Newport Beach duo helps U.S. women’s water polo advance to Olympic semifinals

The United States women’s water polo team earned a hard-fought 5-4 victory over Hungary on Tuesday in an Olympic quarterfinal match in Paris.

With the win, Team USA’s quest for a fourth straight Olympic gold medal remains alive.

Team captain Maggie Steffens delivered two big goals while playing every minute of the match, while goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson racked up 17 saves.

Team USA also features two contributors from Newport Beach, in Maddie Musselman and Kaleigh Gilchrist. Both were kept off the scoreboard Tuesday, but they helped the U.S. win a defensive struggle.

Former Los Alamitos High and UCLA standout Rachel Fattal scored the eventual match-winning goal, a power-play strike with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter.

Tara Prentice and Jewel Roemer also scored for the Americans, who will play Australia in an Olympic semifinal match on Thursday at 10:35 a.m. Pacific time. That match will air live in USA Network, and stream on Peacock.