2016 Rio Olympics: U.S. women's water polo team eas its shot at gold

RIO DE JANEIRO >> It was as close as a two-goal game in the third quarter Wednesday.

But, eventually and somewhat inevitably, the U.S. women’s water polo team worked its way into position to go for a gold medal.

“As you could tell, that was a battle today,” attacker Courtney Mathewson said. “I think my skin is like magenta colored.”

The Americans wore down Hungary for a 14-10 victory and now will face Italy in the Olympic finale Friday.

Maggie Steffens scored a team-high four goals for the U.S. Maddie Musselman added a pair.

“I can’t help but smile,” Musselman said. “It’s just so enjoyable. We have two more days, one more game with this group of girls. It’s emotional because I love them so much and I don’t want it to end.”

The Americans are now guaranteed to medal in all five Olympics that have featured women’s water polo.

The U.S., the defending champion from 2012 in London, also has won two silvers and one bronze in the sport.

“We’ve been working since London to get back to this point,” said Mathewson, out of UCLA. “It’s exciting. The pressure’s off to get here. Now, I think we can just enjoy the game.”

The U.S. scored first Wednesday, Makenzie Fischer finding the net just moments into the game.

But Hungary came right back to take a 2-1 lead, setting up a day when the Americans would be tested just enough to keep the game interesting and the outcome in question.

Even as the U.S. appeared on the verge of blowing the game open more than once, Hungary managed to stick around, relying largely on aggressive play.

“That’s one way that teams try to beat us, with physicality,” Mathews said. “We handled well today, I thought.”

In the final, the U.S. (5-0) will face a team also undefeated. Italy (5-0) advanced Wednesday with a 12-9 victory over Russia.

“It feels amazing,” Musselman said. “This is what we trained for. This is why we love the sport and dream of being at the highest level.”

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