Jovana Sekulic
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Women's Senior National Team Alex Ellison

USA Women Unbeaten Through Group Play At World Championships With 26-3 Victory Over Argentina

Jovana Sekulic scored four goals in the win over Argentina

Singapore - July 14 - The USA Women's National Team went unbeaten through group play at the World Championships with a 26-3 win over Argentina. Ava Stryker scored six goals to lead the offense with Isabel Williams recording 11 saves in the cage. Team USA advances straight to the quarterfinals against the winner of Great Britain-Japan on Saturday at 5:35am et/2:35am pt. Live streaming of all USA matches will be available on Peacock (login required).

Team USA got going right away as Tara Prentice scored first on the opening possession of the game. Shortly thereafter, Emily Ausmus rang the register on a penalty strike before Jenna Flynn did the same for a 3-0 lead. Next, it was Jovana Sekulic who scored from set and then Stryker joined the mix with a skip shot goal for a 5-0 lead. Argentina got on the board with about one minute remaining in the quarter but Rachel Gazzaniga returned the favor to give the Americans a 6-1 lead after one.

Gazzaniga started the second period with her second goal of the day for a 7-1 lead. Ausmus put home her second score after a nice shot fake and then, midway through the quarter, Flynn floated home a lob shot from six meters to make it 9-1. Argentina scored another goal on its next possession and then Stryker put home back-to-back goals for a hat trick and an 11-2 lead. With just over one minute left in the half, Stryker stepped up to convert a penalty shot before Ella Woodhead found the back of the net to push the lead to 13-2 before the break.

Jewel Roemer got free on the counter attack for a 1-on-1 with the Argentinian goalkeeper to begin the third quarter and she put it away with ease. Two minutes later, Emma Lineback scored to make it 15-2 before Stryker went cross cage for her fifth goal of the day. Midway through the quarter, Roemer and Sekulic converted penalty shots for an 18-2 lead. Just over one minute later, Sekulic netted her third goal and then Argentina put away their third score of the day on a penalty shot. From there, Sekulic extended the USA lead before Julia Bonaguidi made it 21-3 after three with a penalty shot conversion.

The final frame saw the Americans get goals from Prentice (2), Lineback, Malia Allen, and Stryker as the United States rolled to the 26-3 victory.

Team USA went 6/10 on power plays and 8/8 on penalties while Argentina went 1/7 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties.

Quotes
"It's always an honor anytime you get to put on this suit. I've been training with this team for a long time [and now] being at my second World Championships and playing in more games than my first time through is such a privilege. Being around these teammates, many of whom I've played with in college or on younger national teams, is an amazing experience. We have all grown up in the program together and being able to play at the highest level of water polo has been awesome."  - Ella Woodhead

Scoring - Stats
USA 26 (6, 7, 8, 5) A. Stryker 6, J. Sekulic 4, T. Prentice 3, E. Ausmus 2, J. Flynn 2, R. Gazzaniga 2, E. Lineback 2, J. Roemer 2, M. Allen 1, J. Bonaguidi 1, E. Woodhead 1
ARG 3 (1, 1, 1, 0) J. Auliel 1, A. Bacigalupo 1, M. Canda 1
Saves - USA - I. Williams 11 - ARG - N. Stegmayer 3, L. Canales 1
6x5 - USA - 6/10 - ARG 1/7
Penalties - USA - 8/8 - ARG - 1/1

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Players Mentioned

Tara Prentice

Tara Prentice

Center
6' 0"
Professional
UC Irvine / NYAC / Sabadell
Jewel Roemer

Jewel Roemer

Attacker
5' 6"
Redshirt Senior
Stanford / NYAC / 680
Emily  Ausmus

Emily Ausmus

Attacker
Redshirt Freshman
USC / NYAC / SOCAL
Jovana Sekulic

Jovana Sekulic

Center
Redshirt Junior
Princeton / NYAC
Jenna Flynn

Jenna Flynn

Attacker
5' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
Stanford / NYAC / 680
Emma Lineback

Emma Lineback

Attacker
5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
UCLA / NYAC
Ella Woodhead

Ella Woodhead

2M Defender
5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
Stanford
Malia Allen

Malia Allen

Attacker
5' 8"
Professional
UCLA / NYAC / Panionios
Julia Bonaguidi

Julia Bonaguidi

Attacker/Defender
5' 11"
Sophomore
California / NYAC
Isabel Williams

Isabel Williams

Goalkeeper
6' 3"
Professional
California / NYAC / Sabadell
Rachel Gazzaniga

Rachel Gazzaniga

Defender
6' 1"
Sophomore
USC / NYAC
Ava Stryker

Ava Stryker

Attacker
5' 10"
Sophomore
USC / NYAC

Players Mentioned

Tara Prentice

Tara Prentice

6' 0"
Professional
UC Irvine / NYAC / Sabadell
Center
Jewel Roemer

Jewel Roemer

5' 6"
Redshirt Senior
Stanford / NYAC / 680
Attacker
Emily  Ausmus

Emily Ausmus

Redshirt Freshman
USC / NYAC / SOCAL
Attacker
Jovana Sekulic

Jovana Sekulic

Redshirt Junior
Princeton / NYAC
Center
Jenna Flynn

Jenna Flynn

5' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
Stanford / NYAC / 680
Attacker
Emma Lineback

Emma Lineback

5' 6"
Redshirt Junior
UCLA / NYAC
Attacker
Ella Woodhead

Ella Woodhead

5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
Stanford
2M Defender
Malia Allen

Malia Allen

5' 8"
Professional
UCLA / NYAC / Panionios
Attacker
Julia Bonaguidi

Julia Bonaguidi

5' 11"
Sophomore
California / NYAC
Attacker/Defender
Isabel Williams

Isabel Williams

6' 3"
Professional
California / NYAC / Sabadell
Goalkeeper
Rachel Gazzaniga

Rachel Gazzaniga

6' 1"
Sophomore
USC / NYAC
Defender
Ava Stryker

Ava Stryker

5' 10"
Sophomore
USC / NYAC
Attacker