BEIJING -- The Netherlands has won the gold medal in women's water polo, stunning the United States 9-8 behind seven goals by Danielle de Bruijn. She scored the winner with 26 seconds remaining.
The Americans came to Beijing ranked No. 1, and on Thursday night looked as if they might get the gold that eluded them in Sydney and Athens.
They had several chances to tie it up in the waning seconds, but Elsie Windes missed an outside shot and Brenda Villa couldn't put home the rebound.
De Bruijn scored the first two goals of the game and the Dutch jumped ahead 4-0. She added two more right after halftime to give her country a 7-5 lead. She also scored the last two on power plays.
