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
Day 3 of the Olympic water polo tournament was full of excitement. In one of the best battles of the competition thus far, the reigning Olympic Champion US women were taken down by the reigning Olympic silver medalist Spain. There was also a major upset on the day as home nation France defeated 2023 World Championship bronze medalists Italy in a narrow 1-point victory.
Group B, Match 5: France 9, Italy 8
Home team France pulled off a mild upset of 2023 World Championship bronze medalists Italy with a 9-8 victory, rebounding from a loss to Spain on the first day of competition. Though France registered the first goal of the game, with Ema Vernoux netting a penalty shot with 4:56 left in the first period, Italy made an early push for the lead, scoring 3 unanswered goals to end the period up 3-1. Despite the early deficit, the French remained unphased, with Juliette Dhalluin scoring a goal on a counter attack 30 seconds into the second period. Italy’s Giuditta Galardi then took advantage of an open center shot to bring the score to 4-2. However, Orsolya Hertzka and Dhalluin fired back with two goals of their own, tying the game up at 4-4 only a minute later. The Italians made an effort to pull-away again late in the second period, with Chiara Tabani netting a goal with 2 minutes left, followed by teammate Claudia Roberta Marletta to give Italy a 6-4 advantage at the half.
France attempted to regain some ground early in the third period, but the team was matched both offensively and defensively by their Italian counterparts. It wasn’t until 2:59 left in the period that France finally caught some momentum with Lara Andres scoring off of an exclusion on Galardi to bring the score within 1 point. A minute later, Andres got a rebound to Louise Guillet for another French goal, tying the game. Italian Sofia Giustini netted another goal a few seconds later, putting her team up 7-6 to end the third period. It did not take nearly as long for the French to catch momentum in the fourth period as Andres hit the game-tying shot only 2 minutes into the period. From there, a bombardment of French goals occurred over a 3 minute span, bringing the team into a 9-7 lead, their first of the game. Though the Italians attempted to respond, the team only managed one goal in the closing minutes of the game, giving the French team a 9-8 victory.
Group B, Match 6: Spain 13, USA 11
In one of the marquee matchups of the tournament thus far, the defending Olympic gold medalist United States were taken down by the defending silver medalists Spain in a close game.
The US got the early advantage, with Maggie Steffens netting a penalty shot goal only 30 seconds into the first period. However, upon gaining possession of the ball, Spain immediately fired back with Elena Ruiz Barril hitting a goal of her own on an action shot, tying the game up 1-1. Jordan Raney regained the lead for the Americans, hitting 2 goals off of Spanish penalties to bring the score to 3-1 in favor of the US. In the final minute of the first period, Spain finally had an opportunity to fire back with an exclusion on US player Ryann Neushul. Maica Garcia Godoy took advantage of the opportunity, scoring to end the first quarter with a score of 3-2. Though both teams attempted shots early in the second period, neither netted additional points until Spain’s Judith Forca Ariza scored with 6:13 left in the half, tying the score up again at 3-3. Only a few seconds later, Spain took their first lead of the game with a goal from Pili Pena. However, the US responded quickly with Jewel Roemer scoring off an exclusion on Isabel Piralkova Coello. After another series of exchanged goals, Spain’s Godoy scored once-again to give Spain the 6-5 lead entering the half.
Early into the third quarter, Spain continued to extend their lead with Barriga hitting an action shot off of the sprint. Only a minute later, Fattal helped erase part of the deficit with a goal off of a penalty on Godoy. However, Spain quickly earned that point back to get to an 8-6 lead and then extended it to a 11-6 lead by scoring another 3 points. The US finally caught a break in the Spanish scoring surge, with Tara Prentice hitting a goal on an action shot with 3:21 left in the quarter. Maddie Musselman added an additional US point just afterwards, and then Flynn netted an additional goal with 9 seconds remaining in the quarter, resulting in a 11-9 score in favor of Spain to end the third period. In the 4th period, the US came out firing after winning the sprint. However, the team couldn’t net the ball until 5:35 left in the quarter when Kaleigh Gilchrist scored to bring the US within 1 point of Spain. Within seconds however, Spain rebuked with a goal of their own, seemingly putting the seal on the game. In a last-ditch effort, the US executed several last minute penalty shots, but only one stuck, leading to a 13-11 victory for Spain.
