Courtesy: USA Water Polo
LIMA, Peru – The USA Women’s National Team opened play at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru with a 23-3 victory over Puerto Rico. Stephania Haralabidis (Athens, Greece/USC/NYAC) scored six goals to lead the attack on offense that saw every field player score. Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC) recorded 10 saves in net.
Team USA returns to action on Monday when they meet Brazil at 11am local time/9am pacific. No live streaming is available but fans can follow @USAWP on Twitter for match updates. For more on the Pan American Games including schedules and results, click here.
Team USA got on the board quick thanks to a Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/SOCAL) a little over a minute into the match. Melissa Seidemann (Walnut Creek, CA/Stanford/NYAC) and Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET) followed with goals and it was a 3-0 lead for the United States. Haralabidis closed out the scoring in the first with two goals in the span of 35 seconds for a 5-0 lead after one.
Six more goals followed in the second quarter as the USA lead ballooned to 11-0. Jamie Neushul (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/Santa Barbara 805) scored two straight to make it 8-0 and then Alys Williams (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/Huntington Beach WPF) did likewise for a 10-0 lead. Puerto Rico got on the board with two goals in the third but Team USA delivered five more of their own including two from Haralabidis for a 16-2 lead. The United States closed things out with seven more goals in the fourth to take the match 23-3 as Makenzie Fischer scored the final two of the game.
Team USA went 5/5 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties while Puerto Rico went 0/3 on power plays but did not attempt any penalties.
Scoring – Stats
USA 23 (5, 6, 5, 7) S. Haralabidis 6, J. Neushul 3, A. Williams 3, M. Fischer 3, R. Fattal 2, M. Steffens 2, A. Fischer 2, K. Neushul 1, M. Seidemann 1
PUR 3 (0, 0, 2, 1) O. Colon 1, P. Maldonado 1, M. Ortiz 1
Saves – USA – A. Johnson 10 – N. Morales 3
6×5 – USA – 5/5 – PUR – 0/3
Penalties – USA – 2-2 – PUR – 0/0
USA Men 21 Cuba 6
LIMA, Peru – The USA Men’s National Team opened play at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru with a 21-6 victory over Cuba. Alex Bowen (Santee, CA/Stanford/NYAC) led the attack with five goals while Johnny Hooper (Los Angeles, CA/California/LA Premier) and Alex Obert (Loomis, CA/Pacific/NYAC) added four goals each. Alex Wolf (Huntington Beach, CA/UCLA/Bruin) made eight saves in net.
Team USA returns to action on Monday when they take on Canada at 3pm local time/1pm pacific. No live streaming is available of the match, follow @USAWP on Twitter for live updates of all the action. For more on the Pan American Games including schedules and results, click here.
Hallock and Hooper scored the first two goals of the match in the opening 90 seconds to give Team USA an early 2-0 lead. It was all part of a six-goal outburst in the first quarter. Hallock followed with another and then goals came from Bowen, Hooper and Hannes Daube (Long Beach, CA/USC/North Irvine WPC) to give Team USA a five-goal lead after eight minutes. They took control of the match in the second quarter holding Cuba scoreless while adding five more goals for an 11-1 lead at intermission. Hallock, Daube, Hooper, Bowen and Obert all found the back of the net as the United States cruised into halftime.
Cuba’s offense came to life in the third quarter as they outscored Team USA 5-4 behind two goals apiece from Pedro Perez and Giraldo Manzano. The United Stated turned to Obert and Bowen for goals to help quiet the Cuba surge and Team USA headed to the fourth in front at 15-6. Team USA’s defense returned to form over the final eight minutes as they held Cuba scoreless and tacked on six more goals to pick up the 21-6 victory. Bowen scored two more goals in the period and Obert finished things off with a little more than a minute to play as Team USA earned an opening day win in Lima.
The United States went 6/10 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties while Cuba was 2/2 on power plays with no penalties attempted.
Scoring – Stats
USA 21 (6, 5, 4, 6) A. Bowen 5, J. Hooper 4, A. Obert 4, H. Daube 3, B. Hallock 3, M. Vavic 1, J. Smith 1
CUB 6 (1, 0, 5, 0) P. Perez 2, G. Manzano 2, J. Rodriguez 1, I. Alonso 1
Saves – USA – A. Wolf 8 – CUB – G. Arias 8
6×5 – USA – 6/10 – CUB – 2/2
Penalties – USA – 2/2 – CUB – 0/0