Archive for 'Game Recaps'

London, England

Team USA was in an initial bracket with five other teams: Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, Romania and Great Britain. The first game was against Montenegro, followed by Romania, Great Britain, Serbia and Hungary. (The other bracket consisted of Greece, Australia, Croatia, Italy, Kazakhstan and Spain).

The top four teams in each bracket advanced to the next round and played each other in the opposite order (so #1 from Bracket 1 played #4 from Bracket 2, #2 played #3 etc.). The top four results from this round moved on to the semifinals and finals of the medal round.

USA Men’s Water Polo Olympic Game Results

Results from Official London Olympics Website

USA Men Open 2012 Olympic Games With 8-7 Win Over Montenegro

7/29/2012 12:00:00 AM

London, England – July 29 – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo Team opened up competition at the 2012 Olympic Games with an 8-7 win over Montenegro at the Water Polo Arena. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) scored what would prove to be the game winner with just :57 left in the match. Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) spurred the offense with three goals while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) did the job in net, posting 11 saves. The victory puts Team USA at 1-0 in Group B standings. They meet Romania in their next match on Tuesday, July 31 at 7:40pm local time (2:40pm est/11:40am pst).

Scoring - Scoresheet

• USA 8 (1, 3, 2, 2) P. Varellas 3, T. Azevedo 1, A. Wright 1, L. Beaubien 1, R. Bailey 1, T. Hutten 1
• MNE 7 (1, 1, 2, 3) A. Ivovic 3, D. Brguljan 1, V. Paskovic 1, A. Radovic 1, V. Gojkovic 1
• Saves – USA – M. Moses 11 – MNE – M. Scepanovic 4, D. Sefik 2
• 6×5 – USA – 2/6 MNE – 2/8
• Penalties – USA 0/0 – MNE – 0/0

COMPLETE RECAP

USA Men Top Romania 10-8 For Second Straight Win At 2012 Olympic Games

7/31/2012 12:00:00 AM

London, England – July 31 – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo battled back from a first half deficit to down Romania 10-8 in preliminary play. The win moves Team USA to 2-0 in Group B as they ready for a match with Great Britain on Thursday evening. Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) and Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) each scored three goals on offense while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) posted 12 saves in the victory. Bailey’s second effort goal off a rebound of his own miss with just :50 to play sealed the deal for Team USA. The United States next match against Great Britain is set for 7:40pm local time/2:40pm est/11:40am pst. The match will air live on NBC on the east coast and on delay on the west coast at 12:20pm.

Scoring - Scoresheet

• USA 10 (3, 1, 3, 3) P. Varellas 3, R. Bailey 3, A. Wright 2, J. Mann 1, L. Beaubien 1
• ROU 8 (3, 2, 0, 3) C. Radu 4, A. Iosep 1, R. Georgescu 1, A. Ghiban 1, K. Kadar 1
• Saves – USA – M. Moses 12 – ROU – Stoenescu 8
• 6×5 – USA – 5/13 – ROU – 3/12
• Penalties – USA 0/0 – ROU 0/0

COMPLETE RECAP

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Almaty, Kazakhstan

Pool Play

FINA Website

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The USA Water Polo Men’s National Team took fourth place at the FINA World League Super Final following a 7-6 loss to Italy. Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) scored three goals in the loss while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) went the distance in net stopping 11 shots.

The action was close early on as the match was tied at 1-1 after the first period. In the second Italy surged ahead taking a 4-1 lead before the United States chipped away to close within 4-3 at halftime. Team USA opened the third on the offensive end, tying the match with a goal from Varellas to draw even at 4-4. Italy would answer right back with two straight goals to take a 6-4 lead after the third. In the final period Team USA scored first to make it 6-5 but Italy followed with a score to grab a 7-5 advantage. The red, white, and blue would try to rally, scoring again with time winding down to get the score to 7-6, but would get no closer. Italy came away with the Bronze Medal.

