US Men’s Water Polo Pick Up Second Win Over Serbia

Riverside, CA – June 4 – Another sellout crowd and another Team USA win over Serbia. This time a pivotal third quarter pushed the USA Men’s National Team to a 9-5 win over Serbia, their second straight over the second ranked team in the world, at the Riverside Aquatics Complex. Bret Bonanni (Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford), Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC), and Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC) scored two goals each in the win while McQuin Baron (North Tustin, CA/USC/Regency) added eight saves in net. Team USA held Serbia scoreless in the third while scoring three goals to expand a 5-4 halftime lead into an 8-4 advantage. To rewatch tonight’s game, click here.

The two teams will meet again on Sunday at El Toro High School in Lake Forest, CA at 5pm. Limited tickets are still on sale and can be purchased by clicking here.

Serbia struck first to open the scoring in the first period but Team USA responded with two straight goals from Bonanni and Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport) to snag a 2-1 lead after the first period. Strahinja Rasovic answered with a tally to open the second but Azevedo and Samuels hit for two straight to build a 4-2 advantage. Stefan Mitrovic and Slobodan Nikic scored two straight for Serbia to even the match at 4-4 but Team USA would take the lead into halftime thanks to a goal from Bonanni with 1:03 to go in the first half.

The third quarter and largely the second half defined the match. Team USA held Serbia scoreless in the third while adding three more goals, the last coming from Azevedo with just two seconds to play. Ahead 8-4 to open the fourth, John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) put the match away tossing a hookshot over the head of Serbia’s goalkeeper for a 9-4 lead. Serbia finally broke through with a score in the second half but it came with just six seconds to play and did not factor in the decision.

Scoring – Scoresheet
USA 9 (2, 3, 3, 1) T. Azevedo 2, B. Bonanni 2, J. Samuels 2, L. Cupido 1, A. Bowen 1, J. Mann 1
SRB 5 (1, 3, 0, 1) S. Nikic 2, V. Rasovic 1, S. Rasovic 1, S. Mitrovic 1
Saves – USA – M. Baron 8 – SRB – G. Pijetlovic 6, B. Mitrovic 3
6×5 – USA – 4/7 – SRB – 1-8
Penalties – USA – 0/1 – SRB – 1-1