It was a match that was supposed to be played for the gold medal, but instead, it was played in the semifinals. Regardless, the women's water polo teams from the United States and Australia staged an epic encounter on Tuesday as they battled for the right to play for gold, and it ended with Team USA scoring an upset victory.
Maggie Steffens scored four goals to lead a U.S. team that held off a determined Australian squad, advancing to the gold medal match with an 11-9 overtime victory.
The Australians struck first, as Ash Southern scored on an extra player shot, and she was quickly followed by the veteran Rowie Webster. The U.S. got on the board before too long, as Courtney Mathewson - a former charge of USA coach Adam Krikorian at UCLA - found the back of the net. Lauren Wenger then drew the U.S. even when her shot bounced off the crossbar and the head of Australian goalkeeper Alicia McCormack before entering the net. The Australians retook the lead quickly on a Southern penalty shot, but Wenger struck again before the end of the quarter for her second goal of both the game and the Olympics.
In the second quarter, Melissa Seidemann struck for the U.S. to give the Americans their first lead of the game, but Southern completed her hat trick shortly thereafter to bring the Aussies level again. The Australians committed a foul on the next American possession, and tournament scoring leader Maggie Steffens made good on the advantage to put the U.S. on top again. Steffens scored again on a lob to give the Americans their biggest lead of the day at 6-4, but Australia's leading scorer, Nicola Zagame, answered to pull Australia back within one. Annika Dries earned a penalty shot for the Americans, but McCormack came up with a towering save on Brenda Villa to keep her team within one. The U.S. had two more power play opportunities before halftime, but a combination of stalwart goaltending from McCormack and shots off the posts kept the U.S. from building on its lead.
The third quarter saw both teams slow to get going, but Steffens completed her hat trick with a scoop shot with less than three minutes to go. Australia answered again, though, as Webster potted her second goal of the match. Those two goals comprised the entire scoring for the third quarter, and the match headed to the final eight minutes with the Americans hanging on to a one goal lead.
The fourth quarter got off to a similarly tense start, but Jessica Steffens broke through to beat McCormack and double the U.S. lead. The two-goal advantage didn't last long, however, as Glencora Ralph of Australia put a lob shot past U.S. goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong to draw the favorites back within a goal. The Australians then tied it with 2:14 remaining on a power-play goal by Gemma Beadsworth.
With the score tied 8-8, the Americans got a power-play of their own, and Seidemann put the U.S. back on top when she beat McCormick low. The Australians were frustrated on their final possession, but got one last chance when Australia was awarded a penalty shot after Krikorian called timeout without the U.S. in possession. Southern buried the penalty shot to tie it up one more time, sending the match to overtime.
In the extra session, Maggie Steffens scored her fourth of the day to give the U.S. the lead once again, and Kami Craig scored just before the end of the first overtime to give the U.S. an 11-9 lead. From there, the U.S. defense was able to keep Australia from scoring, and time ran out on Australia's bid for gold.
The U.S. will play in the gold medal match for the third time in four Olympics on Thursday against either Spain or Hungary. The U.S. has medaled in all three Olympics in which women's water polo has been played, but has never won a gold.
After eliminating the gold medal favorite, they may have their best chance yet.