Team USA went 3/10 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Italy was 4/6 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties. “We played well enough to win,” said USA Head Coach Terry Schroeder. “Putting away the 6 on 5 is vital and the mark of where we are as a team. We have five weeks to fix it.”

Teams and Scoring

• USA 6 (1, 2, 1, 2)
  USA: Merrill Moses – Peter Varellas 3, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien, Tony Azevedo 1, Ryan Bailey, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith 2, JW Krumpholz, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.
• ITA 7 (1, 3, 2, 1)
  Stefano Tempesti – Amaurys Perez, Valerio Rizzo 1, Pietro Figlioli 2, Alex Giorgetti 2, Maurizio Felugo 1, Niccolo Figari, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti 1, Tamas Marcz, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

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The USA Water Polo Men’s National Team advanced to the semifinals of the FINA World League Super Final with a 7-5 win over Australia. Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) led the attack with three goals. Team USA will meet Croatia in the semifinal round, a rematch from two weeks ago that saw USA victorious 9-5 in Pasadena, CA. The match will be streamed live through FINA TV at 4:50pm local time (3:50am pst).

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The USA Water Polo Men’s National Team lost their final match of group play at the FINA World League Super Final, dropping a 7-5 decision to Italy. John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) scored two goals in the loss while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) added 10 saves. Team USA will meet with Spain tomorrow in the quarterfinals.

Team USA opened up a lead early, taking a 3-2 lead after the first period. The following three quarters saw each team exchanging offensive outbursts. In the second period it was Italy outscoring Team USA 3-0 to take a 5-3 at halftime. The United States battled back in the third to tie the game at 5-5. In the fourth Italy surged back ahead posting two unanswered goals to take the match 7-5. Team USA went 2/8 on power plays and 0/1 on penalties while Italy was 1/8 on power plays and did not attempt any penalties.

“We can’t give up soft goals. We gave up two one on nobodies. We are working too hard on defense to do that,” said USA Head Coach Terry Schroeder.

Teams and Scoring

• USA 5 (3, 0, 2, 0)
  Merrill Moses – Peter Varellas, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 1, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann 2. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.
• ITA 7 (2, 3, 0, 2)
  Stefano Tempesti – Amaurys Perez, Valerio Rizzo 1, Pietro Figlioli 1, Alex Giorgetti 2, Maurizio Felugo, Niccolo Figari, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti 2, Deni Fiorentini 1, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti, Tamas Marcz. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

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Aricle adapted from www.fina.org– This was a game of father against son: Rick Azevedo, head coach of the Chinese team is from the US, and his son, Tony, is captain of the American team. As was expected, the younger Azevedo was double-guarded most of the game, but managed to score once with a sensational pin-point shot to the upper-left corner. This gave the US a well-deserved 3-1 lead by half-time.

Considering the difference in skill levels, the Chinese had to exert greater effort to deny the American attacks and seemed to be slightly lost in front of their rivals’ cage: their single goal in the first half came from a 6 on 5, and they couldn’t create more clear chances.

Ryan Bailey managed to increase the score to 4-1 early in the third period and for a moment it seemed as though the Americans might have an easy ride – but all of a sudden the Chinese hit back. Liang Zhongsing’s perfect shot found the back of the net and soon after Zhang Jian buried another (4-3) while the Americans missed a powerplay. They stood 1 for 5 after three periods, but managed to regroup themselves and netted two back-to-back goals in the beginning of the fourth quarter (Peter Vallares and Ryan Bailey).

Despite trailing 3-6, the Chinese continued to fight with Zhang Chufeng’s netting a goal on a counter (4-6). But that was all they had: they missed a 6 on 5 for 6-5, and the Americans collected their second win. Still, Rick Azevedo was satisfied with his team’s performance: “I took over this job three months ago. We worked very hard during this time, we started to educate the players and they have learned a lot. The federation is doing a great job, they back my plans. We have plenty of players to pick for the team, they are open to learn more, they have great physical abilities, so we can be ready for Rio 2016. And if we reach a good level, it’s good for the world of water polo!”

