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Pogu Reflects on Junior Women’s Cup Title The Corona native was one of three Californians to celebrate gold
T
he International Federation of Roller Sports (FIRS) rolled out the second edition of its Junior Women’s World Cup at July’s Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games in Huntington Beach.
Team USA, braced by three Cali- fornians, repeated as gold medalists by defeating Team Colombia, 4-2. Rachel Munoz (Redding), Elisa
Pogu (Corona) and goalie Mariah Blackmore (San Jose) were key con- tributors to the Americans’ champion- ship run. Munoz and Pogu each scored goals in the championship game, while Blackmore made 10 saves to secure the gold medal.
Munoz and Pogu were return- ers from the inaugural FIRS Junior Women’s Cup held the previous year, also in conjunction with the AAU Junior Olympics. At the 2010 tournament, the third-seeded Americans upset top-seeded Team New Zealand, 4-3, in the champi- onship game.
In last summer’s reengagement, Team USA turned in a solid showing from start to finish to earn the No. 1 seed.
Pogu, who’s now attending the Uni- versity of California at Riverside, scored the overtime game-winner in Team USA’s 2-1 semifinal victory over fourth- seeded Australia. She finished in a tie
for second on the team in scoring with four goals.
California Rubber Magazine inline hockey editor Phillip Brents had a chance to interview Pogu before college classes started.
California Rubber Magazine: What did it feel like to win the gold medal? Elisa Pogu: It was amazing. We only had six girls, so it wasn’t really expected for us to go all the way to the champion- ships because every team we’d played against had about 10 girls, so stamina was key in the tournament. But to win gold was something else, especially rep- resenting your country; it was special to say the least.
CRM: What do you feel you, personally, as well as the other California players, contributed to the team? EP: We worked very hard together and put an equal amount of effort each time we were on the rink. During the semifinals against Australia, which was seeded last while we were seeded first, we found ourselves in overtime against them. The score was 1-1 throughout the whole game and, with about five minutes left in overtime, I scored the game-winning goal. I’d never really done a big move like that during a game, so having all the girls be proud of me was
definitely the best feeling ever.
CRM: What do you think was the team’s secret to success in winning the gold medal? EP: I think our chemistry was by far the best than any of the other teams. On the rink, we really connected and supported one another throughout the whole tour- nament. If one player made a mistake, we wouldn’t get frustrated, but instead redeem ourselves on the next shift. On the other teams, you could feel tensions between the players when they were los- ing by one or two goals. With our team, it was completely different; we continued to work hard every second we were out there.
CRM: What was the most memorable mo- ment for you in the tournament? EP: I think it was hanging out with my teammates; I didn’t really know them be- fore, but during the tournament I built some great friend- ships that I hope to keep for a long time. It’d be awesome to
play with all of them again and keep in touch. The relationships you develop in hockey are what make the sport so great.
CRM: What makes international compe- tition so exciting? EP: I think it’s great for the world of inline hockey. It really promotes the game, and getting to meet new people is always an experience. It really gives players a chance to see what people from other countries are all about, and we all have a connection because hockey is a sport we all appreciate and love.
Elisa Pogu finished tied for second in scoring for Team USA at the Junior Women’s World Cup, which was held over the summer at The Rinks-Huntington Beach Inline.
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