Bucknell University Athletics
McBride Helps USA Men's Water Polo Claim Bronze Medals at Paris Olympics
8/12/2024 9:30:00 AM | Men's Water Polo, Women's Water Polo
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The United States led all nations with 126 total medals at the recently concluded Paris Olympics, and one of those was a bronze medal from the U.S. men's water polo squad. Bucknell head water polo coach John McBride was an assistant coach for Team USA and helped guide the squad to a number of thrilling victories, culminating with a shootout win over Hungary in the bronze medal match on Sunday. It was the first medal for the U.S. men's water polo team since 2008, when they fell to Hungary in the championship match in Beijing.Â
The U.S. went 3-2 in pool play, including a pair of critical wins over Montenegro and Croatia in the final two rounds of the group stage that solidified the team's inclusion in the quarterfinals. Team USA jumped out to a big lead on Croatia, ranked No. 2 in the world, and cruised to a 14-11 victory. Croatia eventually advanced to the final, falling 13-11 to Serbia in the gold medal match.Â
In the knockout stage, the U.S. came up with a dramatic win over Australia, tying the game at 7-7 with 32 seconds left in regulation before outscoring the Aussies 4-3 in a shootout. After falling 10-6 to Serbia in the semifinals, the Americans prevailed in another shootout against Hungary, which is the winningest national program in water polo history. Down 8-6 with just over three minutes to play, the U.S. scored two power-play goals to even the match and then outscored Hungary 3-0 to win the shootout.Â
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The U.S. went 3-2 in pool play, including a pair of critical wins over Montenegro and Croatia in the final two rounds of the group stage that solidified the team's inclusion in the quarterfinals. Team USA jumped out to a big lead on Croatia, ranked No. 2 in the world, and cruised to a 14-11 victory. Croatia eventually advanced to the final, falling 13-11 to Serbia in the gold medal match.Â
In the knockout stage, the U.S. came up with a dramatic win over Australia, tying the game at 7-7 with 32 seconds left in regulation before outscoring the Aussies 4-3 in a shootout. After falling 10-6 to Serbia in the semifinals, the Americans prevailed in another shootout against Hungary, which is the winningest national program in water polo history. Down 8-6 with just over three minutes to play, the U.S. scored two power-play goals to even the match and then outscored Hungary 3-0 to win the shootout.Â
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Our boys brought home BRONZE 🥉#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/N6XkaWewW8
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 11, 2024
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