USA to defend World Cup crown against Netherlands

Classification 1-4 Semifinals

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16 HUNGARY 10

USA forced its way into the lead and dominated Hungary for three quarters of the match. It probably ceased being a contest when USA goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson fired a last-gasp, length-of-the-field missile into an empty Hungarian goal after the buzzer for 11-8 at the final break. Hungarian goalkeeper Alda Magyari (above) had come up on attack and the ball was lost allowing Johnson no time to shape up, amazingly just flicking the ball 25m into the bottom left of the goal.

Thanks to Emily Ausmus’ first two goals for USA, the lead was 3-1 before Hungary fired in three quick goals — two from Greta Gurisatti. Captain Rita Keszthelyi drilled from the bottom right to enhance the score to 5-4 in Hungary’s favour. USA came back with four goals to one, levelling through Ryann Neushul and then leading through Jewel Roemer, both on extra-man plays.

Krisztina Garda scored her second from the top but Maddie Musselman and Roemer converted extra-man for 9-7. Hungary was not out of it yet as Kata Hajdu scored her first for the tournament with a fake-and-shoot rifle shot for 9-8. Kaleigh Gilchrist was strong from the top for USA and then Johnson made history for herself for 11-8.

The score pushed out to 14-9, 15-10 at 2:52 with Jenna Flynn netting her third of the period to gain the finals berth.

Match heroes:
Musselman and Flynn grabbed three goals each with Ausmus collecting the top award with her two goals on extra-man attack to start USA’s scoring. Garda blasted in four goals with three from the top and one on penalty. Goalkeeper Magyari made nine saves.

Turning point:
After being 7-7 early in the third period, USA plundered five goals to one for 12-8 at the top of the fourth period.

Stats don’t lie:
Both teams were even on shots at 33 while the extra-man attack was where this match was won, USA converting nine from 11 and Hungary two from four. USA converted two penalty goals to one.

Bottom line:
USA came through for the home crowd and thoroughly deserved victory with a spectacular second half against a very tough Hungarian side.

What They Said

Adam Krikorian (USA) – Head Coach

After a very close first half, what changed before the second half because your team came out with completely different energy and dominated the rest of the match?
“Sometimes as a coach you don’t really know what the difference was between the two. I would say we started to block the ball better. I think Ashleigh (Johnson) played phenomenal in the second half after struggling a bit in the first half and we seemed more organised defensively, allowing us to shot-block better. Honestly, I think we just shot the ball better, too. We came out on fire there and ended the match nine for 12 on six v five opportunities, which is incredible to do at this level.”

Did you prepare specifically for this aggressive Hungarian defence that allowed you to earn so many exclusions and execute those opportunities so efficiently?
“No because we haven’t had too much time as a team to prepare going into this tournament. As a coach, you make decisions on what you value and for us, it wasn’t about preparing for different teams. Instead, it was about working on what we want to do and developing our team identity around that. We obviously stuck to our personal game plan and I’m incredibly proud of how consistently we played throughout the match.”

Emily Ausmus (USA) – Player of the Match

What was it like scoring the first two goals in a big win like today as the youngest member of this team?
“I’ve grown up watching these women play and their success, but they still welcomed me with open arms. This team lets you play the way you play, while learning how to fill the role the team needs to succeed. It’s really helped me grow as a player and member of this team.”

What can USA learn from this match in order to be successful in the final tomorrow?
“I think we definitely want to take our connection with one another, especially in the second half. I think our teamwork was very strong in that second half and further built our connection as we’ve all come from different programmes around the country. By continuing to develop that connection, we will continue to improve in setting up our team-mates, making selfless decisions, and ultimately help us succeed as a team.”

Ashleigh Johnson (USA) – Goalie (14 saves and one goal)

What changed during halftime because you lifted your play in the second half?
“I think that our entire team’s mindset changed. Halftime is a really good point to reset your mentality and reset your goals. Coach (Adam Krikorian) helps us do that, we help each other do that for each other, and this time it really panned out well.”

How does it feel to score your first international goal?
“It was so cool. I’m going to be talking about it for at least the next year.”

Attila Biro (HUN) — Head Coach

What changed during the second half that resulted in the match slipping out of your control?
“We couldn’t handle the number of exclusions that were called against us. The first two quarters, they were only scoring live action goals, but we started to get tired from the six on five defence and struggled to make stops there. This resulted in us getting more tired mentally and physically. As a result, the USA were able to score those easier goals, so they deserved to win this game today.”

What can you use from today to succeed in the bronze-medal match tomorrow?
“I don’t know who we are going to play, but our shooting today was very good and will help us tomorrow. Even though we are using this tournament as preparation for the World Championships, we still want to take home the bronze medal. It will be nice to finish this tournament with a win to help the team’s confidence, so we will play with 100 per cent effort tomorrow.”

