The USA Men’s National Team fell to Serbia 15-8 on day three of action at the FINA World League Super Final. Ben Hallock (Westlake Village, CA/Stanford/LA Premier) scored three goals to lead the offense with Drew Holland (Orinda, CA/Stanford/Lamorinda) and McQuin Baron (North Tustin, CA/USC/Regency) splitting time in net to tally eight saves. Team USA closes group play at 1-2 with four points and now moves on to the quarterfinal round to play an opponent to be determined on Friday. Live streaming will be available on beIN Sports 7 & 8 this Saturday and Sunday. Cable login information is required.
The match was close early with Serbia leading the United States 4-3 after the first quarter. That all changed in the second as Serbia exploded for a six goal period and kept Team USA to just one goal for a 10-4 lead at halftime. In the third the United States defense kept things a bit closer but Serbia still added two more goals for a 12-5 lead. The defending Olympic champs put the match away in the fourth adding three more goals to win it 15-8.
The United States struggled on the advantage going just 1/8 on power plays while Serbia was 2/4 with neither side attempting a penalty shot.
Scoring
USA 8 (3, 1, 1, 3) B. Hallock 3, M. Vavic 2, T. Dunstan 1, M. De Trane 1, M. Irving 1
SRB 15 (4, 6, 2, 3)
Saves – USA – M. Baron 5, D. Holland 3
6×5 – USA – 1/8 – SRB 2/4
Penalties – USA – 0/0 – SRB 0/0
Press Release courtesy of USA Water Polo.