U.S. men fall to host Japan
TOKYO, Japan (Aug. 27, 2021) – The USA Women’s Goalball improved to 2-0 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with a convincing 10-0 victory over Egypt on Friday at Makuhari Messe Hall C. The American squad built a 9-0 halftime lead before scoring the clincher three minutes into the second half to end the contest on the 10-goal gap.
Amanda Dennis (Peachtree City, Ga.) led the
way with four of the team’s first five goals, while Lisa Czechowski (Boonton, N.J.), Eliana Mason (Beaverton Ore.) and Asya Miller (Portland, Ore.) contributed two goals apiece to the offensive onslaught.
“We were able to play high-quality defense, offensively we did a lot of good things, and I give a lot of credit to Egypt. They fight really hard, they didn’t give up and they had a lot of great blocks,” said U.S. Head Coach Jake Czechowski.
The game also marked the Paralympic debut of Mindy Cook (Columbus, Ohio), the lone rookie on the U.S. roster. Cook played 13 minutes and contributed three blocks.
“It was incredible, it was thrilling, and I couldn’t be happier to play with these girls and to play on this stage,” said Cook. “I felt confident and ready because I have full trust in my teammates. They have completely prepared me for this moment and my coaches have really been there for me and I knew what to do when I got in.”
“You can’t say enough about her work ethic,” added Jake Czechowski. “This is a young lady who has a full-time job, 40 hour-plus workweek, plus finding time to get in her strength and conditioning, and her practice. Her ability to balance work, life and goalball and still play at this level…it was such a joy to watch her get out here, get some Paralympic experience, and I tell you what, she’s earned it.”
Earlier in the day the USA Men’s Goalball Team suffered an 11-1 defeat at the hands of host country Japan, a day after the American squad had defeated defending world champion Brazil.
“We didn’t play the game we wanted to play but it’s a long tournament,” said two-time Paralympian Matt Simpson (Smyrna, Ga.). “Medals are not won or lost in pool play, so it’s a good time to take some lessons, take some lumps, figure it out and come together as a team. We look forward to the next one.”
Daryl Walker (Jacksonville, Fla.) tallied the lone U.S. goal late in the first half with the Americans already trailing 6-0.
The men’s team will enjoy a day off on Saturday while the women are back in action for their third preliminary round game against Japan at 1:15 p.m. local time (12:15 a.m. EDT). All games are live-streamed at https://www.nbcolympics.com/
GAME SCHEDULE:
USA Women's Goalball:
August 25th USA v Brazil 8:30 PM (JST) 7:30 AM (EST) 4:30 AM (PST) – Won 6-4
August 27th USA v Egypt 7:00 PM (JST) 6:00 AM (EST) 3:00 AM (PST) – Won 10-0
August 28th USA v Japan 1:15 PM (JST) 12:15 AM (EST) 9:15 PM (PST) (Aug 27th)
August 30th USA v Turkey 7:30 PM (JST) 6:30 AM (PST) 3:30 AM (PST)
September 1st quarterfinals
September 2nd semifinals
September 3rd medal matches
USA Men's Goalball
August 26th USA v Brazil 1:15 PM (JST) 12:15 AM (EST) 9:15 PM (PST) (Aug 25th) – Won 8-6
August 27th USA V Japan 1:15 PM (JST) 12:15 AM (EST) 9:15 PM (PST) (Aug 26th) - Lost 11-1
August 29th USA v Algeria 5:30 PM (JST) 4:30 AM (EST) 1:30 AM (PST)
August 30th USA v Lithuania 1:15 PM (JST) 12:15 AM (EST) 9:15 PM (PST) (Aug 29th)
August 31st quarterfinals
September 2nd semifinals
September 3rd medal matches
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