Courtesy: USA Water Polo
Cuneo, Italy – January 5 – The USA Men’s National Team picked up their first victory in 2020 with a 14-13 win over Greece to close out a three game series in Italy. Team USA finished play in Italy with a 1-2 record taking third place in the friendly international competition including losses to Hungary and Italy. In the win over Greece Luca Cupido (Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy/California/Olympic Club) scored three goals to pace the offense with Jack Turner (Fremont, CA/UC San Diego/Tritons) adding six saves in net. Team USA now prepares for a three game series with Australia in Brisbane, Australia starting on January 14. For more information on that event and the USA travel roster, click here.
Team USA had a strong start taking a 4-2 lead after the first quarter and a 7-4 advantage at halftime. Greece battled back with a strong third quarter responding with five goals to trail 11-8. In the fourth quarter Greece outscored Team USA 4-3 but it wasn’t enough to come all the way back as the United States took the one goal win.
The United States went 4/11 on power plays with no penalties attempted while Greece went 3/12 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties.
Scoring
USA 14 (4, 3, 4, 3) L. Cupido 3, H. Daube 2, T. Abramson 2, M. Irving 2, B. Hallock 2, A. Bowen 1, B. Stevenson 1, B. Williams 1
GRE 13 (2, 2, 5, 4)
Saves – USA – J. Turner 6
6×5 – USA – 4/11 – GRE – 3/12
Penalties – USA – 0/0 – GRE – 1/1
Cuneo, Italy – January 4 – The USA Men’s National Team came up just short against Italy earlier today, falling 10-8 in the second of three matches played in Cuneo. Luca Cupido (Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy/California/Olympic Club) scored two goals to lead the USA on offense with Drew Holland (Orinda, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) recording 10 saves in net. Team USA closes out play in Italy on Sunday when they meet Greece. Live streaming is available by clicking here.
Team USA took control early building a 5-4 lead after the opening eight minutes. Italy had a strong response outscoring Team USA 2-0 in the second quarter to snag a 6-5 lead at intermission. Italy held a four-minute man advantage in the second quarter following a brutality against Team USA. In the third quarter Italy expanded their lead outscoring Team USA 3-1 to go in front 9-6. Team USA looked to rally in the fourth adding two more goals but couldn’t close the gap, losing the match by two.
The United States went 4/8 on power plays and 1/2 on penalties while Italy was 1/1 on power plays and 4/4 on penalties.
Scoring
USA 8 (5, 0, 1, 2) L. Cupido 2, H. Daube 1, J. Ehrhardt 1, J. Hooper 1, B. Hallock 1, B. Stevenson 1, A. Bowen 1
ITA 10 (4, 2, 3, 1)
Saves – USA – D. Holland 10
6×5 – USA – 4/8 – ITA 1/1
Hungary took an early 1-0 lead only to see Team USA score three unanswered goals to build a 3-1 advantage after the first quarter. Hungary turned things around in the second quarter outscoring Team USA 6-2 to go in front 7-5 at halftime. The match stayed close in the third quarter as the United States drew to within one going to the fourth trailing 10-9. Hungary put the match away in the fourth adding five more goals on the way to a 15-10 victory.
Team USA went 5/13 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Hungary went 7/11 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties.
USA 10 (3, 2, 4, 1) A. Bowen 4, H. Daube 3, C. Ramirez 1, M. Irving 1, J. Hooper 1
HUN 15 (1, 6, 3, 5)
Saves – USA – A. Wolf 10
6×5 – USA – 5/13 – HUN – 7/11
Penalties – USA – 1/1 – HUN 2/2