News Latest News Maitland blasts Sharks to World League bronze medal | Maitland blasts Sharks to World League bronze medal |
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 Genoa, Italy (June 23).— A Rob Maitland goal 22 seconds from time secured a bronze medal for Australia at the men’s water polo FINA World League Super Finals here last night.
Australia’s Olympic stocks rose another notch when the Aussie Sharks gained their second consecutive World League bronze medal in three straight bronze-medal-final appearances.
The Sharks came from 5-3 down at halftime to beat Beijing medal contender Montenegro 8-7 on the final day of the Super Finals.
The medal backs up last year’s bronze gained against Germany in
Berlin and gives Australia its third bronze medal on the world stage
following the first in the 1993 World Cup.
Head coach John Fox said he was pleased with the result against
such a strong opponent but added that the team was “not over-exuberant”
with the medal, stating “there’s still a long way to go to be a medal
chance in Beijing”.
Serbia retained its crown with a 7-3 margin over the United
States of America in the gold-medal final while Spain pipped Canada
10-9 for fifth and Italy defeated Greece 11-7 for seventh spot.
The Sharks battled the referees with a heavy foul count against, trailing 3-2 and 5-3 at the first two breaks.
The team rebounded in the third period, keeping Montenegro
scoreless to level at 5-all and then take the game with “every guy
playing with a lot of heart”, according to Fox.
Australia netted four from seven on extra while Montenegro managed just five from 11 chances.
The Australian men’s team for Beijing will be announced in the coming weeks.
Scores: The defeat means the Aussie Sharks will play their third consecutive bronze-medal final in this event, taking on international newcomer Montenegro, who lost to reigning World League and European champion Serbia 13-3. The Sharks trailed 5-2 at halftime but closed the gap with an excellent third quarter to be 5-5 at the final break and then 7-7 at fulltime. The USA netted its first four attempts past goalkeeper Luke Quinlivan in the shootout but Richard Campbell, who scored three goals in regular time, missed his attempt. The Sharks were thrown a lifeline when Quinlivan blocked the next USA attempt but Anthony Martin could not penetrate with the team’s last chance. The Sharks continued their woes on extra, netting three from nine while the USA converted four from seven. In crossovers for places five to eight, Spain won a penalty shootout against Greece, winning 11-10 after the game was locked at 7-7, the same scoring as the USA-Australia match. Then Canada improved its Olympic prospects with a 10-8 victory over Italy. China took ninth place when it defeated World League newcomer Egypt 23-5.
Scores:
Sharks to play USA in World League semifinals The Aussie Sharks lost 11-5 to reigning champion Serbia overnight to finish second in Group B and will now play the USA, a shock 7-6 winner over Montenegro in their top-of-the-table Group A clash. The Sharks beat USA 2-1 in a three-test series in California in the lead-up to the Super Finals so must be a chance to go at least one medal better than last year’s bronze, gained in Berlin, Germany. Australia had plenty of chances to beat the Serbians, drawing the first quarter 3-all and the last 2-all but could not penetrate their defence in the middle half of the match. While the Serbians, with the world’s most devastating shooter Alexander Sapic scoring three, mastered the extra-man component of the game with five goals from 10 attempts, the Sharks netted just one from nine chances. The USA turned a 5-4 final-break deficit into victory when captain Tony Azevedo broke the deadlock late in the match. In the other two matches, Italy beat China 15-8 in Group A and Canada whipped Egypt 17-1 in Group B with all four outside medal contention. China and Egypt will play for ninth place tomorrow while Spain will play Greece and Italy will clash with Canada in the round 5-8 crossovers.
Scores:
Sharks surge into World League semifinals Bronze medallists last year, the Aussie Sharks finished fourth in 2006 and will have a shot for a major medal in Genoa after beating Greece 13-9 in fourth-day action. The Sharks will play fellow unbeaten team Serbia tomorrow for group superiority. Serbia beat Canada 11-4. Group A has also decided its semifinalists a day early with Montenegro beating China 13-7 and the United States of America thumping Spain 11-4. Montenegro and USA will clash tomorrow in the final round-robin day. The Sharks started strongly against Greece, leading 5-2 at the quarter and 8-4 at halftime. The youthful Greek team won the third period 4-2 but the Sharks regained control in the last for a 3-1 period. As with previous games, the Sharks dominated the critical extra-man statistics, converting four from five attempts while denying Greece seven of its 13 opportunities. In the second quarter, Aussie goalkeeper James Stanton joined the scorers with a length-of-the-pool shot.
