USA men top Italy 9-7 to close out three game series
Los Angeles, CA - January 3 - The Uytengsu Aquatic Center on the campus of USC played host for the final match of the three game series between the USA Water Polo Men's National Team and Italy. Team USA took the victory 9-7 behind three goals each from Alex Bowen and John Mann while McQuin Baron and Drew Holland combined in goal for the victory. Francesco Di Fulvio led the Italian attack with four goals. The series concludes with the United States winning twice and tying once. Team USA drew with Italy 10-10 at Newport Harbor HS on December 28 before taking an 11-10 win at Pomona-Pitzer on December 30.In this match, Italy struck first to open the match with a tally from Francesco Di Fulvio for a 1-0 lead. The advantage was short-lived as Team USA roared back with consecutive goals from Bowen for a 2-1 lead. Then with 2:48 remaining in the period Mann spun free inside for a goal and a 3-1 lead after the first eight minutes. In the second period Team USA built on their lead behind strong goalkeeping from Baron and another goal, this time by Bret Bonanni. Bonanni converted on a power play drawn by Mann to take a 4-1 lead. Italy would rally with goals from Di Fulvio and the high scoring Stefano Luongo to draw within 4-3 at intermission.
The comeback continued for Italy early in the third period with another goal from Francesco Coppoli to even the match at 4-4 with 5:39 left in the period. Bowen answered a little over a minute later with his third goal of the match for a 5-4 USA lead. After the teams traded some defensive stops, Italy found the back of the net with 12 seconds left in the period on a goal from Di Fulvio to knot the match at 5-5 going to the fourth.
Di Fulvio scored his third of the day to open the final period pushing Italy ahead 6-5. The lead didn't last long with another tally from Mann on a power play to even the match at 6-6. Bonanni delivered for his second goal of the day with 3:19 left for a 7-6 advantage. Team USA began to pull away with a tally from Ben Hallock for an 8-6 lead. Italy looked to make one last run with a goal from Alessandro Velotto to draw within 8-7 with 1:05 remaining. Defense would cap the match for the United States as Nikola Vavic came up with a steal on the perimeter and fed Mann for an easy breakaway goal to seal the match at 9-7.
Scoring
USA 9 (3, 1, 1, 4) A. Bowen 3, J. Mann 3, B. Bonanni 2, B. Hallock 1
ITA 7 (1, 2, 2, 2) F. Di Fulvio 4, S. Luongo 1, F. Coppoli 1, A. Velotto 1.
Thanks to USA Water Polo.
USA Men Claim Second Match Of Italy Series With 11-10 Win At Pomona-Pitzer
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Dec. 31, 2014
Pomona, CA - December 31 - The USA Men's Senior National Team and Italy met last night at Pomona-Pitzer's Haldeman Pool and two days after battling to a 10-10 draw, it was Team USA pulling out an 11-10 victory. For the second straight game the United States built a lead in the fourth quarter only to have Italy rally. After Team USA went ahead 10-7, Italy battled back to within a goal at 11-10, but the United States was able to hold off the final Italian charge. Alex Obert (Loomis, CA/Pacific/Sac Polo) and Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC) led the USA attack with three goals each while Italy's Stefano Luongo scored three goals in the loss. The two teams will meet this Saturday at USC's Uytengsu Aquatic Center at 2pm to close out the series. Tickets will be available on-site and can also be purchased online by clicking here. Tickets are priced at $20 for USAWP members and $25 for non-members.
Pomona, CA - December 31 - The USA Men's Senior National Team and Italy met last night at Pomona-Pitzer's Haldeman Pool and two days after battling to a 10-10 draw, it was Team USA pulling out an 11-10 victory. For the second straight game the United States built a lead in the fourth quarter only to have Italy rally. After Team USA went ahead 10-7, Italy battled back to within a goal at 11-10, but the United States was able to hold off the final Italian charge. Alex Obert (Loomis, CA/Pacific/Sac Polo) and Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC) led the USA attack with three goals each while Italy's Stefano Luongo scored three goals in the loss. The two teams will meet this Saturday at USC's Uytengsu Aquatic Center at 2pm to close out the series. Tickets will be available on-site and can also be purchased online by clicking here. Tickets are priced at $20 for USAWP members and $25 for non-members.
