The USA men won their second match at the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final on Wednesday as they defeated Brazil 10-7. Brazil played the US tough in the first half and this one was tied at five all going to the break. The US took the lead for good in the third quarter taking a 8-6 advantage to the fourth quarter. Tony Azevedo was the leading scorer again with five goals while Alex Bowen added a pair. McQuin Baron had seven saves while Merrill Moses had three.
Serbia beat China 20-5 in the other Group B match so they will meet the US for the top spot in Group B. Serbia beat the USA 13-7 in the group stage last year. Japan is 0-2 in Group A while Australia and Italy are 1-1. Japan takes on Italy while Australia faces 2-0 Greece on Thursday. All eight teams will compete in the quarterfinals so only seeding is at stake in the group stage. The knockout round trickles all the way down to a 7th/8th place game so the US will have games each of the six days in the tournament.
Group B Schedule:
Tuesday – USA 12-6 China, Serbia 14-10. Brazil
Wednesday – USA 10-7 Brazil, Serbia 20-5 China
Thursday – USA vs. Serbia, Brazil vs. China
Previous FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final Coverage: Preview China Recap
The USA men opened the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final with a solid win over China 12-6 on Tuesday as they moved to 1-0 in the group stage. The USA wasn’t as dominant as they were in a 19-2 win over China last month but still were ahead 6-2 at the half. Tony Azevedo scored four goals in the win as did Josh Samuels. Ben Hallock had a pair with Merrill Moses saving six shots while McQuin Baron had five.
Serbia beat Brazil 14-10 in the other Group B match. The US faces Brazil next on Wednesday and owns a 16-11 win over them from the qualifying tournament in May. These two sides met in the third place match last year with Brazil defeating the US on penalties 14-13 to claim their first ever medal.
All eight teams will compete in the quarterfinals so only seeding is at stake in the group stage. The knockout round trickles all the way down to a 7th/8th place game so the US will have games each of the next six days.
Group B Schedule:
Tuesday – USA 12-6 China, Serbia 14-10. Brazil
Wednesday – USA vs. Brazil, Serbia vs. China
Thursday – USA vs. Serbia, Brazil vs. China
Previous FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final Coverage: Preview
The US men will look to match the women’s world title from earlier this month when they compete in the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Super Final starting Tuesday in Huizhou, China. The US men are competing in Group B with Serbia, Brazil, and China in the opening stage of the tournament. While the US women have been the dominant nation in the women’s event the US men have only medaled twice and have finished fourth or fifth in the last seven years.
Serbia has been the dominant country on the men’s side winning seven titles in nine years since becoming an independent nation including the last five times they have entered the tournament (they did not enter in 2012). Brazil is making their fifth straight Super Final appearance but a bronze last year was their first medal. China is appearing in the Super Final for the seventh straight year but has never finished higher than fourth.
All eight teams will compete in the quarterfinals so only seeding is at stake in the group stage. The knockout round trickles all the way down to a 7th/8th place game so the US will have games each of the next six days. The US opens with China who they defeated in the qualifying tournament 19-2 in May.
Group B Schedule:
Tuesday – USA vs. China, Serbia vs. Brazil
Wednesday – USA vs. Brazil, Serbia vs. China
Thursday – USA vs. Serbia, Brazil vs. China
The US women once again are champions of the Water Polo World League Super Final as they picked up their tenth title in 13 tournaments with a 13-9 victory over Spain in the final. The US defeated the Spaniards for the second time in four days by taking a 3-2 lead after the first eight minutes and pushing to a 7-4 lead half way through. Spain stayed in reach with a 3-3 third quarter but the US put it away in the fourth for the four goal win. For the third straight game no American had more than two goals with Courtney Mathewson, Maddie Musselman, and Maggie Steffens sharing the goal scoring lead. Ashleigh Johnson had nine saves in the win.
The Olympic women’s water polo tournament begins August 9th and runs through the 19th. The USA has been drawn into a group with fellow finalists Spain, their semifinal opponent China, and Hungary. They will open their Olympic play on Tuesday the 9th with Spain.
USA Results:
Group B Tuesday – USA 20-2 Brazil
Group B Wednesday – USA 11-8 Canada
Group B Thursday – USA 12-10 Spain
Quarterfinals Friday – USA 14-7 Russia
Semifinals Saturday – USA 11-5 China
Final Sunday – USA 13-9 Spain
The US women advanced to the final of the 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final with a comfortable 11-5 win over China on Saturday. The US was up 3-1 after the first eight minutes and 5-2 at the half. China was still in it at 7-4 going to the fourth quarter but the US pulled away for the six point win. Rachel Fattal, Alys Williams, Makenzie Fischer, and Kami Craig each had two goals in the win while Ashleigh Johnson had 13 saves in the win, her second straight start in the knockout round.
The US will be facing Spain in the final after they defeated Australia 10-8 in a semifinal upset. Spain had only reached six Super Finals over the last nine years and had only made it to one semifinal and had never medaled. They won’t be a pushover for the US by any means, they are the only team to finish within two goals of the US when they lost to them 12-10 in the group stage.
