Santa Barbara’s Kiley Neushul scored two goals and Paige Hauschild and Jamie Neushul each delivered once as the U.S. Women’s National Water Polo Team won Group B of the FINA World League Super Final with a 10-7 victory over Russia on Wednesday in Kunshan, China.
Team USA took advantage of dominant center play, drawing ejections and going 6 for 8 on power plays and 2 of 2 on penalties. Russia was 3 for 9 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty.
World No. 1-ranked USA now faces Australia, the fourth-place finisher in Group B, in Thursday’s quarterfinal.
Russia, the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalists, started the match strong taking a 2-1 lead in the first quarter before Team USA drew even at the end of the opening period. In the second, Team USA surged ahead to lead 4-2 at halftime. Russia pulled within a goal at 6-5 in the third before the United States rebuilt their lead to 9-6 in the fourth. Russia cut the deficit to 9-7, with 4:08 to play, before 805 Santa Barbara Water Polo Club’s and San Marcos alum Hauschild connected on a power play for a 10-7 lead. That would end the scoring as the United States held on for a three-goal victory.
“Russia played tough and they do many different things well,” said USA Head Coach Adam Krikorian. “They have one of the best players in the world in Ekaterina (Prokofyeva) and a bunch of players that are physical. Russia has an unorthodox style, like Japan, and it takes time adjusting. We handled it well, but we were not that sharp. It’s important to learn from each game we play.”
Kiley Neushul buries the rebound of a missed penalty shot during Team USA’s 10-7 win over Russia in the FINA World Super League Final. pic.twitter.com/CSzViSuTVu
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In Tuesday’s 12-5 victory over Canada, 805’s Jamie Neushul finished the day with two goals, five assists and two field blocks. Hauschild also scored twice in the game. Rachel Fattal led all scorers with three goals in a dominant win over the 2017 Super Final silver medalists.
“Canada is always tough,” said captain Maggie Steffens. “They pushed the counter good and on attack we had trouble finding an opening. We were rushing things a bit, including myself, but we will get better. We had some great plays with Jamie Neushul, Rachel Fattal and Alys Williams. We have to go more with the movement game and produce smarter plays. It’s not over until the fourth quarter.”
A win over Austalia will give Team USA a chance to defend their 2017 FINA World League Super Final title. Last summer, 805’s Hauschild, Amanda Longan (Thousand Oaks High/USC), and the Neushul sisters helped Team USA win the 2017 World Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
Longan and Hauschild both played on USC’s 2018 NCAA Championship Team and are nominated, along with Stanford’s Mackenzie Fischer, for the Cutino Award, college water polo’s Player of the Year award. The Olympic Club of San Francisco will announce the winner on Saturday.
Peter Neushul is reporting from Kunshan, China