American Water Polo Team Proves It Can Play with the Best

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

In losing a hard-fought game (7-5) to top ranked Hungary yesterday, the U.S. men’s water polo team won not only a moral victory, but a victory of morale as well. It proved, at this early stage in the Olympic tournament, that the Americans can keep pace with any team in the world.


Both squads came into the game with undefeated 2-0 records, but this was undeniably the first major test for Ratko Rudick’s inexperienced U.S. team. The first question going into yesterday’s game was whether they could play with Hungary physically. The answer is an unequivocal “yes.”


Although Rudick had made a lot of noise about the dirty play the U.S. faced in its first two outings, the Americans held their own yesterday against an imposing Hungarian squad. They showed they would not be manhandled or pushed around – and even did a little manhandling of their own.


The U.S. team’s strength and fitness paid early dividends. The first goal of the game was a powerful quick-release shot from Ryan Bailey (6 feet 6 inches, 250 pounds) on the inside post. He somehow managed to keep his legs and get the shot off while wearing a Hungarian defender like a prize mink.


Though they had to fight for every drive and every pass, the Americans had the endurance to do so through all four quarters. Where they came up short in their execution.


As they had in the last two games, the Americans drew easy ejections in dead time and inside-water drives, earning numerous 6-on-5 power-play opportunities. Coming into the game, they had the highest man-up conversion rate of any team in the tournament (78%), but converted only 2 of 8 power plays yesterday. Hungary managed to clog the passing lanes and anticipate ball movement to America’s top scorers, intercepting passes and bogging down the U.S. attack.


On offense, Hungary managed to score on 4 of 9 power plays, also converting a 2-meter penalty shot. That’s the difference in the game right there. Fortunately, it’s a shortcoming this well-coached U.S. squad can likely fix.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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