Mark Zupan scored two big goals at the end of the first quarter to give the U.S. momentum in their win over New Zealand.

The match against New Zealand was the first big test of this World Championships for the Americans. When these two teams took to the court today at the Westpac Centre, both were undefeated and a crowd of several hundred cheering loudly for the hometown Wheel Blacks gave this game an even bigger feel.

The intensity of the game was evident right from the tip-off. The U.S. once again started in a full-court press on defense and forced its first turnover just over two minutes into the game. This steal led to a Bryan Kirkland (Leeds, Ala.) goal and a 4-3 lead for the United States. However, the Kiwis are an experienced team and they would not be rattled quite so early.

The U.S. put on the brakes with less than one minute to go in the first and Mark Zupan (Austin, Texas) scored what appeared to be the last goal of the quarter, giving the Americans a 9-8 lead. But, a steal on New Zealand's ensuing inbounds pass and another quick score by Zupan gave the U.S. the two-goal lead to end the first.

The U.S. continued its defensive onslaught into the second quarter, at one point stretching its lead to four goals. But, again the experience and composure of the New Zealand team kept the U.S. from putting the game away in the first half. With just over two minutes left in the second quater, and the Kiwis trailing by three, New Zealand's Geremy Tinker forced a jump ball, which gave possession back to New Zealand. The ensuing goal closed the gap to two and the U.S. closed the first half with a 19-17 lead.

The second half has been the strong point for the U.S. throughout this tournament. Though teams may stay close early on, the Americans are blowing teams away after halftime. The continual rotation of line-ups throughout the first half serves to keep the U.S. players fresh and tire out the opposition in the first two quarters.

"Our depth is pretty incredible," said head coach James Gumbert (Austin, Texas). "We know that, for two or two and half quarters, teams may hang with us, but when they get tired we're able to continuously hit them with fresh guys."

This trend continued against New Zealand. After scoring on the first possession of the third quarter, the U.S. forced four turnovers in a stretch of 1:30 to push its lead to seven, 28-21. The United States ended the game with a steal-to-turnover ratio of 11-1. The unrelenting pressure of the U.S. defense started to take its toll on New Zealand late into the third and the Kiwis were not able to recover from this point on.

New Zealand was able to creep to within five goals a couple times in the final frame, but a steal by Zupan and another Kirkland goal - he finished with 13 - gave the U.S. a seven-goal advantage with just over five minutes remaining and New Zealand would not get any closer. Will Groulx (Portland, Ore.) once again led the U.S. with 14 goals and Zupan added 10 for the Americans.

"This was a fun win, but the money games are the next games," said the U.S.'s Scott Hogsett (Phoenix, Ariz.). "We were in this position just two years ago at the Paralympic Games, having dominated teams in pool play, but we weren't able to finish and we ended up with a bronze medal there. That's still fresh in the minds of our veterans and this team is deeper than the team from Athens and we know we can take it to another level."

Next, the United States will face archrival Canada in the semifinal on Friday. This is a rematch of the 2002 World Championships final when Canada upset the U.S. to win gold. Great Britain and New Zealand match up in the other semifinal.

For more information, or to request an athlete interview, please contact Susan Katz at susank@lakeshore.org.

Complete tournament results are available at www.wwrc2006.co.nz.