One of the best rivalries in international women’s water polo comes to the Elings Aquatic Center at Dos Pueblos High on Friday: Team USA vs. Australia.
The world powers play the third and final game of a three-game series at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door.
The game will be a homecoming for four local players on the U.S. squad. Kami Craig prepped at Santa Barbara High while Kiley Neushul, Kodi Hill and Sami Hill attended Dos Pueblos. Craig, Neushul and Sami Hill were on the USA team that won the FINA World Championship, World League Super Final title and Pan Am Games gold medal this year and the World Cup in 2014. Craig was on the gold medal-winning team at the 2012 Olympic Games, giving her golds in all the major tournaments in the world.
Kodi Hill, a junior at UCLA, played with the squad at a recent tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Team USA lost twice to Australia at the Rio tournament and finished runner-up to the Aussies. The teams split the first two games of their Southern California series. The Americans won 8-7 in La Jolla and the Aussies took an 8-7 decision at Los Alamitos.
The teams have battled it out in major competitions this year. The U.S. won an 8-6 semifinal game at the World Championships in August, an 8-7 decision in the World League final in June and a 12-10 shootout at the World Intercontinental Championship in May.
Here is the Team USA roster for Friday’s game at DP.
Team USA (Hometown/School/USAWP Club)
Gabby Stone (La Jolla/Stanford/SD Shores)
Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, FL/Princeton/NYAC)
Sami Hill (Santa Barbara/UCLA/Santa Barbara)
Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach/Corona del Mar HS/CdM Aquatics)
Melissa Seidemann (Walnut Creek/Stanford/NYAC)
Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach/UCLA/SOCAL)
KK Clark (Menlo Park/UCLA/NYAC)
Maggie Steffens (Danville/Stanford/NYAC) C
Courtney Mathewson (Anaheim Hills/UCLA/NYAC)
Kiley Neushul (Goleta/Stanford/Santa Barbara)
Ashley Grossman (Santa Monica/Stanford/NYAC)
Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Beach/USC/NYAC)
Makenzie Fischer (Laguna Beach/Laguna Beach HS/SET)
Kami Craig (Santa Barbara/USC/Santa Barbara)
Kodi Hill (Santa Barbara/UCLA/Santa Barbara 805)
Aria Fischer (Laguna Beach/Laguna Beach HS/SET)
Monica Vavic (Palos Verdes/USC/Trojan)
Alys Williams (Huntington Beach/UCLA/Huntington Beach WPC)
