Paris 2024: Spain Rolls, USA Wins Brutal Defensive Battle in Women’s Water Polo Quarterfinals

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• Water Polo: July 27 – August 11, 2024
•  Paris Aquatic Centre/La Défense Arena — Paris, France
• Meet Central
• Full Water Polo Match Schedule

Tuesday saw the women’s water polo quarterfinals matches for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Of course, there were 4 quarterfinals matches, for which here is a summary of the results:

• Spain def. Canada, 18-8
• Natherlands def. Italy, 11-8
• Australia def. Greece, 9-6
• USA def. Hungary, 5-4

The match that stands out the most was the USA vs. Hungary match, which was a defensive battle for the ages. The Americans won, which is highly impressive, because Hungary put up way more shots. The Hungarian squad managed to shoot the ball 31 times, while the Americans only got 22 shots up. The difference in the game offensively was that the US team made the most out of their extra player shots, scoring on 3 of 9. Juxtapose that with Hungary, who only managed to score 1 goal on 7 extra player shots.

The hero of the match for the Americans was goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson, who managed to save 17/21 shots, an 81% save rate. She also came up with a clutch save when she blocked the only 6-meter shot Hungary put up.

Australia defeated Greece in their quarterfinal match through very efficient offense. They only shot the ball 27 times in the match, however, the Aussies connected on 9 of those shots.

Netherlands overcame Italy thanks to a phenomenal performance in extra player situations. The Dutch team got 9 shots off in extra player situations, and they scored on 6 of those. They were the most efficient team offensively in the quarterfinals on extra player shots.

In the first quarterfinal match of the day, Spain dominated Canada. Spain had the most dynamic and explosive offense in the quarterfinals, putting up 38 shots. They scored on 18 of those shots. Spain was particularly great on penalty shots, where she scored 4 times on 4 shots.

Semifinals Schedule

• Thursday, August 8th: Netherlands vs Spain
• Thursday, August 8th: USA vs Australia