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USA Water Polo

Dylan Woodhead

Men's Senior National Team Alex Ellison

USA Men Defeat Montenegro 12-11 In Costa Mesa To Begin Three-Game Series

Team USA defender Dylan Woodhead scored once in the win

Costa Mesa, CA - June 26 - The USA Men beat Montenegro, 12-11, in the opening contest of a three-game series between the two countries at Orange Coast College. Ben Liechty scored four times while goalkeepers Adrian Weinberg and Bernardo Herzer combined for 10 saves in the cage. Team USA will face Montenegro again on Sunday, June 28 at Woollett Aquatics Center with a 7pm pt start time. That match will stream LIVE on Overnght with LIVE stats available from 6-8 Sports.

The offense came fast and furious to begin this game as Montenegro opened with a penalty shot strike before Liechty scored the first goal of his big day. Montenegro pushed ahead by two before Peter Castillo scored the United States' second. After another Montenegrin goal, Chase Dodd and Marko Vavic went back-to-back to level the score. A second penalty shot of the quarter left Montenegro ahead 5-4 after the first quarter.

Team USA flipped the game in the second period as Montenegro scored just twice. On the other side, Ryan Ohl went bar in on a lightning quick counter attack while Liechty (3) continued to pour it on and the United States led 8-7 at the break.

Nicolas Saveljic netted the first goal of the second half before Hannes Daube added to the American tally with a laser from long range. Montenegro had a response with its own pair of goals to close the quarter and Team USA held a 10-9 edge after three.

In the beginning of the final frame, Dylan Woodhead put one away before a quick Montenegrin answer. After that, Vavic pushed the lead to two and then Montenegro cut the deficit back to one just over midway through the period. From there, both teams played stellar defense and the Americans held on for the 12-11 victory.

Team USA went 2/8 on power plays with no penalties attempted while Montenegro went 2/7 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties.

Scoring - Stats
USA 12 (4, 4, 2, 2) B. Liechty 4, M. Vavic 2, H. Daube 1, C. Dodd 1, P. Castillo 1, R. Ohl 1, N. Saveljic 1, D. Woodhead 1
MNE 11 (5, 2, 2, 2) S. Gojkovic 3, N. Moskov 2, J. Vujovic 2, A. Macic 1, A. Ukropina 1, Ð. Radovic 1, V. Radovic 1
Saves - USA - A. Weinberg 8, B. Herzer 2 - MNE - D. Ðurovic 7, I. Radovic 2
6x5 - USA - 2/8 - MNE - 2/7
Penalties - USA - 0/0 - MNE - 2/2
 

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Players Mentioned

Hannes Daube

Hannes Daube

Attacker
6' 5"
Professional
USC / Apollon Smyrnis / NYAC
Chase Dodd

Chase Dodd

Attacker
6' 3"
Professional
UCLA / LA Athletic Club
Bernardo Herzer

Bernardo Herzer

Goalkeeper
6' 6"
Redshirt Senior
USC / LA Athletic Club
Ben Liechty

Ben Liechty

Attacker
6' 4"
Senior
UCLA
Ryan Ohl

Ryan Ohl

Attacker
6' 4"
Junior
Stanford / NYAC
Nicolas Saveljic

Nicolas Saveljic

Attacker
6' 6"
Professional
UCLA / TeliMar / NYAC
Marko Vavic

Marko Vavic

Utility
6' 5"
Professional
USC / San Giljan ASC / NYAC
Adrian Weinberg

Adrian Weinberg

Goalkeeper
6' 5"
Professional
California / Panathinaikos / LA Athletic Club
Dylan Woodhead

Dylan Woodhead

Defender
6' 7"
Professional
Stanford / The Olympic Club
Peter Castillo

Peter Castillo

Utility
6' 4"
Junior
UCLA / Mission

Players Mentioned

Hannes Daube

Hannes Daube

6' 5"
Professional
USC / Apollon Smyrnis / NYAC
Attacker
Chase Dodd

Chase Dodd

6' 3"
Professional
UCLA / LA Athletic Club
Attacker
Bernardo Herzer

Bernardo Herzer

6' 6"
Redshirt Senior
USC / LA Athletic Club
Goalkeeper
Ben Liechty

Ben Liechty

6' 4"
Senior
UCLA
Attacker
Ryan Ohl

Ryan Ohl

6' 4"
Junior
Stanford / NYAC
Attacker
Nicolas Saveljic

Nicolas Saveljic

6' 6"
Professional
UCLA / TeliMar / NYAC
Attacker
Marko Vavic

Marko Vavic

6' 5"
Professional
USC / San Giljan ASC / NYAC
Utility
Adrian Weinberg

Adrian Weinberg

6' 5"
Professional
California / Panathinaikos / LA Athletic Club
Goalkeeper
Dylan Woodhead

Dylan Woodhead

6' 7"
Professional
Stanford / The Olympic Club
Defender
Peter Castillo

Peter Castillo

6' 4"
Junior
UCLA / Mission
Utility