USA-HUN Women´s Waterpolo Full Game VIDEO ( 27/06/16 - 29/06/16 - 02/07/16 )

02/07/16

29/06/16



27/06/16

HolidayCup 2015 VIDEOS (USA,ESP,NED,ITA)

España, rumbo a USA para jugar la Holiday Cup

12/12/2015 - La selección absoluta femenina ha puesto rumbo esta misma mañana a Estados Unidos, donde realizará un stage con el combinado norteamericano y participará del 15 al 20 de diciembre en la Holiday Cup, un torneo que enfentará a las de Miki Oca con Italia, Holanda y la anfitriona Estados Unidos, sin duda algunas de las mejores selecciones del panorama internacional.

Previa escala en París, las nuestras aterrizarán en Los Ángeles y seguirán con el duro trabajo físico con la mirilla puesta en el Europeo de Belgrado, en el que debutarán el día 11 contra Croacia. En la Holiday Cup se medirán a Holanda (día 15 a las 03.00 am hora española), Italia (día 16 a las 03.00 am hora española), Estados Unidos (día 17 a las 03.30 am hora española), de nuevo con Holanda (día 18 a las 00.00 am hora española), otra vez con Italia (día 19 a las 21.00 hora española) y con USA el día 20 a las 18.00 hora española). Desde esta web iremos siguiendo el camino de las chicas de Miki Oca por tierras californianas.

Comunicación RFEN. Foto: La selección femenina, antes de partir rumbo Los Ángeles.

2015 Championship Full Replay: UCLA vs. Southern California Full VIDEO

2015 Championship Full Replay: UCLA vs. Southern California

Watch the full event replay of the title game match-up between 

UCLA and Southern California at the 2015 NC Men's Water Polo 

Championship in Los Angeles, California

Vídeos : 

http://www.ncaa.com/video/waterpolo-men/2015-

12-06/nc-mens-water-polo-championship-ucla-

usc-full-replay

USA 8-7 AUS (La Joya, Road to Rio, 23/11/15) Full VIDEO

Referee Education: Radoslaw Koryzna (vídeo)

USAWP High Performance Education

USA-SRB Full VIDEOS Games Junio-2015

http://www.usawaterpolo.org/

USA Men Take First Win Over Serbia Since 2008 Olympics With 12-10 Win In Front Of Sold Out San Diego Crowd
John Mann scores five goals in the win; two teams meet in Riverside on Thursday

	John Mann scored a game high five goals in the win over Serbia

June 2, 2015
La Jolla, CA - June 2 - In front of a sold out crowd at UC-San Diego's Canyonview Pool, the USA Men's National Team beat Serbia for the first time since the 2008 Olympic Games, winning 12-10. John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) scored a game high five goals while Bret Bonanni (Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford) added four goals in the win. Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) tallied eight saves in the win. The two teams will meet again on Thursday night at 7:30pm pt at the Riverside Aquatics Complex. To rewatch the full match on USA Water Polo TV, click here. For more series information, click here.

Serbia jumped out to a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and built a 3-1 advantage before Team USA began to chip away. Mann got on the board with his first goal and Alex Obert(Loomis, CA/Pacific/Sac Polo) added a tally moments later to make it 4-3 Serbia. Mann came back with another and then Bret Bonanni (Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford) scored twice and suddenly Team USA was ahead 6-4 at halftime.

Dusan Mandic scored to stop the bleeding for Serbia but the United States answered with goals from Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC), Mann and Bonanni to take a 9-5 lead, their largest of the night. Gavril Subotic connected for a score late in the third leaving team USA ahead 9-6 going to the fourth. Bonanni hit for his fourth goal of the night with 6:03 remaining to put Team USA up 11-8 but Serbia, the number two ranked team in the world, wasn't done yet. Slobodan Nikic scored followed by the second of the match for Subotic to make it a one goal game at 11-10 with just over three minutes to play. Team USA slammed the door shut with the fifth and final goal from Mann with 1:26 to play and the defense held the rest of the way.

