Zoe Arancini captains Aussie Stingers to gold at FINA World League Intercontinental Cup in Peru

Zoe Arancini has captained the Aussie Stingers to victory at the Aussie Stingers to gold at FINA World League Intercontinental Cup in Peru.

In their first international competition since Tokyo, the Stingers went undefeated through the pool matches to set up a gold medal final against the United States.

In the gold medal match, the Aussie Stingers led from the outset, never relinquishing their lead despite a come back from the USA in the second and third quarters. The Aussies Stingers powered home to take the win 11-4, with Arancini named MVP for the game.

“We have had multiple debutants come on board so it has been great for them, it’s been great for the senior girls to get back into the mix of it all, it’s been nice to have the European [based] girls over here with the girls from Australia,” said Arancini. 

“It’s given us the chance to gel a bit before our next big hit out which is the World Championships, so overall a great learning experience for everyone and we also showed we could perform.

“Today was a good game by our girls, our defence was very strong. The USA had quite a young team so we knew they were going to be quite enthusiastic and come out hard, but we had a plan in place… defence was going to win us the game and it did,” she said.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach Paul Oberman said he was pleased with how his side delivered in the final match.

“Today’s game was a fantastic result for our girls. To win 11-4 against the Americans, shows we put in the work and were able to get the result,” said Oberman.

“For a young team (USA) they were very fast, they have some very good shooters and they understand the game of water polo… it shows why the American pipeline [of talent] is so strong.

“Overall the tournament was a great learning for our girls. For some they haven’t been in an international competition for three or four years.

“A great experience to get out of Australia, experience to play other countries, which we haven’t had the opportunity to do in recent years.

The Aussie Sharks including Tokyo Olympian Tim Putt and Luke Pavillard and debutant John Hedges won silver.