Krisztina Garda (HUN) – Four goals

What enabled you to score so efficiently against the USA defence and be a big part of why Hungary played so well in the first half?
“The US has a very good defence and Ashleigh (Johnson) is a good goalkeeper, but I have played against her a few times with my club. This lets me know her well, so I don’t mystify her as an amazing goalie and I’m still able to shoot well. I am happy about my four goals, but we lost so my other eye is crying.”

What was the most important thing you could have changed to come out with a win?
“Our man-up defence was not the best. If we were able to get more stops there, we could have scored goals the other way and made the game much closer.”

NETHERLANDS 11 SPAIN 8

Netherlands made Spain look out of sorts, denying many chances while carefully planning each attack at the other end. The Dutch looked methodical and made sure of every chance as the final statistics show.

Spain had the better of the first quarter at 2-1 while Netherlands was denied a goal by VAR, deemed shot after the buzzer. Bente Rogge equalised and Anni Espar sent Spain ahead for the second time. Bente Rogge led the charge that saw Netherlands race to 5-3 and hold the slender halftime lead at 5-4. Bea Ortiz scored the Spanish equaliser via penalty after Iris Wolves left the pool slowly and was touched by an attacker. It took Wolves out of the match on three major fouls. Netherlands won the rest of the period 4-1 and had the match in the bag at 9-6 by the final break.

Lieke Rogge lengthened the margin to 10-6 with a 10m rocket that hit the right upright and bounced in off the goalkeeper. Goals were traded to 11-8 and a Spanish timeout resulted in two shots being blocked and the match was gone. Brigitte Sleeking nailed her third from the top on extra for 12-8 at 1:17 and the Dutch were into the final.

Match heroes:
Lieke Rogge relished the match with four goals while sister Bente Rogge scored twice before being fouled out late in the match. Sleeking scored three and goalkeeper Laura Aarts saved nine shots — every one critical. For Spain, it was centre forward Maica Garcia, Espar and Paula Crespi with two goals each.

Turning point:
Coming from 3-2 down to lead 5-3 late in the second quarter, from which it maintained comfortable margins.

Stats Don’t Lie
These are probably some of the neatest statistics around with the Dutch netting 63 per cent on shooting — 19 to Spain’s 31, which was 25 per cent. The extra-man count was equally fantastic with seven from eight to Spain’s three from seven. It scored one penalty goal to Spain’s two.

Bottom Line
Netherlands dictated the match with its controlled style and attention to detail. Spain’s normal game was not allowed to reap rewards. The present for the Dutch? A shot at the final and a glimmer of hope of emulating those famous Dutch teams in the last century who claimed eight titles.

What They Said

Evangelos Doudesis (NED) – Head Coach

What enabled your team to come out to such a strong start and control the pace of the match?
“As a team, we were very consistent in our six-on-six defence, which allowed us to get out in the counter-attack, which earned a lot of exclusions and man-up opportunities. We had a strong will to defend and had a lot of field blocks as well, which made the difference between two teams that are equal.”

What do you need to continue doing tomorrow to beat the United States?
“It comes down to our will and determination to defend. We must be very consistent during that part of the match and will be the biggest factor in determining any game at this level.”

Lieke Rogge (NED) — Player of the Match (Four goals)

What enabled you to be the difference maker today and score like you did?
“I think it’s just the way we played as a team. I can shoot the ball the way I do because my team-mates set me up to be in that position and take the shots I did. I think we all did it together and I was lucky to be the one who scored.”

What worked well today that will be important to succeed tomorrow against the United States?
“It’s very tough to play the US in their country. However, I think we are a strong team and have played very well so far this tournament and had some great games. Tomorrow is a new day and we just need to keep playing well.”

Miguel Oca (ESP) — Head Coach

What caused your offence to struggle today compared to yesterday’s match?
“They did very well with their field blocking in a zone, getting a lot of hands in front of the goal and their goalie had a very good performance today. This made it very hard for our shooters to score and ultimately stopped the best part of our offence. Overall, the Netherlands played a much better match than we did today, so congratulations to them”

What can you learn from today to improve against Hungary tomorrow?
“One thing we need to control better is our attack, because we have been giving up a lot of counter-attacks. The Hungarians have been very good in that part of the match and we suffered a lot today in similar situations. We also need to know how to shoot around the blocks and find the back of the net if we want to succeed.”

Anni Espar (ESP) — Two goals

What was the biggest difference between your offensive performance today versus yesterday?
“Yesterday, our offence had some more luck, but most importantly our defence played much better and created better chances on offence for us. In some defensive possessions today, we were not as ready and gave up easy goals. Also, we did not take advantage of our many opportunities and missed too many shots.”

