BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) student-athletes Ashleigh Johnson (Princeton University), Bronwen Knox (Hartwick College), Amy Ridge (University of Michigan), Abby Andrews (University of Michigan) and Shae (Fournier) La Roche (Indiana University) factored to help the United States, Australia and Canada claim the Gold Medal and place fifth and eighth, respectively on the final day of women’s water polo action at the 2020/2021 Olympics in Tokyo on Saturday, August 7.
Statistics from the Olympic Games competition at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre are available by CLICKING HERE.
USA 14, Spain 5 (Ashleigh Johnson) – Gold Medal
Former Princeton University star Ashleigh Johnson stopped 11-of-15 shots she faced as the United States three-peated in women’s water polo action at the Olympics with a lopsided 14-5 defeat of Spain in the Gold Medal game of the 2020/21 Games at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre in Tokyo.
Johnson – who played until being relieved by back-up netminder Amanda Longan with 2:35 left on the fourth quarter and the United States holding a 13-4 lead – concludes the Tokyo Olympics with 80 saves on 124 shots against.
She previously stopped eight-of-19 shots as Team USA overcame ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) in the semifinals, 15-11, on Thursday, August 5, after playing the first three quarters and stopping 14-of-17 shots with three goals allowed during a 16-5 quarterfinal win over Canada on August 3, dominated throughout the tournament.
The now two-time Olympic Gold Medalist after anchoring Team USA to the 2016 Gold Medal in Rio de Janeiro, started the Tokyo Olympics by posting 15 saves on 19 shots in downing Japan on July 24 (25-4 W), swatting away seven-of-14 shots versus China on July 26 (12-7 W), turning back nine-of-19 scoring tries against Hungary on July 28 (10-9 L) and stopping 16-of-21 shots in a 15-9 handling of ROC on July 30.
The United States wasted little effort in burying Spain under the weight of an offensive onslaught as the Americans never trailed by opening up leads of 2-0 and 4-1 in the first quarter. The gap grew to 6-1 by the 5:48 mark of the second quarter prior to Spain rallying back to move within four at 7-3 heading into halftime.
However, the queen of the cage reigned supreme in the third quarter to blank Spain and allow her teammates to rifle in five goals to acquire a 12-4 lead by the end of the frame. From there, Johnson and Team USA coasted to the final horn, a 14-5 win and the nation’s third consecutive Olympic Gold Medal in women’s water polo.
Overall, it marks not only the third Gold Medal won by the United States in women’s water polo – but also the third claimed by a former Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) goalie. CWPA Hall of Fame member/University of Michigan goalie Betsey Armstrong helped the United States claim a Silver Medal in 2008 (Beijing) prior to returning to power the United States to the Gold Medal in 2012 at the London games.
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 14, Netherlands 7 (Bronwen Knox, Amy Ridge, Abby Andrews) – Fifth Place
Former University of Michigan athletes Abby Andrews and Amy Ridge along with Hartwick College Hall of Fame member Bronwen Knox combined to shoot five-of-10 in accounting for over a third of their homeland’s goals during a 14-7 victory over the Netherlands in the Fifth Place Game of the Tokyo Olympics.
Australia never trailed versus the Netherlands as the team from down under claimed a 1-0 lead 42 seconds into the game, saw the Netherlands tie the contest at 7:04 and racked up a 4-0 run to the concluding horn of the opening frame to hold a 5-1 lead.
The Netherlands was unable to overcome Australia’s concluding outburst in the first quarter as the lead ballooned to 8-2 by halftime and 11-4 by the end of the third quarter. Both teams exchanged three goals in the fourth quarter to establish the 14-7 final score.
For Australia, Knox started and shot two-for-three on action shots in 18:13 of playing time. She concludes the Tokyo Games with eight goals as she scored once in a win over Canada (8-5 W, July 24), twice versus the Netherlands (15-12 W, July 26), once against Spain (15-9 L, July 30) and was held without a shot against South Africa (14-1 W, August 1) before shooting zero-for-three in a 9-8 quarterfinal loss on August 3 to ROC (Russia Olympic Committee) and two-for-three in a 14-12 shootout win over Canada on Thursday, August 5, to reach the Fifth Place game.
Andrews connected on one-of-two man-up tries in 14:48 against the Netherlands as she concludes the tournament with seven goals. She shot zero-for-one versus Canada in her homeland’s most recent game on August 5 and previously scored once versus Canada earlier in the tournament. She netted a hat-trick with three goals against the Netherlands and finished one-for-one from the field with a power-play tally versus Spain. In addition, she connected on one-of-three shots with a man-up tally against South Africa and shot zero-for-three against ROC.
Ridge – who previously scored once versus the Netherlands, connected on two-of-four scoring chances versus South Africa, punched in one-for-one tries facing ROC and one-of-four shots in the defeat of Canada on August 5 – flushed two-of-five shots in helping Australia turn back the Netherlands for Fifth Place. Overall, she shot one-for-three on action shots and one-for-two on man-up opportunities over 14:35 of playing time in the win as she wraps up her time in Japan with seven goals from 20 shots on cage.
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.
Canada 16, China 7 (Shae La Roche) – Seventh Place
Former Indiana University standout Shae (Fournier) La Roche connected on one-of-six shots in 20:55 of playing time as Canada swamped China 16-7 in the Seventh Place game of the 2020/2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
La Roche concludes her time in Japan with 10 goals after posting a pair on two shots in 21:16 of playing time in a 14-12 shootout loss to Australia on Thursday, August 5. Further, she netted two on five shots over 25:53 in a 16-5 quarterfinal loss to the United States on August 3 after posting a pair of man-up markers in a 14-10 loss to Spain on July 26. She shot two-for-six in 16:05 during a 21-1 defeat of South Africa on July 28, and connected on one-of-five shots with a man-up tally in 24:34 during a 16-12 loss to the Netherlands on August 1. She was held scoreless in 18:32 of playing time during Canada’s opening game of the tournament – an 8-5 setback versus Australia on July 24.
Canada, which made the nation’s first Olympic appearance since the 2004 Athens Games, never trailed in turning back China by jumping out to a 3-0 lead by the 4:55 mark of the first quarter. China rallied back to balance the scoreboard at three-all with 55 seconds left in the opening frame, but Axelle Crevier pushed Canada into the lead to stay with 13 ticks left on the clock for a 4-3 lead through eight minutes of action.
Canada began to pull away by acquiring leads of 6-3 and 7-4 with 6:43 and 6:13, respectively, left in the second quarter. The Canadians seventh goal came from the hand of La Roche who cashed in with a man-up strike as she concluded the contest zero-for-three on action shots, one-for-two on man-up bids and zero-for-one on the counter attack.
China managed to shave its deficit back to a pair at 7-5 with 4:02 left until halftime, but back-to-back strikes by Canada at 3:45 and 2:47 snuffed out any further comeback bids during the first half to lock the scoreboard at 9-5 entering the break.
Canada sealed the eventual outcome in the third quarter by outscoring China 4-1 to snag a 13-6 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Canadians finalized the victory by outperforming China by a 3-1 count in the first 3:30 of the fourth quarter for the 16-7 final score.
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.
