The USA men got off to a slow start against three-time defending champions Serbia in the final of the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final on Sunday and by the time they got going it was too little too late to prevent Serbia from becoming the four-time defending champs. The US didn’t score in the first quarter and was down 5-1 at the half. Needing to cut into the lead quickly the US was again shut out in the third quarter as Serbia put the game away by taking an 8-1 lead. The US made a nice comeback attempt in the fourth with five goals to make the scoreline a respectable 10-6 at the end but Serbia was never in much trouble.

The silver for the US is their first medal since grabbing a silver in 2008 as they had lost in the semifinals the last five times they reached that stage. Six players scored for the US: Alex Obert, Luca Cupido, Alex Bowen, Bret Bonanni, Ben Hallock, and Nikola Vavic. Leading scorer Tony Azevedo was held scoreless for the first time in the tournament. Merrill Moses and McQuin Baron split time in goal once again with Moses recording seven saves to Baron’s six.

The US quest for a gold in the Super Final will have to wait to next year but a chance at Olympic gold comes much sooner. The US will face Spain, France, Montenegro, Italy, and Croatia in the group stage of the Olympics with competition beginning Saturday August 6th. The gold medal will be decided two weeks later on August 20th.

USA Schedule:
Tuesday – Group B – USA 12-6 China
Wednesday – Group B – USA 10-7 Brazil
Thursday – Group B – USA 8-10 Serbia
Friday – Quarterfinals – USA 8(8)-8(7) Australia
Saturday – Semifinals – USA 11(6)-11(5) Greece
Sunday – Final – USA 6-10 Serbia

Previous FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final Coverage:
Preview
China Recap
Brazil Recap
Serbia Recap
Australia Recap
Greece Recap