Stefan Mitrovic led the Serbian attack with three goals. The last time Team USA beat Serbia was on August 22, 2008, a 10-5 win in the semifinal round of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Scoring
USA 12 (1, 5, 3, 3) J. Mann 5, B. Bonanni 4, T. Azevedo 2, A. Obert 1
SRB 10 (2, 2, 2, 4) S. Mitrovic 3, G. Subotic 2, S. Nikic 2, S. Rasovic 1, D. Mandic 1, Z. Gocic 1
Saves - USA - M. Moses - 8 - SRB - G. Pijetlovic 2, B. Mitrovic 3


Game Scoresheet

USA Men Pick Up Second Straight Win Over Serbia 9-5 In Front Of Sold Out Riverside Crowd
Bonanni, Samuels, and Azevedo score twice in the victory

	Bret Bonanni scored two goals in the win over Serbia

June 4, 2015
Riverside, CA - June 4 - Another sellout crowd and another Team USA win over Serbia. This time a pivotal third quarter pushed the USA Men's National Team to a 9-5 win over Serbia, their second straight over the second ranked team in the world, at the Riverside Aquatics Complex. Bret Bonanni (Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford), Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC), and Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC) scored two goals each in the win while McQuin Baron (North Tustin, CA/USC/Regency) added eight saves in net. Team USA held Serbia scoreless in the third while scoring three goals to expand a 5-4 halftime lead into an 8-4 advantage. To rewatch tonight's game, click here.

The two teams will meet again on Sunday at El Toro High School in Lake Forest, CA at 5pm. Limited tickets are still on sale and can be purchased by clicking here.

Serbia struck first to open the scoring in the first period but Team USA responded with two straight goals from Bonanni and Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport) to snag a 2-1 lead after the first period. Strahinja Rasovic answered with a tally to open the second but Azevedo and Samuels hit for two straight to build a 4-2 advantage. Stefan Mitrovic and Slobodan Nikic scored two straight for Serbia to even the match at 4-4 but Team USA would take the lead into halftime thanks to a goal from Bonanni with 1:03 to go in the first half.

The third quarter and largely the second half defined the match. Team USA held Serbia scoreless in the third while adding three more goals, the last coming from Azevedo with just two seconds to play. Ahead 8-4 to open the fourth, John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) put the match away tossing a hookshot over the head of Serbia's goalkeeper for a 9-4 lead. Serbia finally broke through with a score in the second half but it came with just six seconds to play and did not factor in the decision.

Scoring - Scoresheet
USA 9 (2, 3, 3, 1) T. Azevedo 2, B. Bonanni 2, J. Samuels 2, L. Cupido 1, A. Bowen 1, J. Mann 1
SRB 5 (1, 3, 0, 1) S. Nikic 2, V. Rasovic 1, S. Rasovic 1, S. Mitrovic 1
Saves - USA - M. Baron 8 - SRB - G. Pijetlovic 6, B. Mitrovic 3
6x5 - USA - 4/7 - SRB - 1-8
Penalties - USA - 0/1 - SRB - 1-1

USA MNT -vs- Serbia | El Toro High School

USA Men Edge Serbia 11-10 With Last Second Goal From Luca Cupido To Earn Third Straight Win
Cupido scores twice in the final minute to push Team USA to victory

	Luca Cupido scored the game winner over Serbia with two seconds left

June 7, 2015
Lake Forest, CA - June 7 - Luca Cupido's (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport) goal with just two seconds left in the fourth quarter pushed Team USA to an 11-10 win over Serbia at El Toro High School in Lake Forest, CA. Cupido tied the game with 45 seconds left after goals from Filip Filipovic and Andrija Prlainovic had put Serbia ahead with 1:13 to play. Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) posted 10 saves in net in picking up the victory. To watch a full replay of the game, click here. The series concludes Tuesday night at a sold out University of Illinois, Chicago at 7:45pm ct. The game will be broadcast live and live stats will be available via The FOSH, both can be accessed here.

Team USA opened the match on top thanks to a goal from Josh Samuels (Villa Park, CA/UCLA/NYAC) but a rejuvenated Serbia squad responded. Bolstered by the return of Andrija Prlainovic, Filip Filipovic, and Dusko Pijetlovic, Serbia kept pace with Team USA in the first. Dusan Mandic connected to tie the match at 2-2 and Prlainovic connected on his first goal of the series to give Serbia a 3-2 lead after the first. They kept the attack up in the second period building a 5-2 lead before Team USA began to chip away. Alex Roelse (Maarssen, Netherlands/UCLA/Bruin) scored one of his two goals to make it 5-3 and Alex Bowen (Santee, CA/Stanford/Stanford) followed with a score with under a minute to play in the half to draw Team USA within one at 5-4. After Serbia retook a two goal lead, Jackson Kimbell (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/Newport) found the back of the net right before half to leave Serbia ahead just one at 6-5.

