BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) student-athletes Shae (Fournier) La Roche (Indiana University), Hanna Muller (Lindenwood University) and Ashleigh Johnson (Princeton University) along with incoming freshman Boati Motau (Bucknell University) continued play at the 2020/2021 Olympics in Tokyo on Wednesday, July 28.
Statistics from the Olympic Games competition at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre are available by CLICKING HERE.
Hungary 10, United States 9 (Ashleigh Johnson)
United States goalie/Princeton University alumna Ashleigh Johnson stopped nine of 19 shots, but Hungary outscored the Americans 4-1 in the fourth quarter to overcome an 8-6 deficit as the two-time defending Gold Medalists suffered a 10-9 setback in Group B competition. The loss – the United States first in Olympic play since a 9-8 defeat by the Netherlands on August 21 in the Gold Medal match of the 2008 Games at the Ying Tung Natatorium in Beijing, China – drops Team USA to 2-1 in Group B action as the Americans previously defeated Japan via a 25-4 count on Saturday, July 24, and turned back China, 12-7, on Monday, July 26.
Hungary now stands at 1-0-1 in group play following a 10-10 tie with Russia on July 26.
Overall, the Americans continue to lead the group with a 2-1 mark followed by Hungary (1-0-1), Russia (1-0-1-), China (1-2) and Japan (0-2).
Johnson – who posted 15 saves on 19 shots in downing Japan prior to turning away seven of 14 shots by China – could not help the United States remain perfect in Olympic action since a 9-9 tie versus Spain on August 1 during the 2012 Games in London – as Hungary opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back goals at 6:26 and 5:37 to pull even with the Americans.
Melissa Seidemann returned the lead to the United States with 2:28 remaining, but an extra-player strike by Rita Keszthelyi at 1:53 once again balanced the scoreboard and shifted the momentum to the Hungarians.
Following a six-meter direct shot in a free throw situation at 1:05 which Johnson saved, Hungary hit the mark with 45 seconds left as Rebecca Parkes secured the victory by rifling in a shot from center.
The Americans had a chance to draw even prior to the final horn by a heave by Makenzie Fischer was turned back with 21 seconds left. Alys Williams collected the rebound at the 20 seconds mark to set-up one final scoring try to Team USA, but Hungary’s Anna Illes snagged a steal with three ticks left prior to a Hungary timeout with one second remaining allowed the team to hang on for the win.
The game was nip-tuck from the opening sprint to the closing horn as Hungary jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 7:43, the Americans responded to push ahead 2-1 at 2:06 and the Hungarians responded with 28 seconds left to establish a two-all deadlock after the inaugural quarter of play.
The back-and-forth continued in the second quarter as Hungary went ahead 4-2 with 6:33 left before the United States pulled even at 2:30. Hungary once again acquired the lead at 5-4 with 57 seconds remaining until halftime, but Team USA netted the equalizer with three seconds to go for a five-all tie at the midway point.
In the third quarter, the Americans gained their first lead since the 1:45 mark of the first quarter as Maddie Musselman stroked hit the twine with an extra-player bid at 6:23. Hungary leveled the score at six-all with 3:38 remaining in the frame, but extra-player scores by Fischer (3:23) and Musselman (2:45) gave the United States its largest lead of the game at 8-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Parkes (6:26, center shot) and Vanda Valyi (5:37, action shot) ignited Hungary’s offense in the dawning moments of the fourth quarter to once again tie the game and set the stage for Hungary’s win.
Overall, Johnson stopped seven-of-11 action shots, one-of-four shots from center, one-of-one six-meter shots and permitted three goals on three Hungarian extra-player opportunities.
About Ashleigh Johnson: Johnson is among only two Tigers’ athletes ever to win an Olympic gold medal (in 2016) and then come back to compete at Princeton (former United States Senator/men’s basketball player Bill Bradley was the other).
The C. Otto von Kienbusch and Cutino Awards during her senior season in 2017, she was the first player in Princeton women’s water polo history to be named first team All-America and third ever to be selected All-America in each of her four seasons. Johnson finished her Princeton career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves and a .693 save percentage. She was a 19-time CWPA Defensive Player of the Week award winner, a four-time first-team all-conference player and the CWPA Player of the Year.
Johnson’s appearance at the Olympics marks the fourth time in the past four games that the United States’ cage will be defended by a CWPA alumna as University of Michigan graduate and CWPA Hall of Fame member Betsey Armstrong was the goalie for the 2008 Silver Medal and 2012 Gold Medal squads.
