Paris, France – July 30 – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Water Polo Team secured their first victory at the Paris Olympic Games with a commanding 14-8 win over Romania. After trailing 3-2 early in the game, Team USA unleashed a decisive 7-0 run to dominate the match. Key players Hannes Daube and Alex Bowen each contributed three goals, while goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg made 14 critical saves. Team USA is set to face Greece on Thursday at 10:30 am local time (4:30 am ET / 1:30 am PT), with the match airing live on E! and streaming on Peacock.
Romania started strong, taking an early 1-0 lead and maintaining their advantage for much of the first quarter. Team USA struggled to catch up until Johnny Hooper scored late in the third quarter, leveling the score at 3-3. This goal sparked a significant offensive surge for Team USA, who outscored Romania 7-1 over the next two quarters.
In the second quarter, Daube gave Team USA the lead with a goal in the opening minute, making it 4-3. Ryder Dodd soon followed with his first Olympic goal on a penalty shot, extending the lead to 5-3. Max Irving then added to the score with a counterattack goal, bringing the halftime margin to 6-3.
Team USA continued their dominance in the third quarter. Daube scored again on a penalty, followed by goals from Irving and Ben Hallock, pushing the lead to 9-3. Romania managed to score once, but Daube answered with his third goal of the day, making it 10-4 heading into the final period.
Early in the fourth quarter, Chase Dodd scored his first Olympic goal, further extending Team USA’s lead. Although Romania mounted a brief comeback, scoring four of the next five goals to narrow the gap to 12-8 with 1:43 remaining, Bowen sealed the victory with two consecutive goals, finalizing the score at 14-8.
Team USA excelled in power plays, converting 5 out of 9 opportunities, and were perfect on penalties, going 2 for 2. Romania, on the other hand, went 3 for 9 on power plays and did not attempt any penalties.
Scoring Summary
- USA: 14 (3, 3, 4, 4) – H. Daube 3, A. Bowen 3, J. Hooper 2, M. Irving 2, A. Obert 1, B. Hallock 1, R. Dodd 1, C. Dodd 1
- Romania: 8 (3, 0, 1, 4) – V. Georgescu 3, S. Colodroschvi 3, M. Lutescu 1, A. Neamtu 1
- Saves: USA – A. Weinberg 14; Romania – M. Tic 5, E. Dragusin 1
- Power Plays: USA – 5/9; Romania – 3/9
- Penalties: USA – 2/2; Romania – 0/0