What is most important fix in order to end this tournament with a medal?
“Most importantly, we need to start very strong and control the pace of the match because Hungary is a very good team. If we are able to play the way that we know how, but score all of our chances by shooting with more confidence, the match will be in our favour.”

Classification 5-8 Semifinals

ISRAEL 7 GREECE 17

It might have been an 11-goal difference, but Israel gained in confidence and the fact that it sent in 11 goals, was a matter of concern for Greece. However, Greece was totally in control once it settled later in the first quarter.

Greece opened with a pair and Israel responded twice. Eleni Xenaki swept in a centre-forward goal and Eireni Ninou drilled from the top for her second to go to the break 4-2 ahead. Vasiliki Plevritou, once of three sisters in the team, had her penalty attempt rebound for her to score with the second goal. Four goals from four different players lifted Greece to a commanding 8-4 that sent the match to the second half 9-4.

Three Greek goals took the margin to eight at the top of the third and the 6-4 period was entertaining for spectators. From 16-8, it became 18-8 and 20-11 with Greece scoring the last two in the final 75 seconds.

Match heroes:
Ninou finished with four goals but it was Eleftheria Plevritou who claimed the top prize with her three goals and handful of steals. All three Plevritous scored with captain Margarita and  Vasiliki getting one apiece. Three Israelis scored twice — Alma Yaacobi, Yahav Farkash and Shunit Strugo.

Turning point:
Breaking away with six goals from 2-2 to 8-2 straddling the first break.

Stats don’t lie:
Greece hammered the Israeli goal 38 times to 23 and converted five from six from the penalty line. On extra-man attack. Greece went 80 per cent with four from five. Israel was equally potent with a fantastic eight from 10.

Bottom line:
Greece is definitely the better and more-experienced team, but Israel is learning fast and playing better in spurts and will be hoping for victory on day three against New Zealand.

What They Said

Alexia Kammenou (GRE) – Head Coach

After starting slow with a 4-2 first quarter, what adjustments did you make to improve the rest of the match?
“When you play as badly as we did yesterday, your psychology is not that stable and they knew that they had to improve today by controlling the pace of the match and utilising their experience. As the match was going on, we controlled the rhythm better, especially in the offence. I am not that satisfied with our defence because we have to correct many things after giving up so many goals. We are a defensive team and we have to bring down the number of goals we give up because 11 is too much.”

What did you do well today that you want to improve for tomorrow?
“Today we were moving much better in our offence and our shots were much better. As well, the pace of the match was much better because yesterday, we lost control of the pace of the match against Hungary which is very dangerous.  However, we did a much better job taking control and holding on to it. Tomorrow is a very important match for many reasons, so hopefully we can continue to control the pace like today.”

Eleftheria Plevritou (GRE) – Player of the Match (Three Goals and Six Steals)

What changed during the match that allowed your scoring to improve after a slow first quarter?
“Yesterday’s loss was really bad for us, so we just thought about what we saw on the video of our match versus Hungary. We were more serious from the beginning, even though we had a slow first quarter, which has been a consistent thing we have tried to fix. We were confident that we were going to win this game because of the big difference in ability between us and Israel. This allowed us to be very confident and control the offence, but we need to be much better on defence because 11 goals is too many to give up versus any team and we will need to play better in the fifth-place match tomorrow”

What’s something from today that you want to carry into tomorrow’s match?
“We will need to learn from our defensive mistakes so we can improve our defensive performance against Italy or New Zealand. If we can continue our play from today on offence, I think we can do very well tomorrow.”

Dimitros Mavrotas (ISR) – Head Coach

What did you say to your women at halftime?
“It’s true that we lost all our energy from the first quarter to the second quarter after we gave up some very easy goals to the Greek team. I reminded them of the energy they had yesterday against the USA team and it was very difficult to have the same mindset for this match. I also kept in mind that we can compete with Greece, Italy, and the top teams, but our focus is on the match tomorrow, not the match today.”

What can you learn from today to perform in tomorrow’s match?
“During some points against Greece, we played good defence. However, we need to bring more energy into our attack, especially against a strong press. We were very slow in our movement, did not release for the ball well, and took too many fouls, which prevented us from getting the ball into our centre forward. The Greeks were very aggressive and we were not able to respond on offence.”

Shunit Strugo (ISR) – Captain (Two Goals)

What did you do to bring back your energy and spirit after going down after the second quarter?
“The truth is that we wanted to play a very strong match from the beginning, but our play went backwards during the second quarter. There are no excuses after we were able to play with the United States, but we were definitely more tired today. However, I am happy that we were able to play better during the third and fourth quarter. The next step is to play that way for the entire seventh-place match tomorrow.”

