The U.S. women’s water polo team advanced on to the semifinals following a decisive 16-5 win over Canada.
The US Women’s Water Polo Team will face the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in the semifinals at 2:30 a.m. ET. The winner will face either Spain or Hungary, who play at 6:50 a.m. ET.
Team USA reached the semifinals after beating Canada in a 16-5 quarterfinal blowout. In that game, Team USA set the tempo high and early, going up 7-1 within the first quarter of the game.
Maggie Steffens, team captain and all-time leading Olympic scorer in the sport, notched 3 points. Steffens broke the scoring record in an 18-5 victory over ROC in the preliminary rounds.
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Asked about the record, Steffens said “As much as it’s definitely cool and I appreciate it, you can’t have that without teammates. You can’t have that without a pass. You can’t have that without being able to play the sport with women who you train with and dream with.”
Team USA has won a women’s water polo medal in every Olympic Games since the addition of the sport in 2000. After taking home the gold in London 2012 and Rio 2016, Team USA is looking for a three-peat.
