Tokyo, Japan - August 6 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team snapped a four game losing streak in Tokyo with a 7-6 win over Italy to advance to the fifth place match. Johnny Hooper scored the game-winner on a power play with 1:35 to play, one of his two goals on the day. Alex Bowen led the offense with three goals while Drew Holland recorded nine saves including a crucial penalty shot block late in the match. Team USA will now meet Croatia in the fifth place match on Sunday at 11am local time/7pm pacific time on August 7/10pm eastern
time on August 7. Broadcast information will be shared when available with the match live streaming on the NBC Sports app or by clicking here. A replay of the USA-Italy match will air as part of Olympic coverage tonight on CNBC at 8pm et/5pm pt, click here to access a replay of the live stream.Things started slow in this one for Team USA as Italy took the early lead with 6:12 to play in the first quarter. It wasn't until the 2:40 mark of the first that the United States got on the board with an Alex Obert connect for a 1-1 match. Italy came back to take the lead with 1:23 to play but Bowen responded, ripping the net with :51 left to make it 2-2 going to the second period. Team USA surged ahead in the second quarter after a Max Irving steal led to a Hooper counter attack for a 3-2 edge. Both defenses held strong over the next few minutes until Dylan Woodhead tipped home a rebound in close for a 4-2 lead with 2:47 to play in the half. Less than a minute later it was Bowen converting on a penalty shot and Team USA built their largest lead of the match at 5-2. It was short lived however, Italy came right back with a score for a 5-3 game at intermission.
Italy battled back in the third while holding Team USA scoreless. Pietro Figlioli opened the period with one of his two goals on the day to make it 5-4. With just thirty seconds to play Italy found the equalizer to make it 5-5 after three quarters. Bowen opened the scoring in the fourth to give Team USA the lead back at 6-5. The seesaw battle continued with Italy tying the match on a power play with 5:22 left. At the 2:10 mark Hooper was called for a penalty foul, but Holland made the crucial save, blocking the ball with his face to keep it level at 6-6. Hooper found redemption moments later cashing in on the power play with 1:35 left in the game. Two final attempts by Italy were halted by the Team USA defense and they held on for the one goal win.
Team USA went 3/9 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Italy went 3/17 on power plays and 0/1 on penalties.
Scoring - Stats
USA 7 (2, 3, 0, 2) A. Bowen 3, J. Hooper 2, A. Obert 1, D. Woodhead 1
ITA 6 (2, 1, 2, 1) P. Figlioli 2, V. Renzuto Iodice 2, M. Bodegas 1, N. Presciutti 1
Saves - USA - D. Holland 9 - ITA - M. Del Lungo 5
6x5 - USA - 3/9 - ITA 3/17
Penalties - USA - 1/1 - ITA 0/1
Flash Quotes - Dejan Udovicic, Team USA Head Coach
On the win over Italy -
"It's a huge win for this young team...to beat the World Champions at the Olympic Games is an important thing. I can't be more proud how we react after the tough loss against Spain. There is rumors that the system is not good because the games between 5th and 8th place should not be played out. Everyone has got their own opinion, but from our side, for my team every game on this high level stage is important for us. We treat this game as a final, we treat every game as a final because we don't have enough games as the Europeans have. From my point of view this (game) is a great reaction from our team. We just need to prepare for the game against Croatia."
On Team USA getting motivated after losing to Spain in the quarterfinals -
"That's excellent stuff for us, when you prepare the game, you believe in what you're doing and you've got trust inside the group at the end of the day, if you win...you feel that emotion...you know what you went through to get that win. It's a huge (and) important for us, for our mental approach, for us to show we are ready to play in the future on a high level."
On the win over Italy -
"It's a huge win for this young team...to beat the World Champions at the Olympic Games is an important thing. I can't be more proud how we react after the tough loss against Spain. There is rumors that the system is not good because the games between 5th and 8th place should not be played out. Everyone has got their own opinion, but from our side, for my team every game on this high level stage is important for us. We treat this game as a final, we treat every game as a final because we don't have enough games as the Europeans have. From my point of view this (game) is a great reaction from our team. We just need to prepare for the game against Croatia."
On Team USA getting motivated after losing to Spain in the quarterfinals -
"That's excellent stuff for us, when you prepare the game, you believe in what you're doing and you've got trust inside the group at the end of the day, if you win...you feel that emotion...you know what you went through to get that win. It's a huge (and) important for us, for our mental approach, for us to show we are ready to play in the future on a high level."
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