USA Results:
Group B Tuesday – USA 20-2 Brazil
Group B Wednesday – USA 11-8 Canada
Group B Thursday – USA 12-10 Spain
Quarterfinals Friday – USA 14-7 Russia
Semifinals Saturday – USA 11-5 China
The US women advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final with a 14-7 win over Russia. The US won both of the first half quarters 4-2 to grow a big lead by the half. They put the game away though in the third quarter notching a shutout and growing the lead to 12-4. Russia did manage three in the fourth but the US was already well ahead. Melissa Seidemann, Maggie Steffens, Courtney Mathewson, Aria Fischer, and Makenzie Fischer all scored two goals while Ashleigh Johnson had 11 saves in the win.
The US will be facing China in the semifinals after the Chinese defeated Canada 13-8 in the quarterfinals. These two sides met in the intercontinental qualifying tournament with the US defeating China 19-5. China has been a semifinalist each of the last five years but their only medal was in 2013 when they won it all. The two finalists on the other side are Australia and Spain.
USA Results:
Group B Tuesday – USA 20-2 Brazil
Group B Wednesday – USA 11-8 Canada
Group B Thursday – USA 12-10 Spain
Quarterfinals Friday – USA 14-7 Russia
The US women won their group at the 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final by notching a tight 12-10 win over Spain to finish 3-0 in the group stage. The US was the better side in both the first and second quarters as the outscored Spain 4-3 in each quarter. The third and fourth quarters were both even at 2-2. The US was led by four goals from Kiley Neushul while Maggie Steffens added three and KK Clark had two. Ashleigh Johnson and Sami Hill both played in goal with Johnson recording three saves and Hill recording two.
Russia ended up last in Group A after going 0-3 so they will be the US opponent in the quarterfinals. Russia has not been outclassed though, as Brazil was in Group B (GD -34), each of their three losses was by a single goal. In fact, Russia has the second best GD of all three teams in Group A. The US met Russia in this same stage last year and opened up an 8-0 halftime lead en route to a 17-6 win. Russia was the runner-up of this tournament in 2013 and won it in 2008. The possible semifinal opponents for the US are China and Canada.
Group B Results:
Tuesday – USA 20-2 Brazil, Canada 12-16 Spain
Wednesday – USA 11-8 Canada, Spain 10-6 Brazil
Thursday – USA 12-10 Spain, Brazil 4-16 Canada
The US women moved to 2-0 in the 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final with an 11-8 win over neighbors Canada. The US opened with a strong first quarter posting a 4-2 lead after eight minutes and increasing the lead to three, 8-5 at the break. Canada outscored the US 2-1 in the third quarter but the US reversed that scoreline in the fourth for the final 11-8 score. Melissa Seidemann had the lead with three goals for the US in the game while Maddie Musselman and Courtney Mathewson each added a pair. Sami Hill played in goal and stopped 12 Canadian shots.
The US faces Spain next to wrap up the group stage on Thursday. Spain is 2-0 as well in the group stage after defeating Brazil 10-6 so this will be for first place in the group. Russia at 0-2 is most likely to finish last in the other group while China (Russia’s opponent) and Italy are 1-1 and could finish third. The US will face one of those three teams on Friday in the quarterfinals. Everyone will play in semifinals and finals for positioning on Friday and Saturday.
Group B Schedule:
Tuesday – USA 20-2 Brazil, Canada 12-16 Spain
Wednesday – USA 11-8 Canada, Spain 10-6 Brazil
Thursday – USA vs. Spain, Brazil vs. Canada
Previous 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final Coverage: Preview Brazil Recap
The US women opened the the 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final with a dominant win over Brazil, 20-2, on Tuesday in Shanghai, China. The US jumped in front with four goals in the first quarter and seven more in the second. The lead grew to 15-0 before Brazil scored twice in the fourth quarter to take something from the game. Maddie Musselman was the leading scorer for the US with six goals while KK Clark added four and Kiley Neushul had three. Ashleigh Johnson had nine saves in what was nearly a shutout.
The US faces Canada next on Wednesday. Canada lost 16-12 to Spain on Tuesday. These two teams met in the intercontinental qualification tournament back in February with the US winning 14-4.
The group stage wraps up Thursday before quarterfinals on Friday. Everyone will play in semifinals and finals for positioning on Friday and Saturday.
Group B Schedule:
Tuesday – USA 20-2 Brazil, Canada 12-16 Spain
Wednesday – USA vs. Canada, Spain vs. Brazil
Thursday – USA vs. Spain, Brazil vs. Canada
Previous 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final Coverage: Preview
The US women will begin the 2016 Water Polo World League Super Final on Tuesday in Shanghai, China. The eight team event begins with a group stage over the next three days that will set the matchups for the quarterfinals. The knockout rounds will go all the way to 7th/8th place games so the US will play on six straight days no matter what.
The US has won the last two Super Finals and nine of the 12 in history with only China the only to break the US run since 2008. They joined in Group B by Spain, Canada, and Brazil. Brazil and Canada reached the Super Final last year with the Canadians in sixth and Brazil in eighth. Spain was eliminated in European qualifying last year but finished fifth in both 2013 and 2014. The US will be heavily favored to win this group.
Group B Schedule:
Tuesday – USA vs. Brazil, Canada vs. Spain
Wednesday – USA vs. Canada, Spain vs. Brazil
Thursday – USA vs. Spain, Brazil vs. Canada