{"id":377811,"date":"2019-07-04T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=377811"},"modified":"2019-07-04T13:05:48","modified_gmt":"2019-07-04T20:05:48","slug":"greek-olympic-odyssey-takes-them-to-heart-of-american-water-polo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/greek-olympic-odyssey-takes-them-to-heart-of-american-water-polo\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Polo Odyssey Takes Greek Women To California and Collision with Team USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWPORT HARBOR, CA. Last Saturday night at Riverside Community College in the first of four friendly matches with the U.S. women\u2019s national water polo team, the Greek national team was thoroughly dominated by the host Americans, dropping a 17-6 decision. Maddie Musselman <\/strong>of the U.S. scored four goals, while Alys Williams<\/strong> chipped in three. Goalie Gabby Stone<\/strong> turned away 13 Greek attempts.<\/p>\n

The large deficit was perhaps explained away by jet-lag and adjustments to the conditions of California polo.<\/p>\n

\"stone-roverside-jun19\"

Gabby Stone makes a save Saturday in Riverside. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne<\/p><\/div>\n

On Monday night at Newport Harbor High School, Team USA won again in even more dominating fashion, breaking out to a 7-0 lead on its way to a 14-3 victory. Maggie Steffens<\/strong> and Melissa Seidemann<\/strong>\u2014members of the 2012 and 2016 squads that captured back-to-back Olympic golds\u2014each chipped in with a hat trick for the victorious Americans. Ashleigh Johnson<\/strong>, who backstopped the winning U.S. effort at the Rio Olympics, recorded 13 stops.<\/p>\n

[Watch all US vs Greek 2019 friendlies on YouTube<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n

These first stops on a multi-city training trip are meant to sharpen Greek skills for the upcoming<\/a> FINA World Championships next month in Gwangju, South Korea. Instead, Giorgos Morfesis<\/strong>, head coach for Greece’s national team, has identified only his squad\u2019s glaring weaknesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be smarter on offense; our final choices have got to be better because our physical condition isn\u2019t as good as the U.S,\u201d Morfesis said after Saturday\u2019s match. \u201cWe have to play smarter. \u2026 [because] they\u2019re bigger and stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that decision-making against an aggressive American squad is a tall order.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be more challenging against [the U.S.] and improve our pace in the game,\u201d Morfesis added. \u201cWe have to decide what works for us what doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting anything to work has been an uphill battle for the Greeks so far\u2014a situation that must be corrected if they are to qualify for their first Olympics since 2008.<\/p>\n

A numbers game<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For the U.S.\u2014which qualified for their sixth straight Olympic Games three weeks ago by winning<\/a> the FINA World League Super Final title\u2014the most important number is 11. That\u2019s the roster limit imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for next year’s Tokyo Games, which creates a fiercely competitive environment among the 18 women currently on the U.S. roster.<\/p>\n

With nine Olympians vying for spots, the majority of Head Coach Adam Krikorian\u2019s<\/strong> squad is likely set. But, with a spectacular string of success, including 45 straight wins, not only is Team USA the world\u2019s most dominant women\u2019s squad, they\u2019re also the deepest.<\/p>\n

\"haralabidis-jun19\"

Stephania Haralabidis would perhaps be the best player on her native Greece’s squad\u2014but she’s playing for Team USA. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne<\/p><\/div>\n

An example of this is Stephania Haralabidis<\/strong>. The lefty attacker won the 2016 Cutino Award as the nation’s best female collegiate player\u2014the same year she led USC to an NCAA championship. Originally from Greece, after residing in America for high school and college, Haralabidis switched to a US passport and is now fighting for a spot in Krikorian\u2019s rotation. An extremely fast and fluid player, her offensive skills would be a tremendous boost to the Greek attack.<\/p>\n

If Morfesis is disappointed at his countrywoman\u2019s choice, he was keen not to show it. \u201cIt was her choice; her life is here now\u2026 life is more important than water polo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Haralabidis did not score in either match\u2014one of the few Americans who didn\u2019t\u2014but she was a dynamic player throughout, with a number of pin-point passes that resulted in easy scores for her teammates. It\u2019s not her offense that will determine if she makes the final cut for her adopted country. Haralabidis\u2019 ability to defend will likely be decisive, given the defense-first approach that Krikorian demands of his players.<\/p>\n

Greeks can\u2019t keep up<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With only a limited amount of time to practice, and hampered by the distance traveled and time zone changes, the visitors immediately fell into a 4-0 hole against the host Americans on Saturday. The difference grew to 12-6 by the end of the third period, then the home team took full advantage of their jet-lagged visitors, sprinting to a 5-0 finish.<\/p>\n

The Greek head coach chalked the performance up to a 7,000-mile journey as well as a lack of practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was our third scrimmage [together]; we practiced but that was the first with referees,\u201d Morfesis said. \u201cWe\u2019re still tired with jet lag from the travel. It\u2019s our third day here, so we\u2019re trying to adjust to the time difference. In Greece it\u2019s 7 a.m. right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a few more days to acclimate, the first period at Newport Harbor looked more promising, as the Greek deficit after one period was two.<\/p>\n

\"women-final-usa-spain-anna-espar-liaquet-esp-rachel-fattal-usa-2017-world-champs\"

