Kunshan, China – June 4 – The USA Women’s Senior National Team won gold at the 2016 Kunshan Cup after defeating Australia 7-5. Kiley Neushul (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara) scored four goals in the final while Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC) posted eight saves in goal. Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC) was named MVP of the tournament. Team USA now prepares for the FINA World League Super Final, starting Tuesday in Shanghai. Click here to see the full roster and schedule for that event.
Team USA opened up early with the lead taking a 3-2 advantage after the first quarter and going ahead 6-4 at halftime. Australia blanked Team USA in the third quarter while adding a goal of their own to make it 6-5 with just eight minutes to play. In the fourth quarter the United States turned the tables blanking Australia 1-0 en route to the 7-5 victory.
The United States went 4/9 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty while Australia went 2/8 on power plays and 1/1 on penalty shots.
Scoring
USA 7 (3, 3, 0, 1) K. Neushul 4, M. Musselman 1, M. Steffens 1, C. Mathewson 1
AUS 5 (2, 2, 1, )
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 8
6×5 – USA – 4/9 – AUS – 2/8
Penalties – USA – 0/0 – AUS – 1/1
USA Water Polo contributed this report.