SURGUT, Russia – The USA Women’s National Team will play for a medal at the FINA World Cup after advancing to the semifinal round with a 15-5 win over China.
Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL) scored four goals to lead the Team USA attack with Amanda Longan (Moorpark, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805) posting 13 saves in net.
The United States will now take on Spain in the semifinal round at 9am et/6am pt on Saturday. Russia and Australia will meet in the other semifinal match. Every match will stream live with replays available on-demand via FINA TV and can be accessed at FINATV.LIVE (subscription required). For more information on the event including the full Team USA roster, click here. For live stats from each match, visit LiveWaterPolo.com.
Team USA set the tone early in this match with a 4-0 lead in the first quarter on four goals from four different scorers. Paige Hauschild (Santa Barbara, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805), Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC), Fattal and Jamie Neushul (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara 805) delivered the scores. Team USA went up 6-0 in the second quarter before China scored four of the next five to make it a 7-4 match with 1:19 to play in the first half.
Leading 8-4 starting the second, Team USA put the breaks on any thoughts of a comeback from China, scoring three unanswered goals in the third for an 11-4 lead going to the fourth. In the fourth the United States added four more goals on the way to the 15-5 victory.
Team USA went just 1/9 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties with China going 1/3 on power plays with no penalties attempted.
Scoring – Box Score
USA 15 (4, 4, 3, 4) R. Fattal 4, P. Hauschild 3, M. Steffens 2, K. Neushul 2, J. Neushul 1, K. Gilchrist 1, M. Fischer 1, A. Williams 1
CHN 5 (0, 4, 0, 1) Chen Xiao 3, Wang Huan 1, Zhai Ying 1
Saves – USA – A. Longan 13
6×5 – USA – 1/9 – CHN 1/3
Penalties – USA – 2/2 – CHN – 0/0