ACOG - News - IBM

(22 July 1996; Day 03)

Last-Second Heroics Give USA Hockey Team 3-2 Win over Korea

Maybe it wasn't "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," but the shot that came off of Barb MAROIS's stick and went into the goal with :05 left to give the United States a 3-2 women's hockey win over Korea on Monday sent a message to the world that the United States would not be a gracious host at the 1996 Olympic Games.

With the chant of "USA, USA" streaming down to the field from the crowd of nearly 5,000 at Clark Atlanta University, MAROIS slapped the ball past Korean goalkeeper YOU Jae-Sook and gave the United States a 1-0-1 record on round-robin play.

It was the second consecutive game that the Americans have used shots in the final minutes to earn points. On Saturday, a goal with just 1:20 remaining lifted the United States to a 1-1 tie with the Netherlands. Again, it was MAROIS who fired home the crucial shot.

"When you look back at our games and realize we have three points when we could have had just one, we're very pleased," said American coach Pam HIXON. "Our three points puts us in a good position for the rest of the tournament."

HIXON believed it was the first time a United States women's hockey team had ever beaten Korea.

"Obviously this is a historical win for us, but it also shows the rest of the tournament field that we can play offense and defense and score at any time in a matter of seconds," HIXON said.

The core of the American defense has been goaltender Patti SHEA, who is playing in her final international competition after enduring 13 operations on her right leg.

"My job is to stop whatever comes my way," Shea said. "Korea came out hard in the second half, but we stayed poised and fought back. We practice scoring in the final 10 seconds every day in practice, so I knew we could come back."

Along with practice, another key to the Americans' success in the late stages of the game is the closeness of the team, according to forward Marcia PANKRITZ.

"This team has been together for a long time," she said. "We have a great cohesion because we train like family and we play like family. This is a great feeling for all of us."

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Kevin Henry.


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Olympic Factoid
The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts.