USA Men Take First Match Against Japan in Water Polo

(Photo: Jeff Cable, Jeff Cable’s Photography Blog)

When a team makes it to the Olympic stage, you expect only the best out of the players. So it was a little surprising to see some of the rust on Team USA. Perhaps it was the result of their cancelled flight from Hawaii that resulted in a redeye back to California before heading to Tokyo. Or the unusual systems required of those not from Japan that often saw people in the Tokyo airports for four or more hours to get the result of the necessary COVID-19 testing to gain entry to the country. Whatever it was, the game against Team Japan was much closer than anyone anticipated.

Team USA was definitely the faster of the two teams in the sprint to start each quarter, easily gaining control of the ball. And Johnny Hooper, Hannes Daube, and Ben Hallock all did their best to get the first goal quickly, but Japan’s goalkeeper, Tanamura Katsuyuki, showed why he was representing Japan, as he stood tall at the beginning of the game.

One of the biggest differences between the Americans and the Japanese was the number of extra player shots the Americans made that were either blocked or hit posts. Of the 13 extra player shots they took, only eight actually made it to the intended target and of those two were saved by Tanamura. Meanwhile the Japanese, though they had fewer power plays, managed to sink 5 of their 7 into the net. One was saved by Drew Holland while another one was blocked. Penalties were also playing into the results of the Japanese as the first four goals they scored were the result of either penalties awarding a penalty shot or exclusions to Team USA.

After Alex Bowen put Team USA on the scoreboard first with a penalty shot at 5:43 of the first period, the Americans would spend the next 21:28 of the game playing from behind. They once again led the game at 0:15 of the third, when they went up 11-10.

The fourth quarter saw the American men add four more goals while the Japanese kept nipping at their heels adding three. At the end of the game Team USA did pull out the win with a 15-13 result, but it probably wasn’t what they expected.

When the game had finished it was Bowen who helped his team to victory the most perhaps, scoring five of the goals (having missed only one of his shots). Hallock contributed three goals and Luca Cupido had two. While Max Irving added a goal, it is likely that he wished that the extra player shot that hit a post had been more on point. As for Ben Stevenson, he simply couldn’t get around Tanamura and the Japanese defense when he was taking extra player shots.

In the end Team USA managed to close the three-goal hole they found themselves in at 3:29 of the second quarter and eventually they not only tied it but they surged ahead for the win.

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