USA Women’s Water Polo Picks Up Win Over Kazakhstan

The USA Women’s National Team won their second straight match at the FINA Intercontinental Tournament, defeating Kazakhstan 13-6. Abbi Hill (Santa Barbara, CA/Dos Pueblos HS/Santa Barbara 805) scored three goals to lead the offense with Gabby Stone (La Jolla, CA/Stanford/San Diego Shores) posting seven saves in net. Team USA will now take on Japan later today in quarterfinal play at 9:40pm pt (12:40am et April 6).  Live streaming is available by clicking here. For more information on the event, visit FINAAuckland2018.com. Watch a full recap of the USA-Kazakhstan game by clicking here.

The first quarter was a high scoring affair with Team USA opening up a 6-4 lead. They added two unanswered goals in the second quarter to go in front 8-4 at halftime. In the third they pulled away outscoring Kazakhstan 4-1 for a 12-5 lead. A low-scoring fourth quarter followed but the victory had been secured as Team USA won 13-6.

The United States went 2/8 on power plays and 0/1 on penalty shots with Kazakhstan going 2/5 on power plays and 1/1 on penalty shots.

Scoring
USA 13 (6, 2, 4, 1) V. Ayala 2, M. Seidemann 1, R. Fattal 1, J. Neushul 2, S. Haralabidis 2, A. Hill 3, K. Gilchrist 2
KAZ 6 (4, 0, 1, 1)
Saves – USA – G. Stone 7
6×5 – USA – 2/8 – KAZ – 2/5
Penalties – USA – 0/1 – KAZ – 1/1

Auckland, New Zealand – April 4 – The USA Men’s National Team earned their third straight win at the FINA Intercontinental Tournament with a 12-10 win over Japan. Alex Obert (Loomis, CA/Pacific/NYAC) and Alex Bowen(Santee, CA/Stanford/NYAC) scored three goals each in the win. Alex Wolf (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/Bruin) and Drew Holland (Orinda, CA/Stanford/Lamorinda) combined for 14 saves. Team USA returns to play on Thursday against China at 7:40pm et/4:40pm pt. Live streaming is available by clicking here. For more information on the event, visit FINAAuckland2018.com. Watch a full recap of the USA-Japan game by clicking here.

The two sides were even after one quarter with the match tied at 3-3 after eight minutes. Team USA pushed ahead in the second to take a 7-6 lead at halftime. In the third quarter each side delivered three goals leaving the United States ahead by one after three quarters. In the final period the United States was able to outscore Japan 2-1 to secure a two goal victory.

Team USA went 7/14 on power plays without any penalty shots while Japan went 6/18 on power plays and 0/1 on penalties.

USA – 12 (3, 4, 3, 2) A. Obert 3, A. Bowen 3, J. Hooper 1, H. Daube 1, A. Roelse 1, C. Ramirez 1, M. Irving 1
JPN – 10 (3, 3, 3, 1)
Saves – USA – A. Wolf 9, D. Holland 5
6×5 – USA 7/14 – JPN – 6/18
Penalties – USA – 0/0 – JPN – 0/1