The U.S. Women’s Water Polo team includes locals Sami Hill and Kiley Neushul (third, fourth players in top row) and Kami Craig (top row, second on right)
Sami Hill, Kiley Neushul and Kami Craig, three former prep water polo stars, helped the USA Women’s Senior National team win the gold medal at the FINA World League Super Final with a 10-8 victory over Italy on Sunday in Kunshan, China.
The U.S. went undefeated in the tournament, giving the Americans their eighth title in 11 opportunities.
Hill made seven saves in the championship game and Neushul scored a goal. The two players are Dos Pueblos alums. Craig, a Santa Barbara alum and a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, is one of the veterans on the squad. She left the game early with a laceration on her hand.
Italy came out with a strong start in the final match, taking a 2-1 lead after the first quarter before the United States was able to rebound with three goals in the second period to even the match at 4-4 at halftime. The tide changed in the third period when Team USA blanked the Italians 4-0 to take a commanding 8-4 lead going into the fourth quarter. Italy looked to rally in the final eight minutes scoring four goals of their own but the United States had the answer with two additional goals to pick up the 10-8 victory.
“Our youth showed in the beginning but we settled down and played much better in the second and third quarter,” U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said. “Losing Kami early in the game was unfortunate but I was very pleased to see how we handled the adversity. All together, I’m very happy with our defensive effort. We were very consistent over the six games, and the group has grown tremendously in the short amount of time we’ve been together.”
Story includes information from USA Water Polo.