Canada 21, South Africa 1 (Shae La Roche, Hanna Muller, Boati Motau)
Indiana University alum Shae (Fournier) La Roche played 16:05 and connected on two-of-six shots as Canada defeated South Africa, 21-1, to claim a victory in Group A at the Olympics.
Canada, which previously fell to Australia (8-5 L, July 24) and Spain (14-10 L, July 26) now stands at 1-2 in Group A, while South Africa falls to 0-2 following an earlier 29-4 loss to Spain on July 24. Australia (2-0), Spain (2-1) and the Netherlands (1-1) complete the Group A bracket.
Canada outscored South Africa 5-1, 4-0, 4-0 and 8-0 over the span of the contest’s four quarters, respectively.
La Roche, who was held without a shot in 18:32 of playing time during versus Australia, and registered a pair of extra-player tallies in 27:55 against Spain, now has four goals in the Tokyo Olympics.
For South Africa, incoming Bucknell University recruit Boati Motau and former Lindenwood University athlete Hanna Muller were held scoreless.
Motau played 14:33 versus Canada without a shot, while Muller fired off one shot in 21:21 of action. Overall, Motau has played 27:48 during the Olympics with a pair of shots to accompany Muller who has three shots in 41:48.
About Shae La Roche: A 2014 graduate of Indiana, La Roche (2011-2014) is one of the most decorated players in Hoosiers’ water polo history. She holds the top two school records for single-season goals (95 in 2014, 83 in 2013) and career goals (305), and is second in IU history in career steals (311). She was the 2014 CWPA Player of the Year, and earned second team Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America and College Sport Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) First-Team Academic All-America honors. La Roche is one of five players in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history to score 300 or more goals in her career.
The Most Valuable Player of the 2014 CWPA Championship hosted by Bucknell University for leading the Hoosiers to an 11-10 victory over Princeton University, La Roche is among a select group of Indiana women’s water polo players who won a pair of league titles during their tenure. In 2011 as a freshman, La Roche helped her squad down the University of Michigan, 5-3, at home in Bloomington for the program’s first title since taking home the 2003 crown.
She had an impressive junior international career, winning gold medals at the 2008 and 2010 Pan American Junior Championships to go with a sixth place finish at the 2009 FINA World Junior Championships. At the senior level, she competed in two FINA World Championships (2015, 2017) and captured a silver medal at the 2017 FINA World League Super Final. She also helped Canada win silver at the 2015 Pan American Games. She has made two appearances at the Summer Universiade, just missing the podium with fourth place finishes in both 2009 and 2013. She made her senior international debut in 2014, competing in the FINA Water Polo World League.
About Boati Motau: Motau will join the Bucknell program after a decorated career at the Roedean School in South Africa. Motau was named the 2020 Sports Woman of the Year, while earning Full Colours in both field hockey and water polo (Varsity letters) in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Motau earned First Team All-State accolades while helping the Roedean School to a third-place National finish in 2020.
A three-sport athlete at the school in water polo, field hockey, and swimming, Motau has represented the South African squad at youth level since 2018, helping the U17 team to a second-place showing at the EU Nations Water Polo Cup in 2019. Motau was also the team captain in both field hockey and water polo at Roedean in 2019-20, helping the water polo squad to two straight top-three finishes ad the Old Mutual Prestige Cup.
About Hanna Muller: A two-time Women’s Collegiate Club All-America selection at Lindenwood, Muller previously represented her homeland at the 2018 FINA Women’s World Cup in Surgut, Russia.
Muller, who competed for Lindenwood in 2018 and 2019, is the lone former/current collegiate club player believed to be competing at the 2021 Olympics, Muller earned All-Midwest Division First Team honors as a sophomore in 2019 to accompany All-America Second Team status. Muller also helped Midwest Division Champion Lindenwood earn a Fifth Place finish at the 2019 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by the University of Notre Dame earned All-Tournament Second Team laurels.
As a freshman in 2018, she claimed positions on the All-America and Midwest Division All-Conference Second Teams following a season in which she led Midwest Division Champion Lindenwood with 59 goals to accompany 34 assists and 61 steals. A National Collegiate Club Championship All-Tournament Second Team selection, she scored 10 goals in four games to help Lindenwood finish in Fourth Place at the event hosted by the University of Washington at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore.