Scores:
Sharks' World League finals hopes improve The Aussie Sharks, the bronze medallists last year and sitting out the bye, will face Greece early tomorrow, a team which lost 9-6 to Canada in day-three action. The Sharks beat Canada by four goals on day two and look a strong chance to finish in the top two of Group B alongside champion Serbia who pummelled Egypt 31-0. In Group A, Spain took top spot with an 8-6 win over China while host Italy ruined its hopes of a final appearance with a 16-15 loss in overtime to Montenegro after the game was tied at 11-all.
Scores:
Sharks win in late surge against Canada
T The start was not what head coach John Fox required with the Sharks trailing 3-2 at the quarter and only having the game level at 5-all by halftime. They gained a one-goal margin by the final break before ripping off a 4-1 final quarter. The telling statistic was on extra man where the Sharks were almost perfect, converting eight of nine opportunities compared to Canada’s four from nine. Coming off five from five in the opening game, the statistic is the envy of world water polo. Centre forward Jamie Beadsworth (pictured) made the most of his chances with three goals.
In Group A, the United States of America beat China 13-9 while Spain held out Italy 9-8.
Scores:
Sharks blast Egypt out of the water African qualifier Egypt had no answers for the powerful Sharks who whistled through the quarters 4-0, 7-0, 3-0 and 7-0 with 11 of the 12 field players making the scoresheet. Power shooter Pietro Figlioli, reputedly the fastest swimmer with the hardest shot in world water polo, top-scored with three goals while seven other players netted twice. The Sharks scored five from five on extra as they dominated all facets of play. Raf Sterk made one steal and five outside saves and one on extra man, Head coach John Fox was cognisant of the quality of the opposition and said htat it was a good hit out in preparation for the games later in the week, In the other Group B match, reigning champion Serbia made hard work of beating an under-strength Greek team 10-9. In Group A, World League newcomer Montenegro breezed past Spain 15-7 while Italy needed a penalty shootout to overcome the United States of America 15-14 after Italy tied the match 10-10 in the dying seconds. Australia comes up against Canada tomorrow (AEST time), the shock Olympic qualifier who had the first-day bye.
Scores:
Aussie Sharks shooting for World League glory Winner of the Asia-Oceania zone, the Sharks won their first World League bronze medal last year and are expected to be a major threat despite being drawn in the same half of the 10-team draw with reigning champion Serbia. Just off a series win over United States of America, the Sharks are looking strong and should rattle through African zone winner Egypt in the opening game tomorrow morning (AEST time). Australia then faces shock Olympic qualifier Canada on day two followed by world No 6 Greece, and then Serbia on day five. If the Sharks go unbeaten until the clash with Serbia, then it should shoot for a medal in the semifinals against either Montenegro or Spain, the standout teams in the other half. Sharks head coach John Fox is not daunted by the task ahead of his team. “Our ultimate aim is the Olympic Games but this gives me a chance to assess my team and finalise the 13 players for Beijing.” The team for the Olympic Games will be named after the Super Finals. Australia’s best finishes at an Olympic Games came with fifth placings in 1984 and 1992.
