NANTERRE, France — The U.S. reign over women’s water polo ended on Thursday night, stopped by a flood of turnovers and a terrific defensive performance by Gabi Palm and Australia.
Palm denied Maddie Musselman in a penalty shootout and the Aussies returned to their glory days with a dramatic 14-13 victory in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics, ending the United States’ try for a fourth consecutive gold medal.
Australia won gold in the first women’s water polo tournament at the 2000 Sydney Games. It also took home bronze medals in 2008 and 2012. But it hadn’t been back to the Olympic podium since — until now.
“To be starting to etch our own way in history and to continue that legacy is so special,” Palm said.
Next up for Australia is Spain, which advanced with a 19-18 victory over the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. The gold-medal match is on Saturday at Paris La Defense Arena.
The U.S. led 5-2 at halftime and 8-6 early in the fourth quarter, but it struggled offensively for the second straight game. The Americans needed 17 saves by Ashleigh Johnson to slip by Hungary in a 5-4 victory in the quarterfinals.
Bothered by Australia’s superior size and length, the U.S. managed only three goals in the second half.
“I’m just incredibly proud of how we fought and competed,” U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said. “We competed our butts off. … As gritty as we were, the Australians were just as gritty.”
It was the second loss for the United States at the Paris Games and the third at the Olympics overall since it dropped the 2008 final against the Netherlands. It went 5-0-1 in London, 6-0 in Rio de Janeiro and 6-1 in Tokyo.
The U.S. will play the Netherlands for bronze on Saturday. No team — men’s or women’s — has won four straight water polo titles at the Olympics.
“We’ve just got to get better and show how resilient we are and show how much better we can be,” U.S. captain Maggie Steffens said. “It’s going to be a tough game.”
Australia went 6 for 6 in the penalty shootout before Palm made the game-ending stop on Musselman. Abby Andrews converted her attempt in the tiebreaker after she started the Aussie comeback with four goals in the third quarter - each one from a similar spot.
Australia was swept by the U.S. in a three-game series in California in April.
“I’ve never beaten the USA in an important tournament - world champs, World Cup - nothing,” Andrews said. “This was insane. This is all about belief. We knew we could do it, and we did.”
Spain was led by Judith Forca, who scored five times in regulation and made her attempt in the penalty shootout. Bea Ortiz, Elena Ruiz, Paula Crespi and Maica García Godoy also converted as Spain went 5 for 5 in the tiebreaker.
Goalkeeper Martina Terre stopped Brigitte Sleeking’s penalty shot before García Godoy closed out the win.
The victories for Spain and Australia were the first two times that a women’s semifinal was decided by penalty shots at the Olympics.
Spain improved to 6-0 as it goes for the country’s first gold medal in women’s water polo. It lost to the U.S. in the final in London and Tokyo.
“We don’t want another silver. We’re just here for the gold,” Anni Espar Llaquet said. “It’s been a long way. It’s been a tough way to get here.
“We have one more game, we have dreamed about this for a few years, and I think it’s our time to shine.”
Simone van de Kraats had four goals for the Netherlands, which beat Spain 8-7 for the European championship in January. Vivian Sevenich, Nina ten Broek, Lieke Rogge and Kitty Lynn Joustra each scored twice.
The Netherlands got off to a shaky start and Forca scored to make it 6-1 at the end of the first quarter. But Spain looked a little stagnant on offense in the third period, and the Netherlands began to rally.
Ten Broek converted a couple of well-placed lobs, and the game was tied at 11 after three.
“I’m sad that we lost the game, but if you saw the beginning of the game, nobody believed that we could tie the game and almost win it,” Dutch player Sabrina van der Sloot said. “So I’m really proud of my team and the way we fought back.”
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