BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) student-athletes Abby Andrews (University of Michigan), Amy Ridge (University of Michigan), Bronwen Knox (Hartwick College), Shae (Fournier) La Roche (Indiana University) and Ashleigh Johnson (Princeton University) all factored as the United States and Australia picked up wins, while Canada took a loss in Day Two competition at the 2020/2021 Olympics in Tokyo on Monday, July 26.
Statistics from the Olympic Games competition at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre are available by CLICKING HERE.
United States 12, China 7 (Ashleigh Johnson)
United States goalie/Princeton University alumna Ashleigh Johnson stopped seven of 14 shots by China as the two-time defending Gold Medalists claimed a 14-7 victory. The win improves the United States to 2-0 in Group B as the Americans previously defeated Japan via a 25-4 count on Saturday, July 24.
Johnson – who previously posted 15 saves on 19 shots in the win over the host nation – helped Team USA avoid an upset as China kept pace with the Americans with both teams posting four and two goals in the opening quarters for a six-all tie by halftime.
Team USA pulled away in the second half by outscoring China 3-0 and 3-1 in the third and four quarters, respectively.
About Ashleigh Johnson: Johnson is among only two Tigers’ athletes ever to win an Olympic gold medal (in 2016) and then come back to compete at Princeton (former United States Senator/men’s basketball player Bill Bradley was the other).
The C. Otto von Kienbusch and Cutino Awards during her senior season in 2017, she was the first player in Princeton women’s water polo history to be named first team All-America and third ever to be selected All-America in each of her four seasons. Johnson finished her Princeton career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves and a .693 save percentage. She was a 19-time CWPA Defensive Player of the Week award winner, a four-time first-team all-conference player and the CWPA Player of the Year.
Johnson’s appearance at the Olympics marks the fourth time in the past four games that the United States’ cage will be defended by a CWPA alumna as University of Michigan graduate and CWPA Hall of Fame member Betsey Armstrong was the goalie for the 2008 Silver Medal and 2012 Gold Medal squads.
Australia 15, Netherlands 12 (Abby Andrews, Bronwen Knox, Amy Ridge)
Former University of Michigan athletes Abby Andrews and Amy Ridge along with Hartwick College Hall of Fame member Bronwen Knox combined for six goals as Australia remained undefeated in Bracket A with a come-from-behind 15-12 victory over the Netherlands.
Andrews, who scored once in Australia’s 8-5 opening game victory over Canada on Saturday, July 24, tied with Rowie Webster and Hannah Buckling for game high-scoring honors as the trio accounted for hat-tricks with three goals versus the Netherlands.
Andrews finished three-for-four from the field in 19:44, while Knox – who also scored in the win over Canada – connected on two-of-three shots in 16:38 of action. Ridge also got in on the fun by shooting one-for-two in 17:59 to notch her inaugural goal of the Tokyo Olympics. All three players came off the bench for Australia in both victories.
Trailing 3-1 with 2:59 left in the first quarter, Andrews led Australia back prior to the conclusion of the opening frame by putting away action (2:31) and extra-player (44 seconds) chances to knot the score at three-all.
Trailing 8-5 by halftime thanks to a 5-2 scoring disadvantage in the second quarter, Australia began to climb back into the game as Buckling (6:07, extra-player) and Andrews (4:19, action shot) cut their team’s deficit to 8-7. Ridge squared the squads at eight-all with a shot in a driving situation (3:28), but the Netherlands came right back to score via an extra-player bid and reclaim the lead at 9-8 with 2:49 on the clock.
Knox tied the score at nine-all (1:42, counter-attack), the Netherlands pulled ahead again at 10-9 (1:18, extra-player) and Webster (34 seconds, extra-player) balanced the scoreboard at 10-all heading into the fourth quarter of play.
The Netherlands inched ahead 11-10 (6:55), but back-to-back-to-back-to-back goals by the Aussies turned a one-score deficit into a three-goal lead at 14:11 with 1:33 left on the game clock.
The Netherlands pulled to within a pair at 14-12 with 1:11 remaining, but Knox slammed the door by driving home a shot from center with 44 ticks to go for the 15-12 final.
