Water Polo: 1999 Men’s FINA World Cup – USA Defeats Greece

Courtesy www.usawaterpolo.com
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – The United States men won their third consecutive match at the FINA World Cup, defeating Greece 10-4. The win send the team into the fifth place match Sunday against Yugoslavia, 7-5 winners over Australia.

Greece struck first with an outside shot by Dmitrios Mazis. Wolf Wigo evened the count on the next possession with an extra-man goal. Chi Kredell also converted with a man up for a 2-1 United States lead after the first quarter.

Georgios Afroudakis tied the score with a rebound goal at 4:06 but the U.S. answered right back with a six-on-five score by Brad Schumacher. The half ended with Afroudakis finding the net again for a 3-3 tie.

Team captain Chris Oeding converted a penalty shot one minute into the third quarter for a 4-3 lead. Konstantinos Loudis’ extra-man score pulled Greece to 4-4, but that was the last that United States goalkeeper Dan Hackett would allow. Chris Humbert powered a goal home from two-meters on the ensuing possession and the U.S. pulled away with goals by Kyle Kopp and Wigo before the third quarter buzzer.

The onslaught continued in the final frame, with Kopp, Gavin Arroyo and Ryan Bailey netting fourth quarter goals. Hackett was outstanding throughout the match, tallying 13 saves out of 17 shots on goal (76.5 percent).

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