With a 14-11 win over Croatia on Monday, the U.S. men's water polo team now has what former player Tony Azevedo calls an "ideal" path to the gold medal game.
Team USA had already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics before Monday's pool play finale, but a loss to Croatia would have meant the Americans would have to face unbeaten Spain in the quarterfinals. Instead, with the win they move up to No. 3 in Group A, and will face Group B No. 2 Australia. The U.S. has beaten Australia in games leading up to Paris.
"This is huge. This the best matchup that Team USA has had in the last 20, 30 years," Azevedo, a five-time USA Olympian, said on the TV broadcast. “This is a team that they can beat. They've beat numerous times. This should be a win to get the USA back into the final four.”
Even though Croatia scored first on Monday, the rest of the way it was all USA. Hannes Daube, Luca Cupido, and Ryder Dodd rattled off three straight goals, and the U.S. didn’t give up the lead from there.
Daube and Ben Hallock added goals midway through the second to take the lead to seven, 10-3.
The closest Croatia would get was with 1:37 left in the game when Loren Fatovic brought the score to 13-11. Twenty-seven seconds later, Alex Bowen found the net to put the game away for good for the U.S.
Daube had his fourth hat trick of the Olympics, and Max Irving also had three goals for the Americans. Bowen and Dodd added two goals each.
Croatia’s Konstantin Kharkov led all scorers with five goals. Fatovic added three.
With the loss, Croatia falls to No. 4 in Group A, and will take on Spain in the quarterfinals.
If the U.S. can beat Australia in the next round, it would be the team’s first trip to the Olympic semifinals since 2008.
“In every way this is great,” Azevedo said. “Australia, considered one of the weaker teams… This is ideal to get to the gold medal game.”
The quarterfinals will begin on Wednesday. Game times are still to be determined.