SYDNEY, June 28. IN front of a crowd of 400 fans, USA Water Polo edged out the Australians, 13-12, after four tight quarters at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center for their first win of the season Wednesday. The U.S. team now has a season record of 1-2 as it prepares for the premier event of the summer, the FINA World League Series. The preliminary round of the series will be held from July 14-16 in Victoria, Canada, followed by the semifinal round at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos, Calif., from July 19-23. The Senior National Men's Water Polo Team is in Australia through July 2 for a rigorous 10-day training camp with the Australian National Team.
Three U.S. players notched a hat trick. New Senior National team player Peter Varellas and Olympians Tony Azevedo and Jesse Smith each found the back of the cage three times during the game. Olympian Layne Beaubien scored twice and Olympian Ryan Bailey and Rick Merlo each scored once. Goalkeeper Merrill Moses had 11 saves.
"The game was physical and there were many lead changes throughout," said Men's National Team Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo. "At the end, the guys put together a nice run to pull out a victory."