8/11/2025 | North America | usawaterpolo.org

#USA #WOMEN #U20 #WATER POLO

USA Women Open U20 World Championships With Dramatic Victory Over Hungary

Emily Ausmus earned player of the match honors in the win over Hungary

Salvador, Brazil - August 10 - Emily Ausmus scored a power play goal with just :18 to play to lift Team USA to an 11-10 victory over Hungary on the opening day of the World Aquatics U20 World Championship. Ausmus scored twice and was named player of the match while Rosalie Hassett and Kamryn Barone scored three goals each to bolster the offense. Lauren Steele went the distance in cage, recording five saves. Team USA returns to the pool on Monday against Greece at 6pm et/3pm pt. Live streaming of all matches is available through the World Aquatics Youtube page by clicking here. Live stats of all matches are provided from Microplus by clicking here

Team USA opened play in Brazil with a tall task, taking on the defending U20 World Champions from Hungary. The Hungarians started off strong opening up with a 2-0 lead before Allison Cohen got Team USA on the board at 2-1. Hungary added their third goal of the period before the United States got one more back courtesy of Barone for a 3-2 game with the first quarter winding down. Hungary added one more score and took a two goal lead going to the second quarter. 

Hungary stayed in control in the second quarter going up 5-2 less than 90 seconds into the period. Team USA spent the bulk of the quarter battling to stay within range of Hungary as they repeatedly built a three-goal lead, taking a 7-4 advantage into the halftime break. Things started to change in the second half as the United States began to chip away in the third quarter. Hassett scored her first of the period early in the third to make it 7-5. Hungary went up 8-5 but Hassett came calling again late in the third with a score to make it 8-6 Hungary as play moved to the fourth.

Julia Bonaguidi opened the quarter with a power play strike to make it 8-7 and Ausmus followed with the equalizer less than a minute later for an 8-8 match. Hungary retook the lead at 9-8 before Bonaguidi connected for a power play goal to make it 9-9 with 5:56 to play. Barone gave the United States the lead back at 10-9 with just under five minutes to play. Hungary tied the game at 10-10 with 3:17 remaining setting the table for Ausmus's heroics in the closing moments. 

Team USA went 6/12 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Hungary went 3/8 on power plays with no penalties attempted.

Scoring - Stats
USA 11 (2, 2, 2, 5) R. Hassett 3, K. Barone 3, E. Ausmus 2, J. Bonaguidi 2, A. Cohen 1
HUN 10 (4, 3, 1, 2) Z. Lendvay 3, D. Kardos 2, E. Macsai 2, E. Varro 1, B. Pogonyi 1, E. Batizi 1
Saves - USA - L. Steele 5 - HUN - L. Torma 12
6x5 - USA - 6/12 - HUN - 3/8
Penalties - USA - 1/1 - HUN - 0/0

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