Oct. 29, 2011

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO -

The USA Water Polo Women's National Team, featuring former Golden Bear standouts Heather Petri and Elsie Windes, captured Gold at the Pan American Games Friday night (Oct. 28) and earned a berth to the 2012 London Olympic Games with an epic, come from behind 27-26 victory over a Canadian squad that featured another Cal standout, Emily Csikos.

Team USA's Maggie Steffens' goal on the final penalty shot coupled with a Canada miss secured victory and brought an end to a shootout that saw each team have 20 attempts. The United States and Canada were knotted at 8-8 after regulation. That was followed by the two standard overtime periods that saw neither team find the cage. The shootout followed and after each team was successful on five attempts it was on to sudden death. 15 attempts later for each side and the United States emerged victorious claiming their third straight Pan American Games championship.

Csikos led Canada with five goals in regulation and played over 32 minutes. Another member of the Canadian National Team was Cal's Katie Monton, who saw a little over five minutes of pool time. Neither Petri and Windes scored for Team USA, but Windes logged over 18 minutes of action and Petri had over nine minutes of playing time.

Earlier this summer, Petri scored a team-high two goals as the United States defeated Canada, 8-4, July 27 in women's water polo action at the World Championships in Shanghai, China.

Csikos, from Calgery, and Monton, from Montreal, were on the 2011 Cal squad that vied for the program's first-ever NCAA championship this past May 13-15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Bears advanced to the title match before falling to Stanford, 9-5. Head coach Richard Corso's team, which earlier had captured the MPSF Tournament, finished the year 26-5. On July 19, Csikos was selected a first-team All-American for the second year in a row by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches.

Petri and Windes both won silver medals with the USA women's water polo team at the 2008 Olympics. Petri lettered at Cal from 1997-99 and returned to finish her degree and eligibility in 2001. The Orinda, Calif., native earned her third Olympic medal in 2008 after taking home a bronze medal in 2004 and silver in 2000. Windes, a Portland, Ore. native, made her first Olympic appearance in 2008 after a stellar career for the Bears, earning All-America honors from 2005-07.