Rachal Fattal in 2017 against Spain. Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA<\/p><\/div>\n

Then the Americans, led by Rachel Fattal<\/strong>, dropped the hammer on their opponents. Fattal\u2014who would be the most dominant player on any other squad in the world but plays off of Steffens, Musselman and others\u2014beat goalie Ioanna<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Stamatopoulou<\/strong> on a five-meter blast minutes into the second period. Then, underscoring how valuable she is to Krikorian\u2019s attack, Fattal corralled an errant pass and converted, giving her squad a four-goal advantage.<\/p>\n

After scores by Musselman, Aria Fischer<\/strong> and then Seidemann, Alkisti Avramidou<\/strong> finally got the visitors on the board three minutes into the third period.<\/p>\n

Morfesis knows his team must adjust; with two more matches against the two-time defending world champions, it\u2019s imperative the Greeks improve against the style of play favored by their hosts.<\/p>\n

Helping prepare for the American attack is Alkistis Benekou<\/strong>. From 2014 to 2018 she played in the U.S. for Arizona State, finishing her Sun Devil career with 181 goals, good for third on the program\u2019s all-time scoring list. Benekou, who initially struggled in her freshman year at ASU, was clear about what her team needs to do to be more competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201c[American players] were much strong and they were moving a lot. It was hard to defend their drives,\u201d she said after the match in Riverside. \u201cEuropeans play more with tactics and we don\u2019t move much. Here they play more press so you have to be mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acknowledging a dimension of the American attack that\u2019s hard to counter, Benekou added: \u201cBecause of our bodies we\u2019re not that big\u2014so we can\u2019t press as much as the U.S. does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her coach then chipped in. \u201cWe are Mediterraneans,\u201d Morfesis said, underscoring the size difference between opponents. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to use our brains more.\u201d<\/p>\n

One goal: open the Worlds with a win<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Going into Gwangju, the US will again be favored for gold. If they manage this feat\u2014and it would be foolish to doubt a squad that has captured titles in its last 11 tournaments\u2014Krikorian\u2019s squad will have accomplished a unique feat: three straight FINA World Championships. The dominant Hungarian men\u2019s teams that captured gold in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics finished first at Worlds in 2003 but fell short in 2005 and 2007, losing in the finals both years.<\/p>\n

Greece obviously has ambitions to do well next month; why else would they travel to California and face the world\u2019s best at home? There is an important prize at stake: the top finisher at Worlds earns a berth to Tokyo. The Americans and host Japanese are already in, so claiming one of the eight remaining spots is a the Greek goal.<\/p>\n

\"women-final-usa-spain-margaret-steffens-usa-2017-world-champs\"

There’s little doubt that USA’s Maggie Steffens is the world’s best. Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite injuries to lefty attacker Elisavet Protopapas <\/strong>and goalie Chrysi Diamantopoulou,<\/strong> Morfesis is zeroing on what his team needs to be fully prepared by the time they arrive in Gwangju.<\/p>\n

\u201c14th of July is our first game for the Worlds\u2014that\u2019s the moment we have to be at our best,\u201d he explained. \u201cOur first game is Spain, so we have to have a strategy for this game\u2026 we have to hide our weaknesses and take advantage of our strong side. We\u2019ve got to be ready for [the Spanish] centers because they\u2019re pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loss of Diamantopoulou is huge setback; she is the squad’s best keeper, but will miss World recovering from shoulder surgery. Still, the Greeks remain undaunted; an opening win against Spain would set them up for an easier path to a favorable quarterfinal match-up, given that group rivals include Cuba and Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n

[FINA Approves New Water Polo Rules; More Changes Likely<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n

Besides preparing for a tough opening match-up, Morfesis hopes his players gain experience with the new water polo rules recently imposed by FINA. But\u2014unlike the Americans’ concerns\u2014focusing on the new rules or reducing his roster to fit the IOC\u2019s dictate is the least of the Greek coach’s concerns.<\/p>\n

We just want to make the Olympics,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t care if it\u2019s nine, 11 or 13.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWPORT HARBOR, CA. Last Saturday night at Riverside Community College in the first of four friendly matches with the U.S. women\u2019s national water polo team, the Greek national team was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":378298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[92923,3384,92918,65599,61254,50841,39795,93062,93820,61131,93818,93821,93819,37598,39337,39212,60192,7394,32490,93822,61197,4600,7419,52775],"class_list":["post-377811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-water-polo","tag-18th-fina-world-championships","tag-adam-krikorian","tag-alkisti-avramidou","tag-alkistis-benekou","tag-alys-williams","tag-aria-fischer","tag-ashleigh-johnson","tag-chrysi-diamantopoulou","tag-elisavet-protopapas","tag-gabby-stone","tag-giorgos-morfesis","tag-greek-national-water-polo","tag-ioanna-stamatopoulou","tag-maddie-musselman","tag-maggie-steffens","tag-melissa-seidemann","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-newport-harbor-high-school","tag-rachel-fattal","tag-riverside-community-college","tag-stephania-haralabidis","tag-team-usa","tag-tokyo-olympics","tag-u-s-womens-water-polo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nWater Polo Odyssey Takes Greek Women To California and Collision with Team USA - 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