U.S. Women’s Water Polo Wins Opening Match at World Championships

Aug 7, 2012; London, United Kingdom; USA center back Maggie Steffens (6) with the ball in the second quarter against Australia in the women's semifinal in the London 2012 Olympic Games at Water Polo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

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The U.S. women’s water polo team opened played at the 2015 FINA World Championship with a statement, downing Brazil 13-2. Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/Diablo) scored three goals to pace the offense and Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/Miami Riptides) stopped 14 shots in net.

A replay of the match will air later today on Universal Sports at 6pm et/3pm pt. Team USA returns to action on Tuesday when they meet Italy at 12:10pm local time. The match will stream live on UniversalSports.com at 5:10am est/2:10 am pt. A replay will air on Universal Sports at 6:00pm et/3:00pm pt. For more streaming information, click here.

In the win over Brazil, the United States controlled things from the start leaping out to a 6-0 lead in the first period. Steffens and Kami Craig (Santa Barbara, CA/USC/Santa Barbara) scored in the opening ninety seconds and Team USA never looked back. Ahead 2-0, Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL) and Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach HS/SET) delivered, the latter coming via penalty. With just 1:05 to play in the period Courtney Mathewson (Anaheim Hills, CA/UCLA/NYAC) put a cap on the opening burst with a power play goal for a 6-0 advantage.

The second period was more of the same with Fattal, Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/Corona del Mar HS/CdM Aquatics), and Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Beach, CA/USC/Trojan) all hitting paydirt for a 9-0 lead headed into halftime. In the third quarter the USA attack continued with goals from Steffens and Kiley Neushul (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara) for an 11-0 lead. Brazil broke through with their first score moments later on an Amanda Oliveira goal and an 11-1 match. Both offenses remained quiet the rest of the way and Team USA held a 10 goal lead as play moved to the fourth.

Neushul and Steffens teamed up again in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, adding two more goals to build a 13-1 lead. Brazil would tally one more goal late, but the damage had been done as Team USA cruised to victory. The United States went 3/5 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Brazil was 0/5 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty.

Scoring
Scoresheet
USA 13 (6, 3, 2, 2) M. Steffens 3, M. Fischer 2, R. Fattal 2, K. Neushul 2, K. Craig 1, K. Gilchrist 1, M. Musselman 1, C. Mathewson 1
BRA 2 (0, 0, 1, 1) A. Oliveira 1, I. Chiappini 1
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 14 – BRA – T. Oliveira 4, V. Chamorro 2
6×5 – USA – 3/5 – BRA – 0/5
Penalties – USA – 1/1 – BRA 0/0

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