Courtesy: USA Water Polo
SURGUT, Russia – The USA Women’s National Team opened the 2018 FINA World Cup with a convincing 18-2 win over New Zealand.
The two-time defending champions in this event were led by Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET) on offense with four goals and Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC) in net with one save.
Team USA returns to action on Wednesday against South Africa at 9am et/6am pt. 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.
The match was scoreless early on with each team failing to find the back of the net through one quarter. In the second things picked up as Team USA exploded for eight goals to grab an 8-2 lead at halftime. The two goals New Zealand delivered in the second quarter were all they would score on the day. The United States continued to pile on the offense in the third quarter adding six more goals followed by four in the fourth to confirm the 18-2 victory.
Team USA went 3/4 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties with New Zealand going 1/4 on power plays with no penalties attempted.
Scoring – Box Score
USA 18 (0, 8, 6, 4) A. Fischer 4, K. Gilchrist 3, A. Williams 2, J. Raney 2, S. Haralabidis 2, R. Fattal 2, A. Williams 2, P. Hauschild 1, M. Fischer 1, K. Neushul 1
NZL 2 (0, 2, 0, 0) K. Enoka 1, K. McKenty 1
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 13
6×5 – USA – 3/4 – NZL – 1/4
Penalties – USA – 1/1 – NZL – 0/0