The U.S. men’s water polo team fell to undefeated Croatia 8–2 Wednesday.
The U.S. team played well, blocking shots and drawing fouls to create power plays, but the Croatian team did everything better. The bigger, stronger Croats set up a wall at four meters which the U.S. rarely penetrated. When they did get shots off, Croatian keeper Josip Pavic stopped almost all of them.
The Croats gave up a lot of power plays—three Croat players were ejected for too many fouls—but the United States couldn’t convert. The United States could learn a lot from the Croatian power play as they converted 6 of 11.
On defense, the United States let the Croats set up just three or four meters out; from that range, the U.S. defenders didn’t have much time for blocks and saves.
The Croats shut down the match in the final period, scoring only one goal and keeping the Americans out of range. The U.S. squad will play in one of the placement matches; Croatia will advance to the medal rounds.
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