Roberta Bianconi and Chiari Tabani added two goals apiece for Italy, which, like the US, is trying to become the first two-time victor of the Olympic tournament. The Italians came into the gold medal match averaging just over 10 goals a game. The Americans won that game, 11-6, though Italy led after the first quarter and the contest was tied at halftime. That was until Anastasia Simanovich threw one into the right corner of the net on an extra player goal for Russian Federation just before the buzzer to tie the game at 12-12.
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Team USA (19-4-3 all-time at the Olympics) beat Hungary, 14-10, and the Italians dispatched Russian Federation, 12-9, in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Rachel Fattal won the swimoff to open the second period; she then nailed a superb goal from beyond 5 meters to put the US up 4-2.
Bianconi scored two goals in each game against China and Russian Federation to bring her total to 11 in Rio.
But first she has earned a chance to put her feet up.
Poked and prodded by Hungary, the USA pushed back with its relentless attack. Brazil shot 25 times as a team, but had just a 16 percent goal rate.
Seventeen-year-old Aria Fischer becomes the youngest U.S. Olympic water polo medalist in history, as well as the youngest women’s water polo medalist from any country. Seidemann put it in the goal to put the US up 8-3, their largest lead of the game to that point. He was one of three double-digit scorers for the US, with Kevin Durant adding 14 points and Kyrie Irving 13, and DeAndre Jordan was the anchor defensively with 16 rebounds and four blocks to go along with nine points.
The U.S. stuck to what has made them successful throughout the Rio Games – find offense from anyone and everyone, and shut the other team down on defense.
Both the US and Italy are led on defense by their goalkeepers.
The low-key Johnson, 21, who attends Princeton, said she had not played the way she would have liked early in the tournament.
The latter stat was thanks in large part to Ashleigh Johnson, the first-time Olympian in goal. Johnson was selected as the top goalkeeper. Hungary scored on a strong strike from Dora Czigany with 2:32 left in the quarter. Melissa Seidemann and Maggie Steffens scored later in the period to give the USA a 9-4 lead entering the fourth period.
Johnson added a brilliant save on an Italy penalty shot and the US had a 9-4 advantage heading into the fourth.
U.S. TAKES BMX GOLD: The United States has ended its gold medal drought in BMX cycling after Connor Fields took the men’s final. Attila Biro called a timout for Hungary with 41 seconds left to play.
Hungary gave the USA their toughest match of the tournament; they were the first to score double digits.
If Russia wins a bronze, it will be just the second medal won by the Russian women in the Olympics.
Krikorian wasn’t thrilled with the defensive effort. “I think my skin is like magenta colored”.
“That’s been a theme for us this entire tournament”, Krikorian said of the goal-scoring. Krikorian returned to Brazil the day before the tournament began, and said at the time that the team was “lifting him up”, after the tragedy. Really fast, intelligent, its really fun to watch and its great to play..
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“She doesn’t feel fear”, Conti said. They made that game look so easy. “It’s emotional because I love them so much and I don’t want it to end”. “When we are in danger she can go out there and do everything for us”. “No doubt about that”.
