Two pre-world cup friendly series finished yesterday evening in Europe and North America.
Fifty kilometres south of Rome in Anzio, Hungary held strong against Italy, 12-9. Ten thousand kilometres west across the Atlantic, the United States demolished Greece 18-5.
Quarter-final 1: Hungary vs Greece
Quarter-final 2: Spain vs Italy
Quarter-final 3: New Zealand vs Netherlands
Quarter-final 4: United States vs Israel
In the first game of the evening, a physically dominant Hungary were relatively comfortable against their Italian hosts.
Despite Italy’s efforts to close the gap and bring the score to 8-7 by halftime, Hungary’s superiority became evident in the third period, propelled by double scores from Dorottya Szilagyi and Kamilla Farago. Rita Keszthelyi was the games best scorer with four goals.
This victory mirrors Hungary’s previous triumph over Italy at Alfred Hajos five days ago, where they secured a 12-7 win, but these games have taken their toll on the Magyars. Rebecca Parkes did not play in Anzio after suffering a injury at Hajos; last night, Vanda Valyi incurred a inflamed ear that sees her withdrawn for the trip to Canada. Kamilla Farago appeared to be in some discomfort yesterday evening, but nothing official has been released about that.
Hungary will now travel to Canada to finish their World Cup preparations.
Photo courtesy USAWP
Meanwhile, the United States finished three from three in their warm-up series with Greece at Stanford. The first two games were close, but the third game was a rout by the Americans. With hat-tricks from Jenna Flynn, Ryann Neushul, Maggie Steffens and Jovana Sekulic.
Melissa Seidemann with former teammates and some younger players that she inspired.Photo: USAWP
The match was played as a tribute to the retiring three-time Olympic champion, Melissa Seidemann, who was honoured prior to the game. The formidable centre-forward witnessed her national team deliver a performance reminiscent of the exceptional displays she had contributed to numerous times throughout her illustrious career.
Read more about Women’s water polo
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more video content, subscribe to our Youtube Channel and Tik Tok account
