Shanghai, China – June 7 – The USA Women’s National Team opened the FINA World League Super Final with a strong showing defeating Brazil 20-2. Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, CA/Corona del Mar HS/CdM Aquatics) led the offensive outburst with a game-high six goals. Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC) did the job in net recording nine saves in net. Team USA returns to action on Wednesday when they take on Canada at 2:40am pt. Live streaming is expected to be offered for semi-finals and finals via FINA TV.
Team USA jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first quarter and an 11-0 lead at halftime. They kept the shoutout going into the third quarter as they built a 15-0 lead with just eight minutes to play. Brazil broke through with two goals in the final eight minutes but Team USA countered with five of their own to take the victory with ease 20-2. KK Clark (Menlo Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC) added four goals and Kiley Neushul (Goleta, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara) scored three goals to bolster the offense.
Team USA went 2/3 on power plays and 1/1 on penalty shots while Brazil went 0/5 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty shot. “It’s a good start to the tournament and we are looking forward to playing the next five days,” said USA Head Coach Adam Krikorian.
Scoring
USA 20 (4, 7, 4, 5) M. Musselman 6, K. Clark 4, K. Neushul 3, R. Fattal 2, M. Seidemann 1, M. Steffens 1, A. Fischer 1, K. Gilchrist 1, M. Fischer 1
BRA 2 (0, 0, 0, 2)
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 9
6×5 – USA – 2/3 – BRA – 0/5
Penalties – USA – 1/1 – BRA – 0/0
Swimming news courtesy of USA Water Polo.