A dominant 14-4 victory over South Africa has seen the Australian Born ’96 Youth women’s team close out their FINA World Women’s Youth Water Polo Championships campaign in 11th place in Madrid, Spain.
It was again Lena Mihailovic and Chelsea Allen who led the scoring charge for the Aussies, while goalkeeper Tess Hosking (WAIS) was impressive in defence, restricting South Africa to just four goals.
Mihailovic put the Aussies on the right track from the start, scoring the opening goal, before Emily McGowan also scored to have Australia leading. However, the first term saw South Africa go goal for goal, for a score of 2-2 at half time.
The second quarter was where Australia began to edge away with Mihialovic scoring her second, and captain Maddy Steere shooting a double. Unable to break Australia’s defence, South Africa was left trailing 5-2 at half time.
The third term again belonged to Australia, as South Africa was kept scoreless for the second consecutive quarter. Chelsea Allen and Amy Ridge both scored a double to elevate the Aussies to a 9-2 lead at the final exchange.
Despite the win being a forgone conclusion, the Aussies continued to play tough water polo in the final stanza. South Africa added two goals to their tally, while Allen and Mihailovic edged Australia further ahead. Other scorers for Australia during the quarter were Georgia Hole and Georgia McConville.
Aussie team member Chelsea Allen said the team reaped the rewards from a strong defensive effort.
“Although we had a slow start to the game the girls picked up in the last half,” Allen said.
“We utilised our drivers well to earn exclusions and put their defence under pressure, while our defence was our strength to hold South Africa to four goals.”
Hosking was joined in the Australian squad by fellow WAIS athletes Monique Robelo and Pia Rodgers.
The win over South Africa sees Australia finish 11that the World Championships.
-AusWaterPolo
