Courtesy: USA Water Polo
SURGUT, Russia – The USA Women’s National Team will play for gold at the FINA World Cup following an 11-5 win over Spain.
Team USA will take on Russia in the final at 10:30am et/7:30am pt on Sunday in their efforts to win a third straight World Cup title.
In the win over Spain, Team USA was led by three goals from Paige Hauschild (Santa Barbara, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805) and 10 saves in net from Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC).
Every match will stream live with replays available on-demand via FINA TV and can be accessed at FINATV.LIVE (subscription required). For more information on the event including the full Team USA roster, click here. For live stats from each match, visit LiveWaterPolo.com.
Team USA jumped out to an early lead taking a 3-0 advantage in the first quarter behind two goals from Jamie Neushul (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara 805) and another from Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC). Spain looked to battle back in the third scoring three goals but Team USA countered with four more goals of their own. Team USA went ahead 5-0 but Spain’s rally made it 7-3 at halftime.
In the third quarter Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET) and Kiley Neushul (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/NYAC) added goals to put the United States ahead 9-4. They scored twice more in the fourth to seal the victory at 11-5. Team USA went 7/11 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties with Spain going 1/9 on power plays with no penalties attempted.
Team USA is currently on a 25-game winning streak and will look to win their third straight World Cup title on Sunday joining titles in 2014 and 2010. The program also won the 1979 World Cup title.
Scoring – Box Score
USA 11 (3, 4, 2, 2) P. Hauschild 3, J. Neushul 2, M. Fischer 2, K. Gilchrist 1, A. Fischer 1, M. Steffens 1, K. Neushul 1
ESP 5 (0, 3, 1, 1) M. Pena 2, P. Leiton 2, H. Lloret 1
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 10
6×5 – USA – 7/11 – ESP – 1/9
Penalties – USA – 2/2 – ESP – 0/0