RIO DE JANEIRO – The Cardinal contingent on Team USA accounted for seven of the United States' 12 goals and the U.S. Women's Water Polo team won its second consecutive Olympic gold medal with a 12-5 victory over Italy on Friday afternoon.
Melissa Seidemann ('13), Kiley Neushul ('15), Makenzie Fischer ('20) and USA captain Maggie Steffens ('17) formed the backbone of the Americans' dominant run in Rio and the United States became the first nation to win back-to-back golds in women's water polo at the Olympic Games. The U.S. is the only country to medal in all five Olympic women's water polo tournaments and Stanford's 11 all-time Olympians have now combined to take home 18 medals.
In the final, the four scored seven of their country's 12 goals and the United States' seven-goal margin of victory in an Olympic final easily surpassed its record of three from 2012's 8-5 win over Spain in London.
Team USA was masterful over the past two weeks, never losing in six games and outscoring its opponents 73-32, an average margin of victory of 6.8. In Friday's final, Neushul scored three times, Fischer twice, and Seidemann and Steffens each added one.
Italy kept things close in the first half and was down 5-3 at the break, but the U.S. extended to 9-4 heading into the fourth and sprinted to gold over the final eight minutes.
Steffens led all scorers for the second consecutive Olympics, pouring in 17 on 24 shots (70.8 percent). Neushul tied for 14th overall with 10 goals, Fischer added seven and Seidemann three. The four, responsible for more than 50 percent of Team USA's goals in Rio, also combined for 39 percent of its 31 assists, 23 percent of its steals and 33 percent of its field blocks.
A two-time national champion, Steffens will return to The Farm this fall to prepare for her senior season with the Cardinal in 2017. Fischer deferred her enrollment at Stanford after signing a National Letter of Intent in November 2014 and will be a freshman during the upcoming academic year.
United States Water Polo at the 2016 Olympics
| Date | Round | Result | Stanford Goal Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/9 | Preliminary | USA 11 - ESP 4 | Neushul 2, Steffens 2, Fischer 1 |
| 8/11 | Preliminary | USA 12 - CHN 4 | Steffens 4, Fischer 1 |
| 8/13 | Preliminary | USA 11 - HUN 5 | Steffens 4, Neushul 1 |
| 8/15 | Quarterfinal | USA 13 - BRA 3 | Fischer 2, Neushul 2, Steffens 2, Seidemann 1 |
| 8/17 | Semifinal | USA 14 - HUN 10 | Steffens 4, Neushul 2, Fischer 1, Seidemann 1 |
| 8/19 | Final | USA 12 - ITA 5 | Neushul 3, Fischer 2, Seidemann 1, Steffens 1 |