Janson Wigo (Ft. Lauderdale, FL/Stanford/Olympic Club) got the scoring started for Team USA to grab a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. Italy quickly answered with a goal and then went ahead 2-1 on two straight from Luongo. Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport Beach) countered with a goal to even things at 2-2 it what was a back and forth game throughout. Samuels added his first goal of the day to close out the first quarter with Team USA ahead 3-2.
Obert opened up the second period with a power play strike and a 4-2 advantage only to have Italy score two straight to tie the game at 4-4. Much like the first quarter, Samuels would have the last word in the period putting Team USA ahead 5-4 going into halftime. Italy scored two of the next three goals to start the third period, tying the game at 6-6 only to see Samuels once again score the final goal of a period, giving the United States a 7-6 lead after three periods.
In the fourth it looked as if the United States would pull away, scoring three of the first four goals in the period, the last coming from Wigo to take a 10-7 lead. Italy battled back with two straight goals to draw within 10-9 but Obert fied in his third of the day with less than 90 seconds to play to build an 11-9 lead. Luongo found the back of the net with 44 seconds left but Italy would get no closer and Team USA would pick up the one goal victory.
Scoring
USA 11 (3, 2, 2, 4) A. Obert 3, J. Samuels 3, J. Wigo 2, L. Cupido 2, T. Azevedo 1
ITA 10 (2, 2, 2, 4). S. Luongo 3, F. Di Fulvio 2, A. Nora 2, A. Velotto 1, A. Fondelli 1, F. Coppoli 1
Waterpolo: rimonta del Settebello nei minuti... por edoardo-osti
USA men open series with Italy battling to 10-10 draw
Newport Beach, CA - December 28 - The USA Men's Senior National Team opened up their three game series with the Italian National Team battling to a 10-10 tie earlier today at Newport Harbor High School. Italy battled back from second half deficits of 8-4 and 10-7 to force the draw. John Mann and Bret Bonanni led the attack on offence scoring three goals each while McQuin Baron went the distance in net. Stefano Luongo powered the Italians with a game-high five goals including three in the fourth quarter. The two teams will be back in action on Tuesday, December 30 at Pomona-Pitzer's Haldeman Pool at 7pm local time. The match will also stream live on GoLivePolo.com.
Mann opened the scoring to put Team USA ahead 1-0 and Alex Bowen followed later in the period to help the United States to a 2-1 lead after the first eight minutes. The offensive attack continued in the second period with Tony Azevedo and Bonanni finding the back of the cage for a 4-1 lead at halftime. Bowen scored his second of the day to open up the third period and Mann followed with another goal, sandwiched around an Italian goal, for a 6-2 lead. Despite two goals in the period from Italy's Luongo, Team USA remained in front as Jesse Smith closed the period with a goal to grab a 7-3 advantage.
Italy battled back in the fourth with Luongo finding the net yet again with 4:46 to play in the match, closing the deficit to 8-6. Mann answered for the United States moments later with his third goal for a 9-6 lead. Minutes later Bonanni scored for a seemingly safe 10-7 lead. Luongo capped his monster offensive day, scoring the final two goals of the match, the last coming with 11 seconds remaining to tie the match at 10-10 forcing the tie.
Scoring
USA 10 (2, 2, 3, 3) J. Mann 3, B. Bonanni 3, A. Bowen 2, T. Azevedo 1, J. Smith 1
ITA 10 (1, 0, 2, 7) S. Luongo (pictured) 5, L. Bruni 2, N. Presciutti 1, F. Di Fulvio 1, F. Baraldi 1.
Thanks to USA Water Polo.
****
Water Polo: Team USA plays Italy to draw
CdM graduate Mann scores three goals as Americans kick off exhibition series at Newport Harbor High.
John Mann loves returning home.
"Home" could mean Newport Beach, or even the United States, for the Corona del Mar High water polo graduate who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
"It's something I look forward to this time of year, because I'm always playing internationally," he said. "It's great to come back and see your family, and see your water polo family too. It's great to be back playing with my teammates. That's the thing that I'm really happy about right now."