About Amy Ridge: Ridge competed for Michigan during the 2016 as a freshman. In 38 games, she tallied 20 goals and 10 assists and helped the Wolverines claim the 2016 CWPA Championship and a Fourth Place mark at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
About Bronwen Knox: The captain of the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Australia Olympic Women’s Water Polo teams and a two-time Olympic Bronze Medalist (2008, 2012), Knox is the only player in the history of the Hartwick College women’s water polo program to earn second team All-America honors from the ACWPC. She helped guide the Hawks to a record of 56-20, two CWPA Northern Division titles, a CWPA Eastern crown and a sixth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship during her two seasons in Oneonta, N.Y.
Following her freshman campaign in 2005, she was the CWPA Northern and Eastern Championship Rookie of the Year, a first team CWPA Northern and Eastern selection, and was an ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America selection. In 2006, Knox led the country in scoring with 127 tallies and was later named Most Valuable Player of both the Northern Division and Eastern Championships. She also earned ACWPC All-Academic team honors and received second team All-America accolades.
A 2012 inductee to the Hartwick Hall of Fame, she totaled 229 goals, 57 assists, 286 points, 209 steals as a member of the Hawks, including program single-season record 127 goals and 117 steals in 2006.
About Abby Andrews: Andrews competed for Michigan during the 2019 season and registered 57 goals, 71 assists and 47 steals with a 41-for-50 mark in sprints in the span of 32 games. A member of the 2019 CWPA Champion Wolverines, she claimed CWPA Rookie of the Year and ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America honors during her lone season in Ann Arbor. A 2019 CWPA All-Conference Second Team pick, she received Rookie of the Tournament and First Team All-Tournament recognition at the CWPA Championship prior to helping the Maize & Blue reach the NCAA Championship quarterfinals.
Spain 14, Canada 10 (Shae La Roche)
Indiana University alum Shae (Fournier) La Roche played 27:55 and connected for a pair of extra-player tallies as Canada suffered its second setback in as many games at the Olympics in Bracket A with a 14-10 loss to Spain.
La Roche, who was held without a shot in 18:32 of playing time during an 8-5 loss to Australia on Saturday, July 24, tied the score at five-all via an extra-player score at the 4:25 mark of the second quarter. However, Spain acquired a 6-5 lead with one second remaining in the first half to carry a 6-5 lead into the break.
The goal proved to be the turning point as Canada was unable to pull even the rest of the way thanks to a 3-2 scoring advantage by Spain in the third quarter to claim a 9-7 lead heading into the final quarter of action.
Trailing 11-7 with 5:38 left in regulation, La Roche punched in another power-play goal at 2:27 to inch Canada within three at 11-8. Leading 11-9 with 1:51 to go, Spain scored back-to-back goals at 1:11 and 58 seconds to gain a four-score lead at 13-9 and cruise to a 14-10 victory.
About Shae La Roche: A 2014 graduate of Indiana, La Roche (2011-2014) is one of the most decorated players in Hoosiers’ water polo history. She holds the top two school records for single-season goals (95 in 2014, 83 in 2013) and career goals (305), and is second in IU history in career steals (311). She was the 2014 CWPA Player of the Year, and earned second team Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America and College Sport Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) First-Team Academic All-America honors. La Roche is one of five players in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history to score 300 or more goals in her career.
The Most Valuable Player of the 2014 CWPA Championship hosted by Bucknell University for leading the Hoosiers to an 11-10 victory over Princeton University, La Roche is among a select group of Indiana women’s water polo players who won a pair of league titles during their tenure. In 2011 as a freshman, La Roche helped her squad down the University of Michigan, 5-3, at home in Bloomington for the program’s first title since taking home the 2003 crown.
She had an impressive junior international career, winning gold medals at the 2008 and 2010 Pan American Junior Championships to go with a sixth place finish at the 2009 FINA World Junior Championships. At the senior level, she competed in two FINA World Championships (2015, 2017) and captured a silver medal at the 2017 FINA World League Super Final. She also helped Canada win silver at the 2015 Pan American Games. She has made two appearances at the Summer Universiade, just missing the podium with fourth place finishes in both 2009 and 2013. She made her senior international debut in 2014, competing in the FINA Water Polo World League.