Aussie Sharks trounce USA 9-5 in LA This wasn't the rousing sendoff the U.S. national men's water polo team envisioned for its final pre-Olympics tune-up on American soil. Playing its last contest in Ventura County and, indeed, the United States before the Beijing Games, Team USA scored the game's first goal and then fell -- hard -- to Australia, 9-5, in their exhibition matchup at Cal Lutheran on Tuesday evening. Brian Alexander, who coached the Westlake High girls' water polo team earlier this year, fired in a goal for a 1-0 lead with 6:20 left in the first quarter. After that, it was an uphill swim for Team USA. The Americans managed to rally for a 4-4 tie at halftime, then yielded the next five goals in a disappointing second half. Australia, ranked No. 10 in the world (the USA is No. 9), won two of three games against Team USA in their exhibition series, including an 11-9 victory at Dos Pueblos High in Santa Barbara on Sunday. Head coach Terry Schroeder didn't downplay the verdict. "Every game is important," said the Westlake Village resident. "We have only seven more games left before we go to the Olympics, and it's very important that we make the most of our opportunities. "We didn't play well in a lot of areas tonight. We struggled on offense. We went 2 of 8 on our 6-on-5 chances. Australia outplayed us in just about every area. It turns out to be quite a wakeup call." Peter Varellas, a 6-foot-3 driver from Stanford, concurred. "It's just a bad loss," he said. "Normally we play well on defense and tonight we give up nine goals. It wasn't just the number of goals, but the way we gave them up. This definitely doesn't do much for our confidence." Adam Wright led the Americans with two goals, the final with just five seconds remaining. Alexander, Peter Hudnut and Jeff Powers scored single goals, and No. 1 goalie Merrill Moses posted five saves. Australian team captain Thomas Whalan tallied four goals in the second half to help turn a 4-4 deadlock at halftime into a 9-4 lead with 2:08 remaining in the game. Australian goalie Raf Sterk finished with eight saves. The third period was particularly frustrating for the U.S. squad, which went scoreless despite two 6-on-5 advantages and a 5-meter penalty shot. On consecutive trips to the offensive end, team captain Tony Azevedo missed with a lob shot on a man advantage and then had the penalty shot stopped by Sterk. Moses tried to keep Team USA close, punching out a penalty shot by Peitro Figlioli with Australia already holding a 7-4 lead in the fourth period. But Australia followed with a quick score off an American turnover, and Whalan tallied his final goal with 2:08 left in the game. "We didn't play with a lot of energy tonight," said Varellas. "We need to do a much better job." Team USA, which has turned Ventura County into its home base in preparation for the Summer Games, will hold two more practices locally before heading off to Genova, Italy, for the FINA World League Super Final. Teams in the American bracket included Spain, Italy and China. The Americans will open the Beijing Olympics in August against host China. USA Water Polo report
In the last of a
three game exhibition set with the visiting Australian Men's National
Team, the USA Men's Senior National Team allowed a tie game at half to
slip away as Australia went on to a convincing 9-5 victory. This was
the final game for Team USA as they prepare for the upcoming FINA World
League Super Final in Italy.
Aussie Sharks' match streamed live from USA NOW! San Francisco, USA (June 10).— The Aussie Sharks rebounded from their opening loss to the United States of America with an 11-9 victory in the second of their four-test men’s water polo series at Goleta, near Santa Barbara last night. As with the first game, the Sharks started poorly, trailing 4-1 at the quarter but pulling the deficit back to one by halftime. The third quarter belonged to Australia, turning a 6-4 disadvantage to an 8-4 lead by the final break. USA levelled at 9-all but Tim Neesham and Sam McGregor gave the Sharks victory with the only goals in the final four minutes. Sharks’ head coach John Fox said his charges played better as a team with stronger discipline. “It was a much-improved effort. There was more cohesion and working as a team. I’m still very concerned about the slow starts and we need to address this issue from both a mental and physical angle to overcome this problem.” Both teams are using the series as a warm-up to next week’s FINA World League Super Finals in Genoa, Italy, with the ultimate goal being a fine showing in August’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The third game will be played tomorrow in Los Angeles.
Result: USA Water Polo Report:
Another game and another filled pool deck to see the well-traveled USA Men's Senior National Team, as Team USA took on Australia at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, CA just outside of Santa Barbara. On this night Team USA would falter surrendering a three goal lead and falling to the Aussies 11-9.
Aussie Sharks lose opener to USA in California Head coach John Fox said the team was “sluggish” after the travel and hoped for better results in the next three encounters, which are being used as preparation for next week’s FINA World League Super Finals in Genoa, Italy. The USA was fresh from beating world champion Croatia the previous weekend.
Result:
USA Water Polo Report
Unlike their last two games Team USA got the offence working quickly as
Team Captain Tony Azevedo used a man-up scenario to score the first
goal and give an early lead at 1-0 just two minutes and twenty seconds
in the game. They would add to that as Ryan Bailey drew a five metre
penalty to which Azevedo cashed in and just like that it was 2-0 USA.
In the fourth quarter
the defence returned for Team USA as did the offence with Jesse Smith
connecting from downtown to build the lead to 5-3 less than a minute
into the quarter. From there the teams jockeyed back and forth with
both defense doing the job until 2:42 left in the game when Azevedo
would cap his scoring with a laser beam into the left corner from about
five metres out. That rebuilt the lead to a comfortable margin at 6-3
and USA would go on for the 6-4 victory.
National men's squad - Super Final World League
Goal Keepers;
Centre Backs;
Centre Forwards;
Drivers;
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