Much like Thursday night in Riverside, the third quarter belonged entirely to Team USA. Moses and the defense held Serbia scoreless while Team USA mustered three straight goals, two from John Mann(Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) to take an 8-6 lead going to the fourth. The one goal Mann didn't score, he drew a penalty, allowing Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) to hit.

That set the stage for the back and forth action in the final eight minutes. Roelse scored his second goal to put Team USA up 9-7 with 4:13 to play only to see Serbia score three straight to take a 10-9 lead. Prlainovic scored two of the goals as Serbia roared back into the match. After Prlainovic's final goal with 1:13 remaining all that was left was Cupido saving the day with two tallies in the final minute.

Both teams struggled on the power play with Team USA going 5/17 and Serbia just 3/11. Team USA went 1/1 on penalty shots while Serbia did not attempt a penalty shot.

Scoring - Scoresheet
USA 11 (2, 3, 3, 3) L. Cupido 2, J. Mann 2, T. Azevedo 2, A. Roelse 2, A. Bowen 1, J. Samuels 1, J. Kimbell 1
Serbia 10 (3, 3, 0, 4) A. Prlainovic 3 S. Rasovic 2, D. Mandic 1, F. Filipovic 1, V. Rasovic 1, G. Subotic, N. Jaksic 1
Saves - USA - M. Moses 10 - SRB - G. Pijetlovic 7, B. Mitrovic 6
6x5 - USA - 5/17 - SRB - 3/11
Penalties - USA - 1/1 - SRB - 0/0

USA MNT -vs- Serbia | University of Illinois, Chicago



Luca Cupido A Hero Again As USA Edges Serbia 14-13 In Front Of Jam Packed Chicago Crowd
Team USA sweeps four game series with Serbia ahead of FINA World League Super Final

	Luca Cupido scored the second straight game winner for Team USA over Serbia

June 9, 2015
Chicago, IL - June 9 - For the second straight match Team USA's Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, CA/California/Newport) was the hero as the attacker scored a game winning goal as time expired to complete a four game sweep of Serbia. In front of a standing room only, sell out crowd at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Team USA emerged a 14-13 winner in a physical finale to the common training series. Cupido and Bret Bonanni (Huntington Beach, CA/Stanford/Stanford) led the offense with four goals each while McQuin Baron (North Tustin, CA/USC/Regency) went all four quarters in net with 11 saves. Watch a full replay of the match via USA Water Polo TV, click here.

The first quarter started off slow. Serbia's Andrija Prlainovic scored first but Bonanni quickly answered to tie the score at one. Cupido then pulled the USA ahead with 48 seconds left but Gavril Subotic's man up goal tied the score at three with just seven seconds remaining in the quarter.
Team USA started off the second quarter strong with goals by Alex Bowen (Santee, CA/Stanford/Stanford) and Bonanni, his second of the game, giving the United States a 4-2 lead early. With less than three minutes remaining Serbia's Mandic and Subotic made it 4-4. USA's Cupido regained a 5-4 lead for his team but Serbia answered with two quick goals making it 6-5 Serbia at the half.
Connor Virjee's (Rolling Hills, CA/USC/Trojan) first goal of the game evened the score at six early in the third quarter and Bonanni then capitalized on a 5-meter penalty shot to pull the USA ahead 7-6. Serbia's Filip Filipovic answered on a man up advantage to tie the game back up at seven. Virjee, Cupido, and Bonanni each followed with a goal a piece giving the USA a three goal lead with 3:33 remaining. Serbia's Nikola Jaksic scored his second goal of the game cutting the USA's lead to 10-8. Virjee followed up with his third goal in the quarter making it 11-8 USA. Serbia responded with two quick goals. The USA remainined in front at 11-10 after three quarters.
Two goals by Mandic pulled Serbia ahead early in the final quarter. Alex Roelse (Maarssen, Netherlands/UCLA/Bruin) answered for the United States to tie it at 12 followed by John Mann's (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) goal to give them a 13-12 lead. With just 31 seconds remaining in the game, Serbia's Filipovic capitalized on a power play goal to tie the game. Cupido was tonight's hero with a game-winning goal with no time remaining in the game.

Notes: The four quarters featured a host of physical play that saw Subotic excluded from the match for Serbia and Strahinja Rasovic leave the game with an injury. Goalkeeper Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) did not travel with the team to Chicago. This was the first time a USA Water Polo Senior National Team played in Chicago since 2002 when the Women's Senior National Team held competitions at UIC and Northwestern.

Scoring - Scoresheet
USA 14 (2, 4, 4, 3) L. Cupido 4, B. Bonanni 4, C. Virjee 3, A. Roelse 1, A. Bowen 1, J. Mann 1
SRB 13 (2, 3, 6, 3) D. Mandic 3, F. Filipovic 2, N. Jaksic 2, G. Subotic 2, Z. Gocic 1, S. Nikic 1, M. Aleksic 1, A. Prlainovic 1
Saves - USA - M. Baron - 11 - SRB - B. Mitrovic 5, G. Pijetlovic 1
6x5 - USA - 4-13 - SRB 1-10
Penalties - USA 1/1 - SRB 0/0

Amber Drury: 2015 Hall of Fame Inductee

http://www.usawaterpolo.org/hof/

Friendly Gamea (3) USA-ITA Videos December 2014

USA men top Italy 9-7 to close out three game series

 By: Tim Hartog  National Teams, Miscellaneous

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-PitzerSeries concludes Saturday at USC with 2pm start

	Sta Piovendo Gols - USA vs. Italy - Game 2 Highlights from Steve Carrera on Vimeo.

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.

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 NCAA Waterpolo Full Video

USC vs. UCLA - NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship Teaser from Steve Carrera on Vimeo.

 Men's Water Polo

http://www.ncaa.com/video/waterpolo-men/2014-12-06/nc-mens-water-polo-semifinal-recap

UCLA wins ninth NCAA title with 9-8 victory over USC

 By: Tim Hartog  National Leagues, Miscellaneous

Top-seeded UCLA has won its ninth NCAA title and 112th in UCLA history with a 9-8 win over six-time defending champion USC on Sunday afternoon at UCSD's Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla, California. The UCLA Bruins earned their first NCAA championship since 2004. UCLA's Gordon Marshall (Australia) hit the game winner of the tense final with just 0.34 to go. The Bruins got the stop on the next possession and then ran out the clock.

NCAA tournament - championship
Final

USC (3) UCLA (1) 8-9 (0-2, 2-2, 2-3 4-2)
USC Goals: Kostas Genidounias 2, Marc Vonderweidt 2, Matteo Morelli, Mihajlo Milicevic, Nick Bell, James Walters.

UCLA Goals: Danny McClintick 4, Chancellor Ramirez, Gordon Marshall, Matt Farmer, David Culpan, Jack Fellner.

UCLA wins the 2014 Men's Water Polo Championship

UCLA defeats Southern California 9-8 to win the 2014 NC Men's Water Polo Championship. This is UCLA's first men's water polo title since 2004.

USA Full VIDEO : Long Beach State vs. Stanford - MPSF Championship - Alternate Stream

VOLVO CUP 2014 ( VIDEOS )

****

Ver HUN-USA : 

http://arbitroswp.blogspot.com.es/2014/02/hun-usa.html

*****

2014 Volvo Cup the review

|

Monday 10 February 2014, 19:09

|

Tim Hartog

http://www.waterpoloworld.com/News/tabid/169/ArticleId/6326/news.aspx

© Sandor Stuber / vlv.hu

The 2014 edition of the annual Volvo Cup in Hungary was concluded with just a second-ever non-Hungarian winner since the tournament kicked off in 2007 as Serbia topped the hosts 9-10 en route to the overall win. Relive the weekend of high-level water polo from inside with a recap, reactions and all results summarized below.






The international break early February is a focus point for the fitness and form of the national teams. In the middle of the season, with all players fresh from the December and January holidays, it is a great opportunity for coaches to have their players together and maybe mix in some new blood. All over the water polo world tournaments have the international giants testing their strength and see where they stand compared to their rivals.

The Volvo Cup 2014 is one of those tournaments. Last year’s version of the event was won by hosts Hungary after beating all 3 challengers, Romania, Canada and 20& under national junior team. Although coach Tibor Benedek used several less familiar faces, that victory did not come as a surprise. This year it was not going to be so easy. With defending European champion Serbia, the up and coming USA side and Germany, led by ex-Vasas star Moritz Oeler, it would definitely be a hard-fought competition in Szolnok. The highlight of the weekend would without a doubt be the clash with the Serbians of head coach Dejan Savic.

Friday, February 7th – Day 1

On day 1 Serbia and USA got the 2014 Volvo Cup going with an entertaining match featuring plenty of goals. For USA the tournament was not so much about the result. With an average age of not even 21 years old the experience is gold already. Despite the age of the players, coach Udovicic maintains a very attractive and offensive style of play. This leaves his team open to conceding numerous goals, but also allows them to score a very respectable amount themselves. Exactly this is what also happened against Serbia.

A 9-4 first half in favor of the Serbs was outdone by an even bigger 11-7 score in the second half. Together this made for a 20-11 final score and USA could be proud to have managed to score 11 goals against a very strong Serbian side. For Serbia it was a fine start at the tournament and a good warm up for the clash on day 2 with Hungary. Especially Filip Filipovic distinguished himself by hitting a total of 4 goals. Filipovic was followed closely by team mates Dusko Pijetlovic and Strahinja Rasovic, and USA stars Bret Bonanni and Alex Bowen, who all netted 3. With the next World League confrontation against Greece already in mind, coach Tibor Benedek selected a mixture of renowned veterans and young talent for the 3-day tournament. Daniel Angyal (Vasas), David Jansik (Szolnok), Marton Levai (Szolnok), Gabor Kovacs (Eger), Ferenc Salamon (Eger), Marton Toth (Szeged) and Balazs Erdelyi (Pacific Tigers, USA) were all hoping to impress the boss and earn a spot in the final 13-man squad that will head down to Patras after the weekend.

Germany, also in preparation for their next World League clash with Italy, is always a tough nut to crack. The team of ex-Vasas player Moritz Oeler was not expected to leave Szolnok as overall winner, but is definitely capable of surprising the favorites on a good day. And a good day it seemed to be on Friday. Leading 5-7 at half-time the Germans had every chance of giving the home crowd a very soor start of the weekend. Thanks to a 4-goal streak in the 3rd period though, Hungary restored the order and managed to hold the Germans off for the rest of the game. Man of the match on Hungarian side was lefthander  Norbert Madaras. His 4 goals played a big part in the comeback of the hosts in the second half of the game.


Photo by Sandor Stuber / vlv.hu

Saturday, February 8th – Day 2

Favorites Hungary and Serbia both did what was expected and emerged victorious on day 1. The giants were facing each other on day 2 for what would most likely be the tournament deciding match.

USA – Germany

Against Germany the offensive mindset helped USA to find the net 12 times, a number that might be good for victory many other games. Unfortunately for USA, the experienced Germans knew exactly how to exploit the space and certainly did not pity their opponent. After the final buzzer captain Moritz Oeler, posting 4 himself, had inspired his team to a big 20 goals. Team USA did took the first lead of the game thanks to youngster Thomas Dustan (16 years old!), but Germany quickly took the initiative and refused to give it up again. Plenty of goals, with a game-high of 11 (5-6) in the final period, did make for a very entertaining match and a perfect warm up for main-act Hungary versus Serbia.

Hungary – Serbia 

A lot can be said about the rivalry between these two teams. Both can boast with a fair share of fame and glory over the years. Although the Volvo Cup cannot be compared to the Olympic Games, or to a World or European championship, when Hungary and Serbia meet you simply know there is going to be fireworks. Without starters Filip Filipovic, Dusko Pijetlovic and Andrija Prlainovic – coach Dejan Savic used the confrontation to see how some of the new generation of Serbian players would deal with the pressure. Hungary coach Tibor Benedek rotated the squad as well compared to the game versus Germany. Eger players Ferenc Salamon, Gabor Kovacs, Miklos Gor-Nagy (injured) and Krisztian Bedo were replaced by Daniel Angyal (Vasas), Marton Toth (Szeged) and Szolnok home town players Norbert Hosnyanszky and Marton Vamos.

