The U.S. wheelchair rugby team opened the day with a crushing defeat over archrival Canada. The Americans came out looking sharp and focused from the beginning, never trailing in this game. The U.S. had a 21-16 lead at the half and continually pushed the pace of play, leading to the 43-36 victory.

"I was excited to see us play together and lift each other up throughout the game. To see that from a team this early on is awesome," said U.S. head coach James Gumbert. "But, I know we'll face some adversity with this high a caliber of competition."

Adversity came in the form of #4 Great Britain. It appeared the U.S. had put away the British, leading 28-25 with just over a minute to play. But, several consecutive turnovers by the U.S. gave Great Britain one opportunity after another and the British capitalized on each one, leading to a 31-31 tie at the end of regulation. The first overtime also ended with a tie, 34-34, and it looked like the U.S. had run out of luck nearing the end of the second overtime. With just over 2 seconds remaining, down 36-35, the U.S. posted Byran Kirkland right on the goal line and Will Groulx threaded the needle on an inbounds pass, hitting Kirkland right in the hands.

Kirkland backed over the line for the goal at the buzzer, tying the game at 36 and forcing a third overtime period. It was in this third extra session that the United States was able to hold off the Great Britain attack and eke out the 39-38 thriller.

"You can't buy the pressure your team feels in an overtime situation," said the U.S.'s Steve Pate. "We had a lot of great lessons we learned today and I just couldn't be happier."

The biggest surprise on day one of the rugby competition was that the world's top ranked team, New Zealand, was unable to come away with a win.  The Kiwis were defeated by the U.S., 35-33, Canada, 33-32, and Great Britain, 28-25.

"This was a day for us to get back into international rugby mode," said New Zealand head coach Grant Sharman. "All the teams here are looking for something and we found what we were looking for. We'll take the lessons we learned today and apply them in tomorrow's games."

The rugby teams begin championship round play on Saturday. The United States' 3-0 record gives them the top seed coming out of pool play, and they will face fourth seeded New Zealand (0-3) at 9:00 a.m. Second seeded Canada (2-1) will play third seeded Great Britain (1-2) at 11:00 a.m. The winners of each of these games will square off in the championship game at 5:00 p.m.

Wheelchair Rugby, Day One Results

Great Britain 28, New Zealand 25

USA 43, Canada 36

USA 39, Great Britain 38 (3OT)

Canada 33, New Zealand 32

USA 35, New Zealand 33

Canada 34, Great Britain 32