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YMCA Greenwich Hosts USA Women’s Water Polo vs. Hungary

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The YMCA of Greenwich hosted the USA Women's Water Polo National Team as they prepare for the Rio Olympics with a exhibition vs. Hungary. (John Ferris Robben photo)
The YMCA of Greenwich hosted the USA Women’s Water Polo National Team as they prepare for the Rio Olympics with a exhibition vs. Hungary. (John Ferris Robben photo)

By Paul Silverfarb
Editor

This was something that people around the YMCA of Greenwich won’t soon forget. And an experience the members of the USA Women’s Water Polo National Team will treasure as well.

On Wednesday night, the Greenwich Y hosted team USA for one of its tune-ups leading up to the Olympics in Rio.

The US Women's Water Polo National Team fires a shot that beat the goalie from Team Hungary during Wednesday's exhibition at the YMCA of Greenwich. (John Ferris Robben photo)
The US Women’s Water Polo National Team fires a shot that beat the goalie from Team Hungary during Wednesday’s exhibition at the YMCA of Greenwich. (John Ferris Robben photo)

“This experience is awesome,” USA head coach Adam Krikorian said. after the game. “I wish we had a little more time to do it more extensively. Any time the Olympics come around and it gets closer, every one gets so excited. It’s great to feed off the energy and excitement. It almost gives us an emotional lift going to the Olympics in Rio. We are really happy to be here.”

And for fellow teammate Aria Fischer, she loved the opportunity to play a game on the East Coast.

“It’s so great when we get to go outside California and play a game because the fans are always so supportive and we get to see how much the sport is growing in other places,” Fischer said. “I think it’s really great experience to play in different states.”

And it was really positive for Team USA and its fans in the YMCA, as the National Team finished off Hungary 11-6.

“This is quite surreal to be in a place where I am sure thousands of kids have come here to swim and learn to play a sport,” Team USA athlete Maggie Steffens said. “To have two Olympic teams play here is incredible. It’s incredible for us because we were there 10 years ago in a pool just like this. To give that experience back to the kids that are in the program here gives they hope and a dream that this could be them in 10 years.”

For the victors, it was Courtney Mathewson that led the way, picking up the hat trick. Not to be outdone was KK Clark, who finished with two goals. Kami Craig, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Kiley Neushul, Rachel Fattel, Melissa Seidemann and Maddie Musselman each added one goal.

“We had a really great defense effort and we had a lot of shot blocks and good defensive stops,” Fischer said. “Our offense wasn’t coming at first, but we are a good defensive team and kept chipping away at offense. We relied on our defense to keep us in the game in the first two quarters. Our offense really starting clicking and when that happened, we were in a good position because we had good defense in the beginning of the game.”

The United States Women's Water Polo team takes to the pool at the YMCA of Greenwich during Wednesday night's exhibition against Hungary. (John Ferris Robben photo)
The United States Women’s Water Polo team takes to the pool at the YMCA of Greenwich during Wednesday night’s exhibition against Hungary. (John Ferris Robben photo)

While Team USA came away with the five-goal victory, it wasn’t as easy as the score indicated. Coach Krikorian’s squad held a slim 3-2 lead at the break, but really broke through in the third quarter.

“Any time you play a team like Hungary or really any International team, it’s going to be a close game,” Steffens said. “At this point everybody is going to bring their best. Clearly that happened, especially in the first half. Hungary is a very physical and smart team that has great shooters. The amount of respect we give them is extremely high. It’s fun to get these exhibition games in because we get to see each other and share that before we get to Rio.”

For today’s match against Hungary, the USA head coach said that he was thrilled with the team’s resiliency. 

“We struggled in the first half to score goals,” Krikorian said. “We were solid defensively really until the last couple of minutes of the game. Our defense kept us close and kept us that lead. We were able to deal with our struggles and break through there in the third quarter. We stuck to the game plan and stayed focus.

“When this team is challenged, they kick it up to another gear,” Krikorian added. “Some times it’s frustrating as a head because you want them to do that from the beginning. But we felt the competition and we thrived in the heat of the moment. It was nice to score that early goal in the third quarter and that gave us some breathing room and momentum the rest of the way.”

For people following the women’s national team, Krikorian said that there’s a noticeable difference in the way the team has played over the course of the past year.

“The strides we made this year were enormous,” Krikorian said. “It put us in a good position, but at the same time it doesn’t guarantee us anything moving forward. We have to show the rest of the world how much we’ve grown and improved and how we can play this game.”

Team USA will be in action at the 2016 Olympics in Rio on Aug.9, when they start round robin play against Spain.

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