University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Team USA Wins First-Ever Olympic Gold in Women's Water Polo
August 09, 2012 | Bruin Athletics, Olympics
Aug. 9, 2012
LONDON -
Guided by former UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian and Bruin standouts Kelly Rulon and Courtney Mathewson, Team USA defeated Spain 8-5 today to win its first-ever Olympic gold medal on Thursday in London's Water Polo Arena.
Krikorian assumed head coaching responsibilities of the U.S. Women's Water Polo National Team in the summer of 2009 after winning his fifth consecutive NCAA Championship in 2009 at the helm of the UCLA women's program. In his 17 years with the Bruins' water polo programs as both a player and a coach, Krikorian won an unprecedented 15 national titles - 11 as a head coach, three as an assistant coach and one as a student-athlete.
Team USA has long been a power in women's water polo, but the Americans had never translated their success at other major competitions to the Olympics, claiming bronze in 2004 and silver in 2000 and again in 2008. Like in Beijing four years ago, the U.S. women were ranked No. 1 and were gold medal favorites. But this time, they would not be denied what had long eluded them.
Maggie Steffens, who will be a freshman at Stanford next season, scored five goals on the day capping a binge of seven-straight goals for the U.S. that turned a 2-1 deficit with 6:44 left in the second period into an 8-2 lead with 7:20 remaining in the fourth quarter. Spain scored the final three goals of the match, but the Americans had built an insurmountable lead.
The U.S. was 8-for-17 on shots (compared to Spain's 5-for-28 performance) and dominated the game despite losing out on time of possession, 16:58 to 15:02. U.S. goalkeeper, Betsey Armstrong, finished with eight saves, including a huge stop on a penalty shot in the fourth period.
Mathewson recorded one shot in seven minutes of action against Spain. Rulon played in 15 minutes, winning one sprint for Team USA.
Mathewson (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), a former Cutino Award winner (2008), won four national titles at UCLA (2005-08) and made her first Olympic appearance in the 2012 London Olympics.
Rulon (Point Loma, Calif.), the 2007 Cutino Award winner, also won four national championships at UCLA (2003, 2005-07) and was part of the bronze-medal winning team in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