What do you need to do tomorrow?
“I think the most important thing is maintaining a very strong effort on defence. We started it well by only allowing four goals to a strong Greek team, so tomorrow we need to play the entire game like that. The attacks on offence will come; like today where we were able to greatly improve our scoring during the third and fourth quarter.”

NEW ZEALAND 7 ITALY 17

Italy stamped its authority on the match from the start with the first three goals, rising to 6-3 at the first break, leading 12-7 at the turn and 16-7 by the final break. This meant the last quarter was just a 1-0 effort as New Zealand battled hard until the final buzzer.

Italy was aggressive with its shooting and managed to penetrate more than the Kiwis, whose shooting has improved from the first day. Ten Italians made the scoresheet with Silvia Avegno coming through the group with six goals — three in the first quarter. She nailed a penalty with a second remaining of the second quarter and buried two more in the bottom half of the third quarter.

New Zealand is constantly working to be a strong contender and not just make up the numbers. This is starting to work and it will be interesting to see how the Kiwis go in Fukuoka next month. Italy, by comparison is tuning up nicely for the World Championships with all players getting plenty of pool time.

Match heroes:
Avegno with six goals, but the best player was definitely goalkeeper Giuseppina Condorelli with an amazing 18 saves. For New Zealand, Bernadette Doyle fired in three goals.

Turning points:
The opening surge of three goals helped set the tenor of the match and the last three goals of the third period settled the result.

Stats don’t lie:
Both teams fired in 37 shots and both scored four goals on extra, although Italy did it from eight attempts and New Zealand 13, showing that it worked hard to get the kick-outs. Italy converted two from four on penalty and New Zealand one from one.

Bottom line:
Italy was always going to win, but the talented Kiwis were forever hunting goals and looking to improve in every match. Italy will now face Greece for fifth position and New Zealand up against Israel for seventh.

What They Said

Carlo Silipo (ITA) — Head Coach

What changed to improve your team’s offence today compared to yesterday’s?
“Today we were happy to play. It’s a very important thing to be happy when playing this sport. Yesterday, we approached the match with some fear and we didn’t play as well as we could. Today it was a good match with some beautiful plays, especially when we played faster on the counter-attack and controlled the pace of the match.”

What do you hope to take from today into tomorrow’s fifth-place match versus Greece?
“Greece is a very good team with very talented individual players and a strong centre attack. They play water polo at a slow pace, so we can’t stay in that rhythm. Instead, we need to change the rhythm of the match through the counter and lots of energy like we did today.”

Silvia Avegno (ITA) – Player of the Match (Six goals)

After only scoring five goals yesterday, what adjustments did you make on offence to score 17 goals?
“I think today was better because we changed the mentality that we approached the match with after our bad performance against Spain yesterday. We played much better today, but we have a very important match against Greece for fifth place and we need to continue playing well then.

What do you want to take from this match into tomorrow?
 “We need to improve our mentality and offence more for a good game tomorrow and preparation for the World Championships in Fukuoka. As well, Greece has a strong offence so our defence will also need to improve from today.”

Angie Winstanley-Smith (NZL) – Head Coach

What happened over the course of the match after you started very close with Italy?
“I think it was a very physical match. The Italians love to be in your face with their press, get a lot of movement to provoke the defence, and they’re the best in the world at this style. For us, the Kiwis, their heavy pressing style is very different from what we are used to in New Zealand, so we need to be much better at adapting to that level of physicality.”

“We created a heap of opportunities, which is what we need to do to challenge these teams, just like yesterday. I think it’s important for us to have the confidence and time playing against these teams in an environment like these so we can continue to improve against the top teams.”

How do you plan to address and improve your team’s finishing?
“I think probably better timing of our drives, ball circulation, and shooting with intent are the three things I want to work on. I’m always incredibly proud of these kids because they try and you’ll never see a Kiwi kid give up. That pride in our performance is there and we are changing the narrative of New Zealand being an easy match to one that you will have to play your best or the Kiwis will bring the game to you.”

Jessica Milicich (NZL) – Captain

What adjustments could you have made to address the offensive issues late in the game?
“We are still getting used to playing at this intensity on a regular basis, so we have patches during the match where we drop off and these teams are able to take advantage of those moments. That will definitely be our main area of focus, so we can begin to close the gap between these top six teams at this tournament.”

What went well today that you hope to build on and hopefully end this tournament on a high note?
“I think it comes down to our finishing and our options in our attack. If we can convert more of those opportunities, we’ll be able to play a better match against Israel and be able to improve more as a team.”

Sunday Schedule

Classification 7-8
Match 9, 13:00, Israel v New Zealand

Classification 5-6
Match 10, 15:00, Greece v Italy

Classification 3-4
Match 11, 17:00, Hungary v Spain

Classification 1-2
Match 12, 19:00, United States of America v Netherlands