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Former Stanford All-American and Olympic gold medalist Maggie Steffens scored four goals and the United States national women’s water polo team beat Hungary 13-8 to earn a gold medal at the FINA World League Super Final championship match in Athens, Greece on Saturday.
Rachel Fattal scored two of her three goals within a minute of each other in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory. She also recorded a field block that led to another American goal.
Hungarian team captain Rita Keszthelyi scored on a power play to bring her team within 9-8 with 5:01 remaining to play. Fattal answered with a 6-meter shot, sparking an American run.
Former Stanford standout Makenzie Fischer also scored during the 5-0 run. Stanford alum Melissa Seidemann assisted on Fattal’s next goal.
Madeline Musselman matched Fattal with three goals. Fischer added two, with Paige Hauschild and Alys Williams also scoring.
The Americans (14-0, 6-0) won their seventh consecutive Super Final title and have won 11 of the past 12 competitions and 14 overall.
The U.S. and Hungary met in the final for the first time since the event’s premiere in 2004. The Hungarians made their second appearance in the title match.
Steffens, who converted a penalty shot and added an assist, scored the first two goals of the match and the U.S. never trailed. She made all four of her shot attempts.
Former Stanford stars Aria Fischer and Jordan Raney also saw action for the Americans, who next play Japan in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July. U.S. goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson recorded five saves.
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer
By Rick Eymer