Group A, Match 7: Netherlands 15, China 11
China got out to a quick 2 point lead right off of the start thanks to goals from Yan Siya and Yan Jing. Throughout the beginning of the first quarter, the Chinese team did a great job holding down the Netherlands’ offensive effort, limiting the team to only a few missed shots and turnovers. However, the Netherlands caught a break when Brigitte Sleeking scored a counter attack goal with 3:43 left in the quarter, bringing the score to 2-1. China seemed unfazed by the attack though, as they continued to extend their lead by an additional 2 points, ending the quarter with a 4-1 advantage. China continued to execute offensively in the beginning of the second quarter, responding to every goal attempt by the Netherlands. When Simone van de Kraats dropped a counter attack goal for the Netherlands, China’s Xiong Dunhan immediately fired back to score and keep a 3 point lead. Again, van de Kraats scored for the Netherlands and was met by a responding goal from the Chinese team. The struggle continued throughout the period, with it ultimately ending with the same 3 point lead for the Chinese team with a score of 8-5.
Early in the 3rd period, the Netherlands began to build huge momentum with Iris Wolves and Maartje Keuning each adding points for the team in the first 2 minutes to narrow the Chinese lead down to 1 point. Finally, with 4:23 left in the quarter, Kittylynn Joustra scored off of an exclusion on Chinese player Nong Sanfeng, tying the score at 8-8. Though China made every effort to reestablish their lead, the Netherlands fought tooth and nail to keep the game close, actually ending the period up 10-9, their first lead of the game. They continued to extend that lead into the 4th period, with Bente Rogge scoring almost immediately off of the sprint to give the Netherlands a 11-9 lead. Through a series of rapid points, that lead continued to be extended, with the Netherlands ultimately ending up with a 15-10 lead with less than 3 minutes left to play. Though Deng Zewen added another goal for China in the last 1:30 of the game, the Netherlands held on for the 15-11 victory.
Group A, Match 8: Hungary 12, Canada 7
From the onset of this game, it was clear that Hungary had the advantage. Despite turning over the ball off of the sprint, Vanda Valyi quickly gained repossession of the ball for Hungary, getting it to teammate Rebecca Parkes for the goal and 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Parkes scored her second goal of the game off of an action shot down the center of the goal. With 2:43 left in the quarter, Rita Keszthelti took advantage of a turnover, producing another Hungarian goal for a 3-0 lead. Canada finally got on the board with 2:16 left in the period as Hayley McKelvey hit the net on an action shot. However, the period ended in a 4-1 lead for the Hungarians. Canada made an early push in the 2nd period, with Kindred Paul hitting a shot off of a win on the sprint to narrow the lead to 2 points. Another 2 minutes of defensive play occurred before Hungary got another goal, building out a 5-2 lead. Though Canada attempted to claw back into the competition, Hungary continued to rack up points, ending the period with a 7-4 score.
The third period was relatively quiet as the first points did not come until Canadian Axelle Crevier scored with 1:04 left in the period. Hungary quickly responded however, resulting in a 8-5 lead going into the fourth period. It was at that point that Hungary truly pulled away, scoring another 3 goals in the first 4 minutes of the period to produce a 11-6 lead. With the game seemingly sealed, Dorottya Szilagyi scored the final Hungarian goal of the game off of an extra player shot to bring the game to a 12-6 score. Despite Emma Wright making a last-minute goal for the Canadians, they couldn’t overcome the deficit as Hungary won in a final score of 12-7.