FORMER VCU STANDOUT'S OLYMPIC RUN HALTED BY AMERICANS
Moorwood and company show vast improvement on the international stage

QUINGDAO, China —The Olympics have come to an end for a former Virginia Commonwealth University standout. Hayley Moorwood , the 24-year-old captain of the New Zealand women’s soccer team, saw her Olympic run come to a close with a 4-0 loss to defending Olympic champion the United States on Tuesday.

Though winless through three games, Moorwood guided the relatively young Kiwi squad to its best international showing. New Zealand jumped on 10th-ranked Japan 2-0, before reaching a 2-2 draw in the team’s Olympic opener. Just three years earlier, Japan had throttled New Zealand , 6-0. Against 2000 gold medalist Norway , the Football Ferns surrendered a goal in the seventh minute, the lone goal in a hard-fought 1-0 defeat. Tuesday’s 4-0 loss exploited New Zealand ’s lack of depth against the heavily favored Americans.

“It’s disappointing to be sure,” Moorwood said. “But we have shown much improvement since the World Cup last year. New Zealand is a team on the rise.”

Moorwood played two prominent seasons with VCU in 2005 and 2006, scoring nine goals and 25 points while wearing the black and gold. She helped lead the Rams to a 3-1 win over Clemson in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.