Semifinals
Match 21, TURKIYE 3 GREECE 0 (1-0, 3-2, 5-3)

This was a clash between two teams without a win in Dubrovnik. For Turkiye, it was a great success. Elvira Yermakova began the scoring at 4:12 and it became the set score after Greece missed a bonus penalty shot. Elizaveta Ivanova and Yermakova had Turkiye in front before Anastasia Bikou converted a penalty at 2:05. Dilara Burali converted extra for 3-1 with Bikou sending home the bonus penalty shot with eight seconds remaining. Bikou’s penalty goal began the third set but Kubra Kus responded immediately. Bikou regained the lead on penalty and captain Kasiana Margariti countered for 3-2. Bikou had her bonus penalty shot saved and Yermakova countered for 3-3. Yermakova on penalty and a last-gasp extra goal had the period sewn up at 5-3 and the match 3-0.

Match Heroes
Yermakova netted four goals and goalkeeper Elif Aydinlik cracked nine saves for Turkiye. Greece’s Bikou scored four and goalkeeper Eftychia Konstantopoulou made 11 saves.

Stats Don’t Lie
Turkiye converted two from four and Greece none from two on extras. Turkiye scored one penalty goal and Greece three from four. The shots went 24-21 to Turkiye.

Match 22, SOUTH AFRICA 0 CROATIA 3 (1-7, 0-6, 0-6)

This was Croatia’s fourth victory and the second 3-0 success over South Africa. It was a lopsided match with Croatia holding all the cards with South Africa’s only goal coming from Bulelwa Mzimela, surprisingly 18 seconds into the match to lead 1-0. From there on it was downhill as Croatia was too strong.

Match Heroes
Karla Popovic and Alka Lulic scored five each with Neli Jankovic chiming in with three. Goalie Lana Korac made 10 saves.

Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia converted three from five on extra and blocked all four South African attempts. Croatia missed one of two on penalty led the shooting at 30-17.

Day 7 Schedule

Classification 7-8
Match 25. 11;50. South Africa v Greece
Classification 5-6
Match 26. 13:30, Croatia v Turkiye
Classification 3-4
Match 15. 15:15. Australia v Russia
Classification 1-2
Match 16. 17:15. United States of America v Spain