Courtesy: USA Water Polo
USA Men 24 Peru 2
LIMA, Peru – The USA Men’s National Team advanced to the semifinals of the Pan American Games following a 24-2 win over Peru. Ben Hallock (Westlake Village, CA/Stanford/LA Premier) and Alex Bowen (Santee, CA/Stanford/NYAC) led the way with four goals each while Alex Wolf (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/Bruin) recorded seven saves in net.
Team USA returns to action on Friday when they take on Argentina in semifinal round action at 7:30pm central/5:30pm pacific. Follow @USAWP on Twitter for live updates as no streaming is available. For more on the Pan American Games including schedules and results, click here.
The match started off fairly slow until Chancellor Ramirez (Pasadena, CA/UCLA/NYAC) got things going with a score with 4:24 to play in the first quarter for a 1-0 lead. Marko Vavic (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA/USC/Trojan) followed suit moments later for a 2-0 lead with 3:48 to play. On the very next possession for Team USA it was Johnny Hooper (Los Angeles, CA/California/LA Premier) cashing in for a 3-0 lead before Hallock closed the period with his first goal and a 4-0 advantage.
In the second quarter Peru got on the board with two scores but Team USA answered with eight goals. Luca Cupido (Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy/California/Olympic Club) made it 5-0 followed by Bowen and Hallock scoring to make it 7-0. Vavic, Hallock and Hannes Daube (Long Beach, CA/USC/North Irvine WPC) scored the next three goals for a 10-0 cushion with 3:22 left in the first half. Peru would score two of the next three goals to make it 11-2 in favor of the United States. Bowen tacked on a goal right before halftime giving Team USA a 12-2 lead at intermission.
The second half was all Team USA as they outscored Peru 12-0. Hallock started the period with a goal for a 13-2 lead. By the end of the period the United States was ahead 15-2 only to see Bowen score twice and Hooper add another for an 18-2 lead. In the fourth quarter it was more of the same with six more goals added, two coming from Daube and two from Max Irving (Long Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC). Team USA cruised to the 24-2 victory, their fourth straight in Lima.
The United States went 7/11 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties while Peru did not attempt any power plays or penalties.
Scoring – Stats
USA 24 (4, 8, 6, 6) B. Hallock 4, A. Bowen 4, J. Hooper 3, M. Vavic 3, H. Daube 3, L. Cupido 3, M. Irving 2, A. Obert 1, C. Ramirez 1
PER 2 (0, 2, 0, 0) J. Alzamora Garcia 1, D. Villar Osterling 1
Saves – USA – A. Wolf 7 – PER – A. Izdamanesh Belsuzar 6
6×5 – USA – 7/11 – PER – 0/0
Penalties – USA – 2/2 – PER – 0/0
USA Women 21 Peru 3
The USA Women’s National Team defeated host Peru 21-3 to advance to the semifinals of the Pan American Games. Stephania Haralabidis (Athens, Greece/USC/NYAC), Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC) and Alys Williams (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/Huntington Beach WPF) all scored three goals to pace the offense. Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC) recorded seven saves in the first half before giving way to Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET) and Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET) who combined for seven saves in net.
Team USA now moves on to the semifinals on Friday where they will meet Cuba at 12:30pm central time/10:30am pacific time. No live streaming is available but fans can follow @USAWP on Twitter for live match updates. For more on the Pan American Games including schedules and results, click here.
Steffens and Jamie Neushul (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/NYAC) got things started in the first quarter combining for the first four goals and a 4-0 lead. Peru got on the board moments later only to see Haralabidis close the period with a goal for a 5-1 advantage. In the second quarter Team USA delivered six more goals to take a commanding 11-2 lead at intermission. Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL) started the scoring in the period where Haralabidis found the net twice.
Leading 11-2 to start the third the United States added six more goals for a 17-2 lead. Musselman and Aria Fischer started the scoring with goals to go in front 13-2 with 6:40 to play. For the second straight match Ashleigh Johnson found the net and that pushed the USA lead to 14-2. In the fourth quarter Peru added another goal, the third of the day for Alisa Lopez Deza but the United States countered with four more goals. Ahead 19-2, Seidemann and Steffens finished things off with goals for the eventual 21-3 victory.
Team USA went 5/6 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties while Peru did not attempt a power play but went 0/1 on penalties.
Scoring – Stats
USA 21 (5, 6, 6, 4) S. Haralabidis 3, M. Steffens 3, A. Williams 3, M. Musselman 2, M. Seidemann 2, J. Neushul 2, A. Fischer 2, M. Fischer 1, K. Neushul 1, A. Johnson 1, R. Fattal 1
PER 3 (1, 1, 0, 1) A. Lopez Deza 3
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 7, M. Fischer 5, A. Fischer 2 – PER – A. Barnuevo 2
6×5 – USA – 5/6 – PER – 0/0
Penalties – USA – 2/2 – PER – 0/1