Santa Barbara’s Jewel Roemer scored four goals as Team USA reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 FINA Youth Women’s Water Polo World Championship with a 21-0 thrashing of Germany on Thursday.
Roemer, a 14-year-old freshman at Dos Pueblos High, is the youngest player in the tournament. She led 805 Santa Barbara Water Polo Club to the 2016 14-Under National Junior Olympic Championship and was named the MVP.
Ryann Neushul (four goals) and Paige Hauschild (three goals) continued their scoring binge as 805 Santa Barbara helped propel Team USA into a quarterfinal showdown with Russia on Friday.
Team USA started off with a flurry, going ahead 5-0 at the end of the opening period. They built that lead to 11-0 after the second quarter and 17-0 after three periods. The United States went 6 for 9 on power plays and converted one penalty shot.
Lara Kostruba of the 805 Santa Barbara Club fought hard for Germany, playing the entire game and gaining position at center forward. She is a graduate of Santa Barbara High and is attending college in Germany.
Team USA will now meet a strong Russia squad for a berth in the semifinals.
Asked about the upcoming match, USA attacker Lexi Liebowitz said: “We’ve been preparing for a while now; our defense was nails today and we will come out strong tomorrow. Today’s game helped us prepare, we set each other up and were playing unselfishly. We will be ready tomorrow.”
Peter Neushul is reporting from Auckland, New Zealand.