Russia Returns to Water Polo Final

The afternoon session of water polo at the Goodwill Games Swimming and Diving Center saw a swing in momentum, as the United States faltered against Spain and Russia picked up a win over Italy. Heading into the evening session, Russia (1-0-1) and Spain (1-0-1) sit atop the standings with three points each. The United States (1-1) has two points and Italy (0-2) has zero.

The first game saw Russia grab control early against Italy, taking a 3-1 lead after one period. The advantage was stretched to three midway through the second quarter, and Russia went on to hold Italy at bay. Revaz Tchomakhidze followed up is hat trick Monday with a two goal performance to help lead Russia to a 7-4 victory.

In the second half of the afternoon double-header, reigning Olympic and World Champion Spain dismantled the United States, 10-5. Spain jumped to a 3-0 lead two minutes into the second period before Wolf Wigo broke the ice for the United States at 4:59 of the second. The teams traded goals until Spain boosted the lead to four midway through the third quarter. Chris Oeding narrowed the gap to 7-4 in the waning seconds of the third, but a 3-0 run to start the fourth quarter sealed the win for Spain.

The evening session began with an upset, as Italy defeated Spain, 6-5. The match was close throughout, tied five times before Leonardo Binchi hit the game winning shot from long range. Despite the win, Italy did not qualify for the gold medal match.

The United States needed a victory over Russia to advance to the title game, but things turned grim in a hurry. Russia led 4-1 after one period and extended the cushion to 7-1 with one minute left in the first half. The U.S. tried to rally behind goals by Wolf Wigo, New York, N.Y., and Kyle Kopp, San Bernardino, Calif., but Russia answered and finished the game with a pair of goals for a 10-5 win.

"I’m not sure what happened at the beginning," Wigo said. "It wasn’t bad defense, it was mistakes on offense that turned into goals for Russia. Because they jumped out to a big lead, we had to change our tactics."

Russia, the 1994 Goodwill Games gold medalist will face Spain in the championship match Wednesday at 8:30 pm. The United States will match up against Italy for the bronze medal. In preliminary round robin play, Russia and Italy tied 7-7, while the United States defeated Italy 7-4.