Earlier this week, the U.S. was tied to Greece, 4-4, at halftime when the lights went out at the competition pool in Athens, Greece on Aug. 2. Due to the power outage, the game was postponed until the morning of Aug. 3 at which time Team USA played Greece again; this time leading at halftime, 3-2, and defeating the home team, 7-5. Goalkeeper Merrill Moses (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./New York Athletic Club/Pepperdine 2000) had a stellar game with 17 saves for the U.S.

“We started the game off well and our defense was very strong,” said Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo. “Our offense struggled through the whole game, but our defense played hard and kept us in it.”

Going back to the regular scheduled games, a tired U.S. team played its second game of the day against reigning title holder Serbia and Montenegro and lost 15-4. This was Team USA’s first loss of the FINA World League Series. USA plays Spain Aug. 4 before entering the finals elimination bracket this weekend.

“It’s tough to start out with only five hours rest against a good and rested Serbia and Montenegro,” said Azevedo. “We went down 5-0 and then in the second quarter we gained our composer and played even, 3-3. After the half, we didn’t play good water polo.”

GAME 1: USA vs. GREECE, 7-5
BOX SCORES:
USA – 1 2 2 2 - 7
GRE – 1 1 2 1 – 5

SCORERS:
USA – Varellas 3, Witt 1, Bailey 1, Azevedo 1*
*additional scorer information to follow

SAVES:
USA – Moses 17

PLAYER ADVANTAGE:
USA – 2 of 8, 1 of 1 (penalty)
GRE – 4 of 7, 1 of 1 (penalty)

GAME 2: USA vs. SCG, 15-4
BOX SCORES:
USA – 0 3 0 1 – 4
SCG – 4 3 4 4 – 15

SCORERS:
USA – Varellas 1, Powers 1, Witt 1, Smith 1

SAVES:
USA – Kerr 4

PLAYER ADVANTAGE:
USA – 3 of 7
SCG – 7 of 8