The first period of the game looked more like chess than water polo. Both teams were carefully exploring each other and waiting to see which way the wind was blowing. It was Hungary that delivered the first blow after a goalless first 4 minutes. Denes Varga exploited a gap in the Serbian defense and put the 1-0 on the board. Hungary then looked to go into the first break leading, primarily thanks to a few superb saves of goalie Viktor Nagy, but Sava Randelovic equalized for Serbia not long ahead of the buzzer. Opposite the first period, the second period saw a lot more action.

Serbia took the lead straight from the first attack. It was centre forward Nemanja Ubovic who got the better of his guard and beat Viktor Nagy. The home crowd then witnessed in disbelief how their team had plenty of chances to equalize but failed to cash in on 3 consecutive man-up plays. Opponent Serbia had fewer troubles finding the net. 2 exclusions for Hungary ment 2 more goals for Serbia and a 1-4 score. Veteran left hander Norbert Madaras then restored some faith with the Hungarian audience by hitting his team’s second of the game right before half time. Despite Daniel Varga taking the sprint and Hungary being the first to set up offense after half-time, it was Serbia that continued to hurt the hosts. Szolnok players Zivko Gocic and Stefan Mitrovic increased the misery of the home crowd by scoring a goal each. Then trailing by 4, it was Madaras to the rescue again with his second of the game. In the next 90 seconds another 3 goals followed. Dusan Mandic first restored the 4-point gap, before Marton Szivos and Denes Varga could bring Hungary up to 2 goals from Serbia again. Hungary went on to create chances but failed to chalk up. The lack of accuracy in front of goal allowed Milan Aleksic to send his team into the final stage leading 3 with a 5-8 score.

Hungary then had to continue the remainder of the game without center forward Balazs Harai. After already receiving a yellow card for rough play earlier, he was excluded after handing out another illegal blow. Luckily for the Hungarian fans Norbert Madaras still had some powder left in the barrel. 2 more goals of the Pro Recco star kept Hungary in the game and brought Serbia back within reach. With still over 4 minutes left to play only 2 goals separated both sides and the audience prepared for a final assault. Hungary had to engage this assault without Captain Daniel Varga though, who was dismissed after making remarks about the referee’s decisions. The home crowd, who were already fired up after the sent-off of Varga, exploded when Marton Toth reduced the Serbian lead to only 1 goal for the first time since the first half. Stefan Mitrovic seemed immune to the noise and cheers of the Hungarian fans though. He kept his calm and accurately placed the ball out of reach of Viktor Nagy. Denes Varga still avenged his brother by converting on a penalty, but the final siege ran aground 1-goal short at 9-10. Serbia professionally finished the game off and played the ball round for the final possession.

“Our goal is always to win games. But although we failed to do that today, I am satisfied with the performance. Everybody was fighting for it. Serbia took a 3 goal lead but we still managed to nearly get away with a draw in the end. We were still testing new tactics and this game was a perfect opportunity for us to see what works best for us. This is very important experience that we take to Greece.” – Tibor Benedek (source – vlv.hu).

“Of course I expected a very close and exciting match. The game was great. I had never been in Szolnok before and the audience and atmosphere were superb. The team did very well and I am a satisfied coach.” – Dejan Savic (source – vlv.hu).

February, 9th – Day 3

After the victory of Serbia on day 2 only Germany could keep the team of coach Dejan Savic from winning the tournament. It was unlikely for Germany to cause a surprise, but not impossible. For Hungary all that remained was to entertain the fans and make it a worthy finale against USA.

Serbia – Germany

Coach Dejan Savic decided to mix the squad again compared to the thriller against Hungary and replaced Szolnok stars Gocic, Aleksic and Mitrovic by the returning star trio of Filip Filipovic, Dusko Pijetlovic and Andrija Prlainovic. The tournament lasted a day too long for the Germans. Whether it was lack of energy, motivation or something else, they were completely outclassed by Serbia. The 11-4 score represented the balance perfectly. Serbia found the center attack to be most effective route and was freewheeling around the German defence. The Germans were lucky that Serbian center Slobodan Nikic was excluded from the game with a red card early in the 3rd period. It did not cause a turnaround but probably at least spared the Germans an even more embarrassing final score. Without Nikic, Serbia still continued to dominate and expand their lead although at a slower pace. Especially centre forward Dusko Pijetlovic was having a good time, with 6 goals from 6 attempts, and treated the fans on a spectacular backhand goal. The torture finally stopped at 17-5 after Julian Real had scored the only German goal in the second half.

