Pirate Galaxy » half, Casie Ramsier registered a shot on fr

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Sailing past her crumpled teammate, Anna van der Breggen suddenly realized she was the only hope the Netherlands had of defending its gold medal in the womens Olympic road race.She did so in the most dramatic of fashions.Working with Swedens Emma Johansson and Italys Elisa Longo Borghini to track down American rival Mara Abbott in sight of the finish, van der Breggen swept to the lead and won the dash to the line along Copacabana Beach on Sunday in the biggest victory of her career.Van der Breggen was soon embraced by Dutch teammate Marianne Vos, who won gold at the 2012 London Games, and turned her thoughts to Annemiek van Vleuten, whose spectacular crash gave her a chance.We passed Annemiek on the road. It didnt look good, van der Breggen said. So after, Emma just said, `Do it for Annemiek, and I said `Yeah, thats right.Van der Breggen thrust her arms in the air as thousands of fans lining the course roared approval, and a light mist that had been threatening for hours finally began to fall.It would have taken a downpour to dampen her spirits.I would have put money on Anna to win this race, said world champion Lizzie Armitstead, who was fifth for Britain. Shes a phenomenal athlete and this course was designed for her.Abbott coasted across in fourth in another shattering disappointment for the United States, one of the strongest teams in the race. Shelley Olds was in a similar position to medal four years ago when a puncture on the run-in to the finish cost her.In Abbotts case, it was simply a matter of tired legs.I saw the 300-meters to go sign and I thought ... `Oh my goodness. I could actually win this, Abbott said. Then I looked under my shoulder and they were right there.The climbing specialist obliterated most of the field on the hard climb of Vista Chinesa, then stayed upright when van Vleuten crashed on the same ruthless downhill that claimed the leaders Vincenzo Nibali and Sergio Henao and allowed Greg van Avermaet to win the mens race.Van Vleuten was taken to the hospital for tests that revealed three small fractures in her spine, the Dutch team said. She will remain in intensive care for at least 24 hours.It was a horrendous crash, said Johansson, who added a second silver to the one she won in Beijing in 2008. The peloton is so small and we all know each other very well. We just hope shes OK.Borghini matched Imelda Chiappas performance at the 1996 Atlanta Games for the best finish by an Italian woman, while Vos finished ninth -- a strong performance after her 10-month injury hiatus.Unlike the mens race on Saturday, the women stuck together for the first 100 kilometers, each attack quickly shut down by the powerhouse teams trying to set up their leaders.Lotte Kopecky of Belgium spent time in front early, and Britains Emma Pooley tried in vain to animate the proceedings. But the field was together after two trips of the Grumari Circuit, where jarring cobblestones caused so much trouble for the men.Seven riders sprung away in sight of Vista Chinesa, the hard climb and descent that would decide the race. Among them was Vos, Trixi Worrack and former world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.The Americans missed the break and were forced to work hard to bring it back.Abbott accomplished it almost single-handedly, the worlds top climber quickly catching them as the race tilted uphill. She also succeeded in splintering the peloton, pushing a tempo so strong that Vos and Armitstead -- the silver medalist at the London Games -- slowly dropped off.With stretches approaching a gradient of 20 percent, Abbott and van Vleuten shook loose of the survivors of the first part of the climb and turned it into a two-woman race on the slick downhill.On the last tight curve, van Vleuten locked up her wheels and crashed hard through the bend.I wasnt comfortable holding her wheel and the pace she was holding on the descent, Abbott said, and unfortunately she crashed. Hopefully it wasnt as bad as it looked.Abbott cautiously navigated the corner, then realized 10 kilometers of flats to Fort Copacabana stood in her way of gold. She got into her handlebar drops, sucked down one last energy gel and began to accelerate through streets lined with fans.Three riders, working together behind her, caught Abbott just before she got to the line.I cant imagine being in her shoes right now. Shes going to have a lot of sleepless nights, American teammate Kristin Armstrong said. Fourth is a wonderful position in the Olympics but also the hardest position. Custom Bulls T-shirts . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Custom John Paxson Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.custombullsjersey.com/ . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. Custom Bulls Jerseys . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Cheap Bulls Jerseys . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. AUBURN, Ala. - Kristen Dodson and Brooke Ramsier got on the scoresheet to pace Auburn to a 2-1 victory over Vanderbilt on Friday night. It was the first conference match of the season for both squads, with the Tigers (4-3-0, 1-0-0 SEC) prevailing at home.Obviously, were happy with the result, said head coach Karen Hoppa. Any win in this conference is a great win. I thought Vanderbilt did a tremendous job of responding to our second goal and making it a tight game. We were able to grind it out at the end, but we have got to do a better job finishing.Auburn more than doubled Vanderbilts (4-3-0, 0-1-0) shot output with a 15-7 margin. The Tigers remained on the attack for the full 90 minutes, notching nine corners and allowing just two in the match.The hosts got on the board first in the 15th minute when Casie Ramsier was brought down in the box, forcing a penalty. Brooke Ramsier then stepped up and slotted her first goal of the season into the back of the net, giving Auburn an early 1-0 lead.I just knew I had the confidence of my teammates and they believed in me, said Brooke Ramsier. I had confidence from past success in taking penalties, so with my teams support and belief in my own head, I knew if I smashed it into the back of the net, it would go in.The Tigers nearly doubled their lead when Bri Folds laced a shot from long range that glanced off the goalkeepers hands and rattled the crossbar in the 25th minute of play.Auburn maintained its lead into the break and held a 4-1 advantage in both shots and corners after the first 45 minutes.ddddddddddddThe Tigers came roaring out of halftime with a flurry of chances as five shots in a span of just over two minutes kept the pressure on.We had so many opportunities out of halftime and weve got to take care of business, said Hoppa. That was the whole goal, to start out that first 15 minutes on the front foot to really get after [Vanderbilt].In the opening five minutes of the second half, Casie Ramsier registered a shot on frame and moved up the charts on the programs all-time shots list, surpassing Katy Frierson. The senior now has 231 on her career.Dodson then netted what turned out to be the match-winner in the 74th minute, when a Commodore defenders clearance found the feet of the junior, who buried her third goal of 2016.Just one minute later, Vanderbilt got a goal back and made it a one-goal game at 2-1. However, it was not enough as the back line of Auburn held strong in the final 15 minutes to secure a 1-0 start to conference play.Any time in this conference is good to get a win, stated Dodson. Were heading in the right direction.The Tigers return to the pitch for their final non-conference match of the regular season against Baylor on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex. ' ' '