Villa Park, Calif., May 23, 2002\u2014It was the U.S. vs. the World on Wednesday night at Villa Park High School in Orange County. And this time, the World won.<\/p>\n
In the first of a series of exhibitions to be held throughout the state over the next month, the World All-Stars defeated the USA men\u2019s water polo team in an offense-drenched contest, 16-13.<\/p>\n
The World All-Star Team, which is comprised of some of the most seasoned players in the world, got on the board first with a goal by Hungary\u2019s Zolt Varga at the 7:24 mark in the first quarter and went up 2-0 on Varga\u2019s second goal just two minutes later.<\/p>\n
The U.S. fought its way into the score column on a score by Jack Kocur (Simi Valley, CA\/Pepperdine\/NYAC) with 3:22 to play and evened the score at 2-2 on a goal by Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA\/UCLA\/NYAC) on the next possession.<\/p>\n
Team USA trailed by as much as three in the first half, but stayed with the All-Stars and trailed, 9-8 at the break.<\/p>\n
The All-Stars held a 14-10 advantage early in the fourth quarter, but three unanswered goals by the U.S. brought the score to 14-13 with 3:37 remaining in the game. However, the World All-Stars managed two late scores to seal the 16-13 win.<\/p>\n
Loss or no, U.S. head coach Ratko Rudic was pleased with his team\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe World All-Star Team is one of the best collections of water polo players ever assembled,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a learning experience for us, so all things considered this was a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israeli left hander Gadi Hagar poured in four goals for the All-Stars in the win.<\/p>\n
Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA\/UC Irvine\/Newport Water Polo Foundation) scored four goals in the loss for the U.S., while Kocur, Wright, and Larry Felix (Anaheim, CA\/Pepperdine\/NYAC) netted two apiece.<\/p>\n
Clinic Snapshots<\/b>
\nTeam USA held its first World All-Stars Tour Clinic on Saturday (May 19) at La Canada High School. The clinic, gauged as a success by the national team
\nstaff, featured scrimmages, demonstrations, video sessions, training and therapy sessions, and a question-and-answer forum with the national team.
\nAmong the questions that were thrown out were the following:<\/p>\n
1.\tWho is the best player on your team?
\nNever an easy question to answer when you\u2019re in the company of some of the finest athletes in the world. To prevent any playful rivalries from emerging, Coach Rudic fielded the question saying that they are all great in their own way.<\/p>\n
2.\tWhy do you guys practice so early?
\n\u201cGood question,\u201d could be heard mumbled from the national teamers, a quip that was met by several laughs.<\/p>\n
3.\tWhat are we doing after this?
\nAhhh, the patience of the young. \u201cNext question,\u201d said assistant coach Rick Azevedo.<\/p>\n
The clinic welcomed over 50 young athletes, as did the second at Villa Park. For photos of the La Canada clinic, please visit the web at
\nhttp:\/\/www.rsphoto.com\/waterpolo_net\/.
\nAll photos are courtesy of Rod Snyder.<\/p>\n
Missing in Action<\/b>
\nTeam USA was without any of its returning Olympians in Wednesday\u2019s 16-13 loss to the World All-Stars. Sharpshooter Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA\/Stanford\/Long Beach Shore) is finishing up school at Stanford and is only able to make weekend exhibitions for the next few weeks. Hole-man Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA\/UC Irvine\/Long Beach Shore), who recently became the first American to participate in the European Water Polo Final Four with his team JUG Dubrovnik (Croatia), has not yet returned to the States. Team captain Wolf Wigo (New York,NY\/Stanford\/NYAC) has been playing
\nprofessionally in Greece and has not been able to make any games to this point. However, both Wigo and Azevedo are expected to be in attendance for this weekend\u2019s festivities at Savannah High School in Anaheim.<\/p>\n
The Shoe\u2019s Definitely on the Other Foot 2000 U.S. Olympian Brad Schumacher could be seen as a turncoat. On Wednesday night, \u201cShoe\u201d was playing against his former mates as a member of the World All-Star Team. Schumacher recently made a splash internationally when he was named as the Most Valuable Player of the Australian Water Polo League, an honor he earned by helping his team (Fremantle Zanzibar Mariners) to the
\nleague\u2019s final four. Schumacher had one goal against the U.S.<\/p>\n
Shootout Mayhem<\/b>
\nAs part of the tour, U.S. coach Ratko Rudic has decided to implement more fan participation. In the first-ever World All-Stars Tour Halftime Shootout,
\nnearly two dozen kids took to the pool for three shots apiece at either U.S. goalkeeper Genai Kerr (Imperial Beach, CA\/UC Irvine\/Newport Water Polo Foundation) or Italian sensation Marco Gerini. The anarchy was masterminded by U.S. driver Jack Kocur at center pool, with t-shirts pegged as the prize for the top three shooters. \u201cShirts for everyone,\u201d Kocur declared as time expired on the shootout, an announcement that was not so well received by the national team staff. \u201cWe\u2019re going to run out of shirts! Only the top
\nthree!\u201d So, wistfully, Kocur was forced to renege on his generosity.<\/p>\n
Remaining Tour Dates and Clinic Schedule<\/b>
\nParticipating in the tour, in addition to members of the USA Men\u2019s National Team, are a handful of international stars who have won a total of three
\nOlympic gold medals, one Olympic silver and two Olympic bronze medals.<\/p>\n
For more information about Team USA and the World All-Stars, please visit http:\/\/www.usawaterpolo.com\/~uswpstaff\/world\/index.htm<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of Eric Velazquez and USA Water Polo. Posted by Michael Collins)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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