WATER POLO: Australia have made it three wins from as many matches after defeating Italy 9-6 at the Kunshan Cup in China.

Game 3 - Australia vs Italy

A five goal haul in the fourth quarter of their final group game of the Kunshan Cup has propelled the Australian women’s water polo team, the Aussie Stingers, to a 9-6 victory over Italy in Kunshan, China.

After a physically demanding match in their second game of the tournament, the Stingers backed up their effort against Canada to account for a strong Italian team and make it three wins on the trot in China. 

Staring down the barrel of their first defeat for the week when the scores were drawn at 4-4 at the final break, Australia rebounded to take charge of the game in the final term. Captain Bronwen Knox said the win could be attributed to the team sticking to a solid game plan in the final stanza.

“It was a tough battle and at the end of the third quarter we were at four goals apiece. So we went out in the last quarter with a clear plan, which we stuck to and we put our shots away, made the most of our opportunities and really took control of the game in that last quarter,” Knox said.

While neither team could be separated during the first quarter, the score 1-1 at the break, it was Italy who edged ahead in the second to be leading 3-2 at half time.

The Stingers pegged back the deficit to draw even with the Italians in the third term, and with the pressure on converted five opportunities in the fourth, with both Knox and Keesja Gofers scoring twice in the final period to take their respective tallies to three goals each for the game.

Next up for the Aussie Stingers will be the semi final round, where they will play the victor between the Netherlands and China with the game scheduled to take place at 9.30pm EST on Friday June 5 in Kunshan China.

Result: Australia 9 bt Italy 6
Quarters: 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 5-2
Scorers: B Knox 3, K Gofers 3, Z Arancini, B Halligan, H Buckling 

Game 2 - Australia vs Canada

Hannah Buckling has again produced a strong goal scoring performance for the Australian women’s water polo team, converting three shots in the Aussie Stingers 7-6 victory over Canada at the Kunshan Cup in Kunshan, China.

Unlike their opening game against Brazil at the pre FINA World League Super Final tournament, the Stingers weren't able to skip away on the scoreboard and were instead forced to grind out the result against Canada, who matched Australia's goal scoring efforts in all but the first quarter. 

While Buckling made it six goals from two games, it was the physically demanding nature of the match that was the talking point, with Australian goalkeeper Lea Yanitsas saying that the Stingers had chances to extend their margin irrespective of the physicality of the game.

“I think Canada came out really hard and their press made it quite a physical game,” Yanitsas said.

“We had opportunities to convert more goals than we did, but we are also trying to mix up our play a little bit. Ahead of our game against Italy tomorrow we need to ensure that when we make changes to our play, our basics don’t suffer."

The opening quarter set the tone for the game as Canada came out firing to score first, only to see the Australian’s retaliate with their defensive effort to recover to a 3-2 lead by the first break. It was a similar story in the second term, although both sides were evenly matched as they traded two goals each, the score 5-4 at half time.

With a fight on their hands the Stingers attempted to convert opportunities in front of the goal throughout the second half, however Canada proved a worthy opponent, holding the Aussies to just one goal each in the third and fourth periods.

Fortunately the Stingers were able to mirror Canada’s defensive effort throughout the second half of the game, protecting their lead to hold on for their second win of the tournament.

Result: Australia 7 bt Canada 6
Quarters: 3-2, 2-2, 1-1, 1-1
Scorers: H Buckling 3, N Zagame 2, G McGhie, I Bishop

Game 1 - Australia vs Brazil

The Australian women’s water polo team, the Aussie Stingers have begun their preparation for the FINA World League Super Final in the best way possible, defeating Brazil 14-4 in the pre-event Kunshan Cup in Kunshan, China.

Leading the offence with three goals apiece were NSW residents Hannah Buckling and Nicola Zagame as well as South Australia’s Chloe Barr, as the Stingers produced the result after an eleventh hour schedule change saw their opening game moved forward from 6pm to 4.30pm local time.

Australia assumed control of the game from the get go, and their lead was never troubled by the Brazilians, who were held scoreless by the Aussie defence for the entirety of the second half.

Western Australia’s Zoe Arancini kicked off proceedings for the Stingers to score early in the first half, with her efforts supported by fellow Western Australian Glencora McGhie, while Zagame converted twice, for the Stingers to be leading 4-2 at the first break.

A commanding middle half of the game enabled the Stingers to jump ahead 7-4 at half time, the lead growing to 10-4 by the end of the penultimate stanza. A four-goal haul in the final term put Australia’s victory beyond doubt.

Although pleasing to win their opening game on tour in China, Barr was quick to reaffirm that the team still had plenty to work to do ahead of next week’s world league finals, saying defense was still an area the team hoped to improve.   

“We had a really strong start and quickly moved three goals ahead in the opening few minutes and never really looked back from that point,” Barr said. 

“We focused on defense and practised our zoning, however we still have more to work on before our second game against Canada tomorrow. Particularly we need to focus being a little more adaptable to the way we approach the game.”

Result: Australia 14 bt Brazil 4
Quarters: 4-2, 3-2, 3-0, 4-0
Scorers: H Buckling 3, N Zagame 3, C Barr 3, G McGhie 2, Z Arancini, B Halligan, B Knox

Australian Water Polo