Hungary – USA

Last Wednesday Hungary and USA already met in the much discussed “Innovation Game”. While that game did not lack any attention the final match in the Volvo Cup could be considered one for the statistics only. Without much at stake both teams could enjoy this game without pressure and enjoy the atmosphere. This time it was Marton Szivos, Balazs Harai and Norbert Madaras who drew the short straw and had to sit out. Eger centre back Miklos Gor-Nagy was kept aside again as well to recover from an injury ahead of the World League game versus Greece on Tuesday. The hosts immediately took a big lead and went on expanding it until half time. Without captain John Mann, who was rested because of shoulde pains, Team USA was unable to answer the offensive power of Hungary. Only Bananni managed to counter the 7 Hungarian goals to get his team on the score sheet at least once. After the break USA acclimatized and played more freely. This resulted in 2 consecutive goals before the Varga brothers stepped up and stopped the American uprising. First it was Daniel who opened up the USA defence allowing Marton Toth to score and 2 minutes later Daniel was the end station himself after a magnificent pass by his younger brother Denes. The game never really gained on excitement anymore in the final and fourth period. Bonanni found the net for a second time to make it 9-4 but a final siege on the goal of, a very well performing, Marton Levai stayed out. David Jansik, Norbert Hosnyanszky and Ferenc Salamon further increased the Hungarian gal total to 12 and Bonanni completed his hattrick to make it 5 for USA.


Tournament best player Norbert Madaras. Photo by Sandor Stuber / vlv.hu.

Volvo Cup 2014 conclusion

Each team went into the weekend with different expectations and goals. The inexperienced side of coach Dejan Udovicic may have lost all their games, but it was definitely not a failure. Team USA returns to the States with a bag full of experience and lessons learned towards the FINA World Cup tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan next August. Led by captain Mann and shooters Alex Bowen and Brett Bonanni, the team is full of potential and could become a force to be reckoned in the future if they play their cards right. We will especially keep an eye on the development of the youngest player in the tournament, 16-year old Thomas Dunstan. Germany finished the weekend with mixed feelings. Two good performances against Hungary and USA were quickly forgotten after the punishment by Serbia on the last day of the tournament. To keep sight on qualification for the World League super finals, a positive result against Italy is a must. In order to have a chance on Tuesday, Novoselac Nebojsa will need to motivate his team to a much better performance than the display last Sunday.

With 3 victories and an outstanding final display against Germany, Dejan Savic can look back at a successful performance of his team. Especially on offence the Serbs were very impressive scoring 47 goals in total. The victory against the hosts will be a great confidence boost for the players as they head back to their club teams. Although the European Championship is still 6 months away, Serbia has shown this weekend that they mean business and will come to Budapest to avenge the disappointing result in Barcelona last year. Despite the loss against Serbia, team Hungary definitely showed good form in Szolnok. Including the test match against USA a week ago, the team has played 4 matches in 6 days and will add another one against Greece to make it 5 in 7. For a coach it is always important to have the squad together for a longer time to work on tactics and team spirit. The team is blessed with a lot of talent and deciding a final squad for the EC would be a major head breaker. The road to Budapest 2014 is still long though and Tibor Benedek will have plenty of time to develop the perfect strategy.

“Most important is the match against Greece on Tuesday. We are moving forward although I think we can still improve. The loss against Serbia was disappointing, but a victory in Greece would make that feeling disappear for sure. We keep working on our tactics and the more we are together, the better we get. For now, the next World League match is all we think about.” – Tournament MVP Norbert Madaras (source – vlv.hu).

Text: Kevin Vernooij, Hungary correspondent.

8th Volvo Cup results

February 7

Hungary vs. Germany 12-9, Serbia vs. USA 20-11

February 8
Hungary vs. Serbia 9-10, Germany vs. USA 20-12

February 9

Hungary vs. USA 12-5, Serbia vs. Germany 17-5

Final standings:

1. Serbia 9 pts, Hungary 6, 3. Germany 3, 4. USA 0.

Previous places for Hungary in final standings

2007, Debrecen: 1.
2008, Kecskemet: 1.
2009, Eger: 2.
2010, Hodmezovsssrhely: 1.
2011, Miskolc: 1.
2012: Szekesfehervar: 1.
2013: Kecskemet: 1.