USA women’s water polo team surprisingly loses 11:10 to the Netherlands in the bronze medal match
For the first time since women’s water polo was introduced at the Summer Olympics in 2000, the United States team will go home without a medal.
The Netherlands surprised the Americans in the bronze medal match in Paris on Saturday, overcoming a three-goal deficit in the final four minutes to win 11-10 on a goal from Sabrina van der Sloot with one second left.
It was the second heartbreaking defeat for the Americans in two days. In the semifinal, which was decided in a penalty shootout, they lost to Australia 14:13.
The Americans won four golds, two silvers and one bronze in the six previous Olympic Games and came to Paris hoping to win their fourth consecutive title.
Santa Barbara’s Ryann Neushul, whose sisters Kiley and Jamie each won gold medals, was a standout in Saturday’s game. The Olympic freshman came off the bench to score two goals, tying her team’s most with veteran Maddie Musselman. Her jump shot to the far post late in the second quarter gave the U.S. a 7-3 halftime lead.
Neushul took a penalty kick at the end of the third period that could have kept the four-goal lead, but Dutch goalkeeper Laura Aarts saved it. The score was 9-6 as the final period began.
Van der Sloot, who scored seven times for the Netherlands, reduced the gap to two goals with a penalty, but Jenna Flynn increased the lead to 10-7 with a power play goal.
The Dutch, who were dangerous on the counterattack, scored three goals in less than three minutes and equalized to 10:10 with 1:19 left in the game.
The USA gained possession with 40 seconds left after goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson won the ball, but Flynn’s attempt to break the tie was saved by Aarts with nine seconds left. After a timeout, the Dutch brought their goalkeeper forward to play 7-on-6 and van der Sloot fired a long-range shot through the defense for the winner.
VOLLEYBALL FINAL: After the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics is televised from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, NBC will show a replay of the early morning women’s volleyball gold medal match between the United States and Italy.