Teams and Scoring

• USA 6 (2, 1, 1, 2)
  Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras 1, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien, Tony Azevedo 1, Ryan Bailey 3, Tim Hutten 1, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.
• CHINA 4 (1, 0, 2, 1)
  Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu, Liang Zhongsing 1, Yu Lijun, Guo Jungliang, Zhang Jian 1, Li Bin 1, Wang Yang, Xie Junmin, Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng 1, Liang Nianxiang 1, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.

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The USA Water Polo Men’s Senior National Team opened the FINA World League Super with an 11-8 win over host Kazakhstan. Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) and Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) each scored three times in the victory. Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) went the whole way in net for the win. Team USA will meet up with China tomorrow.

The two squads were even in the first period, tied 4-4 headed to the second. It was in the second period where the United States took advantage, outscoring Kazakhstan 4-1 to claim an 8-5 lead at halftime. In the third it was more of the same with Team USA outscoring the opponent 2-0 to grab a 10-5 lead with one period left. In the fourth the hosts tried to rally posting three goals, but it would not factor in the decision as the United States took the 11-8 victory.

The United States went 7/9 on power plays while Kazakhstan was 5/9 on the player advantage and went 1/1 on penalty shots.

Teams and Scoring

• USA 11 (4, 4, 2, 1)
  Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras 3, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 1, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner 2, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo 3, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.
• KAZ 8 (4, 1, 0, 3)
  Nikolay Maximov – Sergey Gubarev, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili 3, Alexey Shmider, Vladimir Ushakov 1, Rustam Ukumanov 1, Evgeniy Zhilyayev 1, Mikhail Ruday 1, Ravil Manafov 1, Sergey Gorovoy. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov.

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(SGVN/ Photo By Sarah Reingewirtz)

In front of a capacity crowd at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, the USA Men’s National Team topped Croatia 9-5. The win marked the first victory over Croatia since the 2008 Olympic Games. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) scored two goals and Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) posted nine saves in the win. The match closes out the domestic competition slate for the team in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

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Less than a week after snapping a ten-year losing streak to Hungary, the USA Men’s National Team did the job once more, with a 9-5 defeat of the Hungarians in front of a capacity crowd at UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) scored three goals, John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) added two scores, and Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) did the job in net, stopping 10 shots.

Days after defeating the Hungarians 12-9 at Newport Harbor High School, the United States put together perhaps an even more complete effort in holding Hungary to just five goals. Azevedo got things started very early on with a power play strike just 48 seconds into the match for a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Azevedo scored once more, again on a power play, for a 2-0 lead. With just :26 left in the period Brian Alexander (Santa Ana, CA/UCSB/Olympic Club) found the cage on a power play for a 3-0 lead after the first period.

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Tony scored an impressive 6 goals to overtake Hungary 12-9 in front of a huge crowd at Newport Harbor High School

Behind a game-high six goals from Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC), and a strong defensive effort, the USA Men’s National Team defeated Hungary 12-9, at a jam packed Newport Harbor HS. Team USA never trailed in their first win over Hungary in 10 years, a victory that witnessed 12 saves from Merrill Moses (Palso Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) and five different goal scorers. A day after going just 2/13 on player advantages, the United States was stellar, posting a 10/16 conversion rate on power plays.

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Scoring

• USA 12 (5, 2, 3, 2)
  T. Azevedo 6, J. Powers 2, P. Varellas 2, L. Beaubien 1, T. Hutten 1
• HUN 9 (2, 0, 3, 4)
  M. Vamos 2, T. Varga 2, P. Biros 2, G. Kiss 2, T. Kasas 1
• Saves - USA – M. Moses 12 – HUN – L. Bakas 2, V. Nagy 4
• 6×5 – USA – 10/16 – HUN – 4/12
• Penalties – USA 0/0 – HUN 0/0

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