Italy Edges past Hungary to Complete European Water Polo Women’s Semifinals
Italy topped Hungary, 12-11, on Wednesday in the final quarterfinal at the European Water Polo Championships’ women’s tournament in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
It brings the Italians into Thursday’s semifinals against reigning world champion Netherlands. Spain and Greece meet in the other semifinal at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium.
Spain turned on the defense in a 17-6 win over Croatia, allowing just one second-half goal to pull away. Pila Pena shot 4-for-4 from the field. Paula Camus also scored four times, and Isabel Piralkova added three goals. Spain was able to rest two of its top players for the quarterfinal. Laura Ester and Martine Terre split time in goal.
Iva Rozic scored twice for Croatia.
Reigning world champion Netherlands ran out to a 15-2 halftime lead on the way to a 25-6 win over Great Britain. Lieke Rogge scored five times on five shots. Simone van de Kraats, Lola Moolhuijzen and Kitty Lynn Joustra scored four times each. Fleurien Bosveld added a hat trick.
Greece surged in the second half to see off France, 15-7. Greece led by only one at half before a 9-2 margin after the break. Erini Ninou led the way with four goals, two of them in the decisive 4-1 third stanza. Eleftheria Plevritou added a hat trick. Margarita Plevitrou scored twice, as did Athina Dimitra Giannopoulou.
Audrey Daule was the only French player with multiple goals with two. They shot just 7-for-22. Chrysoula Diamantopoulou stopped the bleeding for Greece by stopping all four action shots she faced and added an assist.
The best game of the day came last. Roberta Bianconi recorded a first-quarter hat trick to stake the Italians to a two-goal lead. They wouldn’t trail, though Hungary tied the game in the second quarter before the Italians answered with a three-goal run and led 11-8 with 2:49 left in the third on Claudia Marletta’s goal.
Natasha Rybanska got it to 11-9 before the end of the third, and Dorottya Szilagyi set up Vanda Valyi’s goal with 5:01 left to end nearly three scoreless minutes in the nervy fourth.
But Silvia Avegno restored the two-goal bump with a penalty shot on the next possession, and Caterina Banchelli came up with six of her 13 saves in a bravura fourth quarter to preserve the lead. Rita Keszthelyi got Hungary within one with 1:50 left, but Szilagyi and Krisztina Garda were denied by Banchelli, the latter in a bid to tie the game with three seconds left.
Bianconi scored four times, Avegno and Marletta tallying hat tricks.
Garda led Hungary with four goals, Keszthelyi and Valyi scoring twice apiece.