USA Women’s Water Polo Downs China 11-14 to Move to Gold-Medal Match at FINA World Cup

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

Photo Courtesy: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

KHANTY-MANSIYSK, Russia, August 16. THE USA Women’s Senior National Team will play for gold at the FINA World Cup following an 11-4 defeat of China. The defending World Cup champions, the United States, will defend their title in a rematch from 2010, meeting Australia on Sunday at 6:30am pt. Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/Diablo) scored four goals in the victory while Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/Gulliver Riptides) posted 11 saves in net. A live webcast is scheduled to be offered through FINA TV and can be accessed by clicking here. The webcast may also be viewable, by clicking here. For complete tournament results, visit the official FINA website by clicking here.

Team USA got off to a hot start in the win over China opening up a 4-0 lead after the first period. They continued the onslaught with three more unanswered goals in the second period to take a 7-0 lead at halftime. China rallied in the third period outscoring the United States 3-2 to close within 9-3. The United States responded with two more goals in the fourth to put the match away and take the game 11-4.

The United States went 4/7 on power plays while China went 2/9. “We played excellent on both sides of the ball in the first half but became a little complacent in the second half. We look forward to playing in the final tomorrow,” said USA Head Coach Adam Krikorian.

Scoring
USA 11 (4, 3, 2, 2) M. Steffens 4, K. Craig 2, M. Seidemann 1, R. Fattal 1, K. Neushul 1, K. Clark 1, C. Mathewson 1
CHN 4 (0, 0, 3, 1)
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 11
6×5 – USA – 4/7 – CHN 2/9

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use