Team USA, which also included Newport Harbor High graduate Luca Cupido and Newport Beach native Anthony Daboub, played host to Italy in an exhibition game at Newport Harbor High. Mann certainly did his part, scoring three goals and earning three exclusions.Mann, now 29, is playing club water polo this year in France for C.N. Marseille. But on Sunday afternoon, he was back in Orange County as a team captain for the U.S. men's senior national team.
But Italy's Stefano Luongo led everyone with five goals, and Italy rallied late to forge a 10-10 tie.
No overtime was played, since the game was an exhibition. The teams will see each other in two more exhibitions in the coming week, playing Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Pomona-Pitzer and Saturday at 2 p.m. at USC.
Mann, who graduated from Cal in 2007, is now one of Team USA's elder statesmen. He seems to be enjoying the role.
"I just am constantly excited to come to training," Mann said. "There's a lot of young guys, but we as a team are not looking at that as some excuse, like we're rebuilding or something like that. I think we have the talent to win now. That's the approach of Coach Dejan [Udovicic], and he's fantastic at developing players. He's helping me grow into a better player every day."
Cupido transferred to Newport Harbor from Italy in the summer of 2013, and went on to earn Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year honors that fall. He also saw ample playing time Sunday against his home country, earning two steals and drawing two steals.
"It's a weird situation," said Cupido, 19, who earned Newcomer of the Year honors in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this fall with Cal. "I played with these guys all my life, and I haven't seen them for the last two years since I moved to the states. Now, the first time I see them is here in the game, facing them in the water. It's pretty funny, actually. A little bit of emotion, for sure.
"There was trash talking before the game. During warmups we were making fun of each other. I was expecting it."
Team USA never trailed against Italy, the 2012 Olympics silver medalist. The Americans seemed to have the game in hand, especially after Bret Bonanni scored his third goal with 1:57 left in the game. That made it 10-7, Team USA.
But Italy did not fold. A power-play goal from Nicholas Prescuitti trimmed the lead to two, then Luongo added a steal and score to cut it to 10-9 with 55 seconds left.
After Team USA's next possession ended in a long shot saved by Italy goalie Marco Del Lungo, Luongo scored his fifth goal from the left to tie the game with 11 seconds remaining.
Italy got the ball back with four seconds left. Luongo's shot was field blocked, and a last-second attempt by Alex Obert of Team USA went just wide left.
"For three quarters, we had a good game," Cupido said. "For some reason, we kind of stopped playing, and that's the reason why they came back."
Alex Bowen scored twice for Team USA, and Tony Azevedo and Jesse Smith added single goals. McQuin Baron made nine saves.
Mann stayed on the pool deck long after the final whistle, signing autographs for kids and speaking with supporters. He said the next big tournament for Team USA is the Pan American Games, to be held in Toronto in July. The winner of that tournament will qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
"It's always good to be home," said Mann, who along with his teammates conducted a water polo clinic on Sunday morning before the game. "Any time we play here, it's special for me. I've played so many games in this pool. It's not my home pool … but I'll never forget those cold mornings, the Battles of the Bay, and all of the awesome things that happened here. I believe it's the home of water polo in the United States."
****
USA-Italia 10-10 a Newport. Grande rimonta
Il Settebello pareggia 10-10 (parziali 1-2, 0-2, 2-3, 7-3) la prima amichevole ufficiale disputata domenica contro gli Stati Uniti a Newport nel corso del common training in svolgimento dal 27 dicembre sino al 5 gennaio a Long Beach, in California. In gol per l'Italia Luongo (5), Bruni (2), Baraldi, Di Fulvio e Presciutti. In programma altre due amichevoli ufficiali il 30 dicembre a Pomona e il 3 gennaio all'USC University, entrambe alle 14.00 locali, le 23 italiane.
Gli azzurri hanno disputato la partita dopo neanche 20 ore dall'arrivo a Los Angeles davanti a 1.000 spettatori paganti per un incasso di circa 25.000 dollari. Vasca da 30 metri con 15 giocatori a referto. Età media dell'Italia 21,8 anni.
