Newport trio strikes gold in Rio

Best women’s water polo team in history?

The United States’ Olympic team didn’t necessarily come into the 2016 Summer Games trying to make that case. But it was easy to jump to conclusions after another dominant victory Friday afternoon at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This win earned Team USA a celebratory jump into the water.

Newport Beach residents Maggie Steffens, Kaleigh Gilchrist and Maddie Musselman all contributed as the U.S. defeated Italy, 12-5, in the gold-medal match.

It completed a dominant run through the tournament for the Americans, who became the first women’s water polo team to repeat as Olympic champion after outscoring its six opponents by a combined 73-32. No game was closer than four goals.

“Awesome,” Musselman said in a phone interview from Rio. “It’s definitely surreal. Our goal was to take it game by game, and I think we did that perfectly throughout the whole tournament. ... It was a perfect tournament, definitely, for our team.”

Steffens, the team captain who led everyone in the tournament with 17 goals scored, earned her second straight Olympics MVP honor.

Musselman, an 18-year-old former Corona del Mar High School star who was second on Team USA with 12 goals, was on the all-tournament team along with teammate Ashleigh Johnson in goal.

Gilchrist, a former Newport Harbor High and USC star, scored six goals in the six-game tournament. But her assist late in the third quarter against Italy spoke volumes about Team USA and its nature.

On the power play, the U.S. kept passing the ball around like a hot potato. Gilchrist, on the right wing, took a cross pass from Rachel Fattal and looked as if she might shoot. But she made the extra pass to her housemate Steffens up top. Steffens buried it, giving Team USA a 9-4 lead with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter.

“We’re pretty selfless individuals,” Gilchrist said in a phone interview. “That was just the one or two extra passes that needed to be done to make the easiest shot. Rachel threw it over to me, I thought it was going to be my shot, but then I kind of saw the goalie jump. I knew ‘Maggs’ was open, so I made that one extra pass to her.”

Johnson made nine saves for Team USA before, with the game in hand, Coach Adam Krikorian subbed her out in the fourth quarter for Sami Hill (two saves). Kiley Neushul scored a game-high three goals, while Laguna Beach High graduate Makenzie Fischer and Fattal, a former Los Alamitos High standout, each had two goals.

“I am so proud of this team,” Steffens, a Stanford University star, said in a phone interview. “We rose up to every challenge that we faced and exceeded it greatly. We came in with a mission and we made sure it happened. It was so fun to play with this group ... we really played some of the best water polo I’ve ever been a part of.”

Musselman, who is bound for UCLA, did not look the part of the second-youngest player on the team. She scored two goals per game in the Olympics, yet she was surprised after the gold-medal game when she heard she had earned all-tournament honors.

“Maddie was incredible this tournament,” Steffens said. “She was fearless and an executor, and that’s exactly what we needed her to be. To have that poise and confidence at that age is really special, and I think she showed that to the whole world.”

She helped Team USA roll through the tournament, even as Krikorian was hit with adversity shortly before the first game. His brother, Blake, died of a heart attack five days before the team began the tournament against Spain, and Krikorian flew back to California for two days to be with his family.

However, that never seemed to affect the team’s play in the pool. UC Irvine women’s water polo coach Dan Klatt and Corona del Mar High alumnus Chris Oeding were assistant coaches for Team USA.

The United States is the only team to medal in women’s water polo every year since 2000, when it was introduced as an Olympic sport. Still, the team had never been this dominant.

“We never really came into this tournament thinking, ‘Let’s blow everyone out,’” Gilchrist said. “Obviously, that’s the goal, but there’s so many good teams around the world. I think our team and how we’ve played is just a credit to the teams prior, the women prior who have come before us, who sacrificed and got USA water polo on the map. From Maureen O’Toole to Brenda [Villa], to all of these girls that put so many hours into it. Some of them weren’t able to win a gold medal. We were able to do it, not only for ourselves and our family and our teammates, but for them.”

Musselman said the journey to the gold medal was special. She was named to the Olympic team on June 16, her 18th birthday.

“[It means] everything,” Musselman said. “I mean, obviously it’s been a long journey, but it’s been the most enjoyable. Now, it’s also been one of the most rewarding, getting a gold medal. It’s awesome. It’s a feeling that I’ve never felt before, and I love it. I don’t want it to go away.”

The best team ever? Steffens, the two-time Olympian, wouldn’t rule it out.

“Truthfully, any time that you’re with a team that you connect with so greatly, it feels like it’s the best team, no matter what,” she said. “But I would say ... in terms of our record and what this team has accomplished, yes, this is for sure the best team in history.

“I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. Although it’s not our goal to make history, it’s a cherry on top because we’re always trying to leave a legacy.”