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TORINO -- With a poster of the 1998 U.S. women's hockey gold medal team on her wall, Sarah Parsons, 18, expected to be "wide-eyed when I first joined the team, and that definitely happened."
But today it is her teammates and U.S. officials who are wide-eyed watching Parsons play beyond her years in the Olympics. She scored two flashy goals and added an impressive assist Sunday as the USA downed Germany 5-0.
"Her first goal was the best goal I've seen in women's competition," said retired USA Hockey senior director Art Berglund. "That puck had some sizzle on it."
On that goal, she cut across the middle and ripped a 30-footer past German goalkeeper Jennifer Harss. Later, Angela Ruggiero's pass created a breakaway opportunity and Parsons, the youngest player on the U.S. squad, buried it with an NHL-style deke-and-tuck move, pushing the puck past the goaltender's outstretched pad.
"Unbelievable hands. Natural goal scorer," Ruggiero said. "She has that touch, the little poise that most gain through experience. She just naturally has it."
Ruggiero remembers seeing Massachusetts native Parsons as a 16-year-old. "I'm thinking, 'Who is this kid carrying the puck like that?'"
At 140 pounds, Parsons is 45 pounds lighter than Ruggiero. That's why Ruggiero is flabbergasted that they use the same size stick, with the same flexibility. "I always say, 'Can you really bend that stick,'" Ruggiero said. "Obviously she can."
While Parsons appreciates Berglund's praise, she said only "it was a decent shot. I was trying to pick a corner."
"When she scored out there, she didn't celebrate," Ruggiero noted. "That's what kind of player she is. She is so modest."
Ruggiero points out that Ben Smith has always had a "knack" for finding the young players. He found Ruggiero when she was 15. Current Olympian Helen Resor is only 19.
From Dover, Mass., Parsons also was an all-league high school player in lacrosse and soccer.
"She's one of those players that has scored at every sport at every level she has played at, not just ice hockey," Smith said. "Even though she's young in age, she's mature in ability."
Katie King had a goal and two assists against the Germans. Jenny Potter, the lone mother on the team, had a goal and assist to give her six points in the first two games. More important to her, she saw her daughter, Maddy, 5, for the first time in a month. Maddy saw her mom score the first goal of the game.
"I took my helmet off and waved to her, and I made her cry because she wanted to see me," Potter said.
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