Determinante per il pareggio l'ultimo parziale: vinto 7-3 con Luongo, in versione capitano, autore del 10-10 a 12 secondi dalla sirena. In precedenza gli Stati Uniti avevano raggiunto un buon margine di vantaggio con un costante pressing difensivo e una inferiorità numerica aggressiva a saltare che non aveva permesso al Settebello - condizionato dal viaggio - di andare al tiro con facilità. Nel terzo tempo gli azzurri avevano mostrato segnali di crescita sul piano fisico e del gioco: prologo della reazione nell'ultimo parziale.
Il programma di lunedì prevede nuoto e palestra al mattino e partita di allenamento con gli americani la sera.
"Prevedevo un inizio stentato anche se la mancanza di lucidità a tratti è stata eccessiva - sottolinea il cittì Sandro Campagna - Sono soddisfatto della reazione nell'ultimo parziale con giocate di qualità e un miglioramento complessivo. Al di là dei risultati l'esperienza che acquisirà questa giovane selezione risulterà utilissima per accelerarne il percorso di crescita sotto tanti punti di vista".
per ulteriori info consulta il sito USA Water Polo
Al collegiale stanno partecipando Fabio Baraldi e Alessandro Velotto (CC Napoli), Vincenzo Dolce e Vincenzo Renzuto Iodice (CN Posillipo), Francesco Coppoli (RN Florentia) Nicholas Presciutti, Lorenzo Bruni, Marco Del Lungo, Alessandro Nora (AN Brescia), Giacomo Bini (Bpm Sport Management), Tommaso Busilacchi (Como Nuoto) Stefano Luongo (Carpisa Yamamay Acquachiara), Francesco Di Fulvio, Andrea Fondelli e Matteo Aicardi (Pro Recco), Lorenzo Vespa (SS Lazio). Lo staff è composto dal cittì Alessandro Campagna, dall'assistente tecnico Amedeo Pomilio, dal preparatore atletico Alessandro Amato e dal fisioterapista Luca Mamprin.
Gli azzurri hanno disputato la partita dopo neanche 20 ore dall'arrivo a Los Angeles davanti a 1.000 spettatori paganti per un incasso di circa 25.000 dollari. Vasca da 30 metri con 15 giocatori a referto. Età media dell'Italia 21,8 anni.
Determinante per il pareggio l'ultimo parziale: vinto 7-3 con Luongo, in versione capitano, autore del 10-10 a 12 secondi dalla sirena. In precedenza gli Stati Uniti avevano raggiunto un buon margine di vantaggio con un costante pressing difensivo e una inferiorità numerica aggressiva a saltare che non aveva permesso al Settebello - condizionato dal viaggio - di andare al tiro con facilità. Nel terzo tempo gli azzurri avevano mostrato segnali di crescita sul piano fisico e del gioco: prologo della reazione nell'ultimo parziale.
Il programma di lunedì prevede nuoto e palestra al mattino e partita di allenamento con gli americani la sera.
"Prevedevo un inizio stentato anche se la mancanza di lucidità a tratti è stata eccessiva - sottolinea il cittì Sandro Campagna - Sono soddisfatto della reazione nell'ultimo parziale con giocate di qualità e un miglioramento complessivo. Al di là dei risultati l'esperienza che acquisirà questa giovane selezione risulterà utilissima per accelerarne il percorso di crescita sotto tanti punti di vista".
per ulteriori info consulta il sito USA Water Polo
Al collegiale stanno partecipando Fabio Baraldi e Alessandro Velotto (CC Napoli), Vincenzo Dolce e Vincenzo Renzuto Iodice (CN Posillipo), Francesco Coppoli (RN Florentia) Nicholas Presciutti, Lorenzo Bruni, Marco Del Lungo, Alessandro Nora (AN Brescia), Giacomo Bini (Bpm Sport Management), Tommaso Busilacchi (Como Nuoto) Stefano Luongo (Carpisa Yamamay Acquachiara), Francesco Di Fulvio, Andrea Fondelli e Matteo Aicardi (Pro Recco), Lorenzo Vespa (SS Lazio). Lo staff è composto dal cittì Alessandro Campagna, dall'assistente tecnico Amedeo Pomilio, dal preparatore atletico Alessandro Amato e dal fisioterapista Luca Mamprin.
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