Team USA Takes Second Straight Match From China With Decisive 14-2 Victory

Irvine, CA - December 16 - The USA Women's National Team took their second straight win over China in decisive fashion, earning a 14-2 win at the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine. The win was a marked improvement after a tight 13-9 win on Friday night in Torrance. Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET) powered the offense with four goals while Amanda Longan (Moorpark, CA/USC/Santa Barbara 805) and Gabby Stone (La Jolla, CA/Stanford/San Diego Shores) combined for eight saves in net. 

Team USA returns to play on Tuesday evening with a match against the Netherlands at 7:30pm pt at Haldeman Pool in Claremont, CA. To purchase tickets, click here. The match will air live on YouTube.com/USAWP. To watch a replay of the USA-China match, click here. See complete exhibition series information by clicking here. 

The United States surged to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter on the strength of two Kiley Neushul penalty shot scores (Isla Vista, CA/Stanford/NYAC). They kept up the intensity in the second quarter as they tacked on six more unanswered goals behind two goals from Maggie Steffens (Danville, CA/Stanford/NYAC) in the final moments of the half. The offensive output slowed in the second half as Team USA managed just two goals in the third quarter, while China got on the board to make it 12-1 after three.

Aria Fischer scored a goal in each quarter of the match and delivered her final tally in the fourth on a dish from her sister Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET). Team USA was perfect on the advantage going 6/6 on power plays and 2/3 on penalties with China going 0/6 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties. 

Notes: The USA Women's National Team was named FINA Women's Water Polo Team of the Year for the fourth straight year. The team was honored this weekend in China at the FINA Aquatics Gala. All games in this exhibition series are being playing under new rules approved by FINA earlier this month. To learn more about the new rules, click here. 

Scoring - Scoresheet (FOSH)
USA 12 (4, 6, 2, 2) A. Fischer 4, M. Steffens 2, K. Neushul 2, J. Raney 2, M. Fischer 1, B. Games 1, P. Hauschild 1, J. Neushul 1
CHN 2 (0, 0, 1, 1) Lu Yiwen 1, Zhang Danyi 1
Saves - USA - A. Longan 5, G. Stone 3 - CHN - Lin Peng 2, Shen Yineng 2
6x5 - USA - 6/6 - CHN - 0/0
Penalties - USA - 2/3 - CHN - 1/1
Officials: Jen McCall, Tiffany Spiritosanto