Team USA Water Polo: United States Women Take On Hungary
By Jeremy Mauss@JeremyMauss Updated Jul 30, 2012, 1:21pm EDT
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LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 22: A Water Polo ball sits in net as The Australian Water Polo team trains at the Water Pool Venue in the Olympic Park on July 22, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
The United States women's water polo team's first game is against a familiar foe in Hungary. Prior to the London Olympics the two teams played a four-game exhibition throughout California. Team USA went 4-0 in those games and not really challenged with the exception of one game where the United States only won 7-6.
When these two teams played it was the United States power play that helped them win all four games where they converted 19-of-36 power play chances. Only in the 7-6 win did the United States convert less than 50 percent as they went 4-of-10.
Also in those four prior matches, the United States used both of their goalies with great success. Starter Betsey Armstrong and Tumua Anae played well in the time they had in the pool. Armstrong started and played three of the four games and had 19 saves. Anae had one start which came in the second game of the series and she recorded 13 saves which was a team-high during the week, she also saw time in final game where she played the fourth quarter and earned a save.
The women's Hungary team is not as strong as their male counterparts, but they are still a solid team. They placed third at the 2012 European Championships which was an improvement from fifth place in 2010. At the FINA World Championships they finished sixth in 2010, and back at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games they came up short to earn a medal and finished in fourth place.
This game will be broadcast live online at 2:40 p.m. ET at NBCOlympics.com, and for those who want to watch on television it will be on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET/PT, 1:30 p.m. CT/MT on a delayed basis. Assuming the coverage is same as the men's United States game on Sunday the NBC broadcast should show the entire game.
So come by and chat about the game either if you are watching live online, the delayed television coverage or even if you watch it at 6 p.m. on the replay. My prediction is that Team USA will win 10-6.