Tokyo, Aug 5: Maddie Musselman thinks about it all the time. Playing on the talented U.S. women’s water polo team, Musselman is constantly debating whether she should pass or shoot the ball.
She decided to shoot on Thursday, and it worked out quite well for the Americans. Musselman scored four of her five goals in the second half, rallying the U.S. to a 15-11 victory over the Russian team in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s a battle that I personally fight every day, in terms of is it your shot or is it the person next to you,” Musselman said.
Led by Musselman and clutch plays by Alys Williams and Melissa Seidemann, the U.S. stayed in the mix for a third consecutive gold medal.
Next up is Spain, which advanced with an 8-6 victory over Hungary.
Captain Maggie Steffens had three goals as the U.S. improved to 133-4 since it won gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. It has won three in a row since it lost 10-9 to Hungary in group play for its first loss at the Olympics since the 2008 final against the Netherlands.
Spain is looking for its first gold medal. It lost to the U.S. 8-5 in the 2012 final, and then finished fifth at the Rio Olympics. It also lost to the U.S. in the final at the 2019 world championships.
Anni Espar, who played with U.S. attacker Kaleigh Gilchrist in college at Southern California, had three goals for Spain, and 16-year-old Elena Ruiz scored twice. Spain posted the first three goals. Hungary finally got on the board when Dorottya Szilagyi scored with 4:39 left in the first half.
The U.S. beat the Russian team 18-5 last week, but the Russian team was much more engaged in the semi-final meeting. (AP)
