U.S. Goalball Teams Place First and Fourth Against Canada

(Colorado Springs, CO.) – The U.S. Women’s Goalball Team and Team Canada continued their long-standing rivalry at this weekend’s DEFI Sportif Goalball Classic in Montreal with a different twist. While most members of each country’s Paralympic Team were in attendance, team structures were shuffled around a bit as three teams from Canada faced off against two from the United States.

U.S.A Red, including Athens Paralympians Jennifer Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Nicole Buck (Paw Paw, Mich.), Asya Miller (Battle Creek Mich.), Robin Theryoung (Clarkston, Mich.) and Paralympic alternate Lindsay Sloan (Wauconda, Ill.), defeated Canada Red and White, 1-0, for the gold medal Sunday.

Both teams played nearly flawless defense throughout the game until Armbruster scored the sole goal of the game with 48 seconds left in the first half. 

“Everybody had a great tournament,” said Head Coach Ken Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.) “Nikki was excellent on defense and although Asya’s usually known best for her throwing, she made several good defensive plays.”

Goalball is a Paralympic team sport played by blind and visually impaired athletes around the world. A team of three athletes on each side of the court aims to launch a ball at speeds of more than 30 mph into the opposing side's goal on an indoor volleyball-sized court.  All athletes are blindfolded to create a state of total blackness and nine bells encased in a ball the size of a basketball help the athletes track the ball's location.

U.S.A Red only gave up two goals throughout the tournament, winning four games and tying another game (0-0) against Canada Red and White, led by Nancy Morin, the highest scorer of the Athens Games.

The U.S.. Junior Girls’ National Goalball Team competed as the second team for the United States, U.S.A Blue, in their first competition since being named as the team that will compete at the World Youth Goalball Championships in Colorado Springs, August 4-10.

Although all of the girls on U.S.A Blue except 2004 Paralympic alternate Jackie Barnes (Vernon Hills, Ill.) were new to international competition, they adapted quickly, picking up a 4-2 win against Canada White with goals scored by Kristin Millerov (Caro, Mich.), Stacie Ryder and Jocelyn Brannon (both St. Augustine, Fla.) in order to advance to the bronze medal game against Paralymoian Amy Alsop’s Canada Red. Charity Ryder (St. Augustine, Fla.) contributed defensively as a center throughout the tournament.

The rookie team remained unfazed throughout the medal round, giving up only one goal until the final 10 seconds when a high ball penalty was called against Millerov, resulting in a 2-0 win for Canada Red and a fourth place overall finish.

“I couldn’t be happier with how the girls did,” said Head Coach Christy Householter (Garland, Texas). “There was a huge difference in how they played between the first and the last game and this was a great learning experience for their team as their first competition together.”

For more information, please contact Nicole Jomantas, USABA Communications Director, at (719) 630-0422, ext. 10.

USABA, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is a nonprofit organization that provides training for blind and visually impaired athletes for competition in nine sports. USABA members range from blind children developing sports skills to elite athletes who train for competitions such as the Paralympic Games, the world's second largest athletic competition that draws more than 